Ty Watches "Frank" Again, and Again

Yesterday I watched the movie "Frank" for the third time. Let’s discuss.

I really enjoy this movie. For people that don't know, "Frank" is about a band writing a record and then performing it live. Well, that is the short of it. The movie has a bunch of layers. It's about music. It's about input from your band members. It's about wanting fame. It's about mental illness. It's about the indie rock scene. There is a ton to see in this movie.

Michael Fassbender plays Frank, and he is wonderful. He totally embodies this role. I should mention that he wears a humongous plaster head for almost the entire movie. Fassbender's Frank is a genius song writer, but he has some serious mental health issues that he has not properly dealt with yet. I read that the movie is based upon some stuff that kind of happened to the writer in their real life. That's wild.

Outside Fassbender, the rest of the cast is great. The guitarist and drummer are first timers and they are in a band in real life. They do a very good job here. Maggie Gylenhall plays the theremin player, and she kind of helps Frank in his daily life. She is an egomaniac, but she has a good heart. Domhnall Gleeson plays the co lead in the movie, and he shines. He wants all the fame. He wants to be remembered for his music. He wants people to love him, which is a problem on its own. Seeing where they start and end up is pretty great. I love watching them record the album. It shows how crazy and how much of a perfectionist some musicians can be. Frank is relentless in his work. He wants all of his ideas to work. Most do, but him pushing the other band members really shows how awful it can be to record with a genius. Scoot McNairy plays the band manager, but he has problems all his own. He is constantly trying to be Frank, but knows he cannot be Frank. It haunts him. That shows tenfold when they finish the record.

I love when the band goes to play South By Southwest. That is a great representation of how wanting fame can be a real disease. Gleeson wants so badly to be famous that he will do whatever it takes. He doesn't care about anyone else's feelings, he just wants fame. His other band members are crumbling around him, but he continues to push until they all leave him behind. Frank has real trauma, and his original members can help. But Gleeson doesn't see that and he pushes too hard. When they finally break apart and go deal with some of their issues, the ending is very fulfilling.

"Frank" is a very, very solid movie. Watching it yesterday made me realize that stuff like this doesn't get made anymore. Movies are all prequels or reimagining ideas or sequels. There are hardly any new ideas. "Frank" is a very good takedown of music and the music industry. It also tells some very good stories about mental illness and how debilitating it can be. I want more movies like "Frank" or "Everything Everywhere All at Once". And less superhero stuff. Give me original ideas. And, watch "Frank". 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.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram.

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

Ty Watches "The Umbrella Academy" Final Season

My wife and I just finished the fourth and final season of "Umbrella Academy". The final season kind of came and went with no real shock or people talking about it all that much. I had forgotten about it for a bit because my wife was watching "Love Island" and we watch "Umbrella Academy" together. She was into that show, I started a different show and just waited until it was time. That time came, and it went for me without much of a whimper as well.

The fourth season was fine. It was short, it was action packed and it had its moments. It was definitely better than the third season, which I thought was nearly unwatchable. But, that is not saying much in my opinion. The first season of the show was rad. I was all in. I wanted to know the story, I liked all the characters and it kept me fully interested. I couldn't wait to get more. My wife and I actually ripped through the first season very fast. When the second season aired, I was just as in. I was all about Klaus' story. He annoyed me in season 1, but they gave him some depth and he became my favorite character. I liked what they did with all the other characters. I like how the story progressed. I felt like they were going in a very good direction.

Then the pandemic hit. This may have been an unexpected blow to the show. I mean, the pandemic was rough for everyone. "Umbrella Academy" definitely suffered. The third season was not very good. You could tell it was filmed during a pandemic. It relied very heavily on CGI. They only really had one set that they shot the show, the hotel. I got a very bad sinus infection near the end of the third season, missed the last three episodes, and it didn't matter. I didn't care what happened. I will say, the third season had very few moments. We got a great Lila story in season 3. Eliot Page got some good stuff to work with to further his story. And 5 continued his run as a very good character on the show. But that was about it. Like I said, it had a pandemic feel to it, too much CGI and nothing really memorable. But, I was excited for this final season. I was curious to see how they wrapped everything up. I wanted to see how they closed out the characters.

With that being said, I had forgotten a bunch about what happened in season 3, so when they showed up as regular people in the final season, that was a surprise. From there, it was very hit and miss for me. Monkey Man was funny. Diego and Lila had become sad. Victor seemed kind of dour. Alison got more boring. 5 was still pretty cool, and the stuff with him and Lila was alright. But poor Klaus. They underutilized him a ton here. He wasn't himself. He was whiny and sour. I didn't like how they portrayed him in the final season. Even as it progressed, he never found his footing like he did in season 2. I'm also very tired of the whole "timeline" thing that superhero movies and shows do now. It is a catch all that is relied on far too much. Writers can make up anything they want and say it is due to a different timeline. And they used it way, way too much in this final season. I was also not overly thrilled with how wrapped up the characters. It felt rushed.

With all this being said, "Umbrella Academy" gave us four seasons of entertainment for free. The creators, writers and actors owe us nothing. I will say, while I did not enjoy the last two seasons, the first two seasons are great. If you want to watch this show, just watch the first two seasons, then catch up via the internet with what happens in the end. That's the best way to go about watching this show in my opinion. 

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.

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

Why is Being a Sports Fan Not Fun Anymore?

Over the past couple of days I have heard a few different people have some interesting takes on sports. My buddy Kirk sent me a stand up video where the comic stated why they like going to concerts over sporting events. He said, in not so many words, that he is never upset after going to a concert. He gets to hear his favorite songs, has a good time and gets to vibe out with friends. At a sporting event, your team doesn't always win, a player you may like might get hurt and you can come home in a bad mood half the time. That is a very fair assessment I think.

Then, while on a run today I was listening to "Doughboys" and their guest was talking about their husband who is a Celtics fan. She said that when the Celtics won, her husband went outside and laid on the ground. She asked what was wrong, and he said he was relieved that his team won it all. This, again, is also relatable for me. When Michigan won it all last season, I was grateful and relieved. At the same time. It was a weird feeling, but that was how I took the title. I celebrated the win during the off season, but now that a new season is here, I am only worried about how they finish this season. I know that you are not supposed to celebrate a title only during the off season, but still, they are reigning champs. That should be enough to make me happy. It isn't though, and that stinks.

As I sit here and think about it, my fandom that is, why do we do this to ourselves? I'm speaking to all sports fans. I have seen an Onion headline that states, local child picks sports team to make their lives miserable forever, or something like that. And it's true. When I was a child I chose Michigan football. My dad is a fan, he would watch the games and I wanted to hang out with him during the game. It was a pretty easy 1 to 1 for me. I was probably about 8 years old. Now, 33 years later, I'm a fanatic. I love Michigan football more than any other team in pro or college sports. I live and die by the results of their games. I constantly read about the team. I want to know what is going on, and hopefully I can be one of the first to know the news. It's been like that for 33 years now. And when I was a kid, it wasn't that hard. I watched the games, the results were the results and that was that. There was no internet, no constant stream of tv shows, no Twitter or Facebook or Instagram. It was great.

Yet, over time, the internet and tv shows are EVERYWHERE, and EVERYONE has a take. Your team can win, but if they don't win by enough, they're trash. God help you if they get beat, the keyboard warriors will tell all of the regular fans how bad your team is, no matter what. Be it coaching changes, a down season, one bad game or not being dominant enough, internet personalities and tv hosts are ready with the ammo to attack your team. It is rough. It's brutal to be a fan of any team nowadays. After Nick Saban left Alabama, the internet had a field day. Washington got beat by Washington State in the Apple Cup last week, and now Washington is consider lower tier. Colorado struggles to beat North Dakota State and podcast hosts instantly call out Deion Sanders. Arch Manning comes in to take over for an injured Quinn Ewers last week, and now everyone says Manning needs to be the starter. Georgia barely beats Kentucky, on the road, and now they are "vulnerable" all of the sudden. It's rough. And all of us sports fans decided that we were going to almost always be miserable the moment we picked our favorite sports team. It's not fun. I want to go back to when I was a kid and it was fun. Sure, your friends would roast you from time to time, but it was all good, clean fun. Now, it's just mean and vindictive. Everyone, who never played the sport mind you, has a hot take now, and they have it at the ready the moment the game hits all zeros in the fourth quarter. Sports can be wonderful and make you very happy, but for the most part, it is brutal and a dumb choice we made when we were way, way too young. And the keyboard warriors don't make it any easier.

Oh well, on to USC for Michigan this weekend, and I am as nervous as ever. Why did I choose this, I guess to hang with my dad and root for a team. But, it has gotten harder and harder each season to experience true joy. And Michigan is reigning national champs. Yikes. 

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.

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

Better Late than Never on "Paprika"

Over the weekend my son and I headed over to his uncle's house for our monthly movie night. We let his uncle pick since he hosts, and he has pretty good taste in movies. He is trustworthy and reliable. This month he picked an anime called "Paprika".

This is the first anime I have ever seen. I have wanted to watch some before, but I have passed it up time and time again. I was pleased that this choice was made and the time to watch anime had finally come. I have never heard of this movie, I saw a preview awhile back, which looked rad and we settled down to check it out. This movie is great. I was interested the whole time. The story was intriguing, the animation was incredible and it was only 90 minutes long. This was a win in every situation for me.

For those that may not know, "Paprika" is about a company that makes a machine that can enter into people's brains and people that are awake can see what is going on. The host mentioned to us that they had heard Christopher Nolan got the idea for "Inception" from this movie. That is very easy to see after watching "Paprika". The whole idea here is that a person, Paprika, can enter dreams and guide people through them. Good and bad, Paprika helps them get through it, and when it gets bad, she wakes them up and they go over the dream together. There is a hitch in their plan, when a very powerful person starts to go into everyone's dreams and uses that to take over the world. We see a bunch of different people going to sleep, entering their REM cycle and having some of the wildest dreams I've ever seen put on film. There are carnivals, chases, lookalikes, mystery, deceit and some truly terrifying images that some have in their nightmares. When things start to come together in this movie, it gets tense in all the best possible ways. I was sitting on the edge of my seat waiting to see what was going to happen. The climatic scene is pretty wonderful. The imagery, the way the story wraps up and what follows is pretty cool and very well done.

And while the story is very, very well done, the animation sets this movie aside from all other movies. The screen is filled, the entire movie, with something and something is always moving. Be it in a police officer's office, the blinds are all there and when the wind blows they move. When they enter a bar in a computer world, the liquid in the bottles move. The bartenders are constantly making facial gestures. The carnival scenes are truly a thing of wonder. To fill up all of that screen time with some of the craziest imagery I have ever seen must have taken a very, very long time and must have been done by some super talented artists and filmmakers. The fact that they took the time, the care and the process to go through all this means they really cared about what they were going to put on screen. I appreciate that as a viewer, and it made the movie even better.

I highly recommend checking this movie out if you have not seen it yet. Seeing this makes me want to watch more anime in the future. "Paprika" is a very, very good movie made by some very talented people. 

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.

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

Ty Watches "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice"

I have just returned home from seeing "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice". This is a movie that has been on my radar since it was announced. I love the original movie, and getting the band back together, as it were, only made me more excited for this movie. I am not the biggest fan of decades long sequels, but this is one exception that I will happily make. I enjoy, for the most part, the work that Tim Burton does, especially when it comes to weird ghost/goth type stuff. He has a good mind for stories like these. So, my expectations were pretty high going into this movie.

My expectations were met. This is a good example of how to make a sequel in the 2020's, without going over the top with fan lip service. Sure, most of the original cast is back to reprise their roles, but they do so much more and yet they were able to keep it light, goofy and damn near whimsical. The joy of the first "Beetlejuice" movie is how much fun it looked like everyone was having. That shows up in the sequel as well. The heavy hitters that come back are great. Catherine O'Hara, Winona Ryder and Michael Keaton reprise these famous roles and build on them. O'Hara is a delight as Delia Deetz. She is just as funny and oblivious as she was in the original. And there may be some "Schitt's Creek" Easter eggs in there for fans of that show. Ryder as Lydia Deetz is just as wacky and smart as before. She has a TV show now, but the sight of Beetlejuice makes her even more paranoid. And Keaton as Beetlejuice is one of the great movie characters of all time. He's gross and mean and manipulative. He is also funny, and damn if I don’t root for him from time to time in this movie, just like I did for the original. The newcomers are welcome surprises. Monica Belluci is terrifying and menacing as Beetlejuice's ex. She barely has any lines, but the story of her, as told by Beetlejuice, is quite funny and informative. Jenna Ortega is killing it as the new goth kid in movies and shows. She has the look and can really pull it off. She is also wonderful in this role. I have not yet watched "Wednesday", but I feel like she gets to build as Astrid, Lydia's daughter, a different type role in a movie like this. She has layers. Willem Defoe, as an actor who died on set, is hilarious. He has a catchphrase. He is always being handed coffee that he never drinks. He is clearly having the best time of any actor on set. He is one of my favorite working actors, and anytime he is in something I'm about to watch, it makes me smile. And then we have Justin Theorux. I'm always a little lukewarm on him, but he is starting to grow on me in roles like this. He is funny and douchey and just a cliche of a hanger on. But Theroux makes it work. My wife and I kept saying to each other that we thought he was the funniest one in the whole movie. Outside of the actors, the set was great. They kept the old time look. The effects look like they do in the original. There isn't a big time CGI budget for this movie. That made me like it even more. And the jokes and call backs went just far enough. They were never overkill. They were a nod to the fans. They did the right amount.

I loved this movie. I was smiling the whole time. There wasn't a scene that felt unnecessary. They used what they needed and they used it correctly. We also saw the movie on one of those new Ultramax screens, and that was cool too. I love this movie and 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.

Follow Ty on instagram.

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

Daniel Jones Over Saquon Barkley and Other Notable Sports Decisions

While out to coffee with my dad this morning we were talking about how the Giants picked Daniel Jones over Saquon Barkley. Let’s discuss.

We both agreed that this was a bad choice by the Giants front office. Barkley is a generational talent. He scored three TDs on the opening weekend. He is a good pass catcher out of the backfield, can return kicks and is hard to tackle and has some good open field speed. Daniel Jones is Daniel Jones. He threw two pick 6's last weekend. He has thrown more pick 6's than long TD passes since signing his massive deal. The Vikings defense said that they "started to feel bad" for him during the last game. He is one of the worst starting QB's in the NFL. His contract is rough, and this decision is going to lead to a bunch of people looking for a new job next season.

This conversation had me thinking after coffee. I was out for a run and I started to think more and more about these decisions by front offices. Both good and bad choices came to mind. The bad choices are much more provocative, but the good ones can be beneficial. One of the good ones I thought of was the Denver Nuggets picking Nikola Jokic over Jusuf Nurkic. I am not a Jokic fan, but the Nuggets have won a title, been a contender every year and Jokic has won three MVP awards. While I like Nurkic's game, he isn't even close to Jokic's level. He has no rings, no MVP awards, no all star game appearances. He has solid numbers, but he is a fringe starter at best. Another good move in choosing a player is the Raptors picking Kyle Lowry to stay after trading for Kawhi Leonard. Someone had to go, and that someone was DeMar DeRozan. DeRozan is going to be much more appreciated when he retires. He is a great mid range scorer, has had a long and personally successful career and is beloved by his teammates on every team he has been a part of. But he had to go to acquire Leonard, and Lowry fits much better with his game. The Raptors got a title out of this. DeRozan is still searching for his first ring. As for football, the Patriots decision to stick with Tom Brady after Drew Bledsoe got hurt will go down in history. Brady and the Patriots had a dynasty and many consider Brady as one of the greatest QB's ever. Bledsoe had a fine career, but it doesn't even come close to what Brady and the Patriots achieved once they moved on from him.

Now for the bad decisions, the Jones over Barkley type decision. The first one that comes to my mind is the Dolphins picking Daunte Caulpepper over Drew Brees. At the time, I thought Culpepper was the correct choice. He had more success at that point, Brees was coming off injury, Culpepper was more mobile and had a better arm. Well, Culpepper flamed out pretty quick and Drew Brees has multiple MVP's and a Super Bowl ring. He is also one of the best to ever play the position. He is going to be a hall of famer for sure. Culpepper, he will unfortunately be a footnote. The Bears decided in the 2017 draft that they had to trade up one spot to take Mitch Trubisky. Some players that went after Trubisky include Christian McCaffery, Jamal Adams, Evan Engram, Jabrill Peppers, TJ Watt, David Njoku, oh yeah, and Patrick Mahomes. Sure, maybe the Bears didn't need some of the other guys due to position. But, they picked Trubisky over Mahomes. That is some Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan stuff right there. Getting back to picking a player over another player, the last one I want to bring up is Kobe Bryant over Shaq. This one may cause division with others. Kobe had a great career post Shaq. That is undeniable. He won MVP awards. He won titles. He was always on the all star team. He is one of the better NBA players we have ever seen. But it took time. Kobe wasn't instantly successful after the Lakers picked him over Shaq. It took time. On the other hand, Shaq won a title immediately. He teamed up with Dwyane Wade in Miami and got a ring that season. Shaq was what the Heat needed, he went there and he won right away. We all remember how Shaq told the world he was better too. Look it up. Shaq was also beloved, for the most part. Kobe was not. His teammates despised him from what I have read. Shaq was fun. Kobe was vigilant. Shaq knew what to do and when to do it. Kobe expected things from people that may not have been able to provide it. I am also a Shaq fan, so that is why I believe the Lakers made the wrong choice. But, I do have to say that both parties benefited from the choice.

Let me know if you all have some that I may have missed out on. I like stuff like this. Send them my way. 

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.

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

Ty Watches "KAOS"

I recently started the Netflix show "KAOS". I kept seeing ads for it popping up on my social media and it interested me. I like when people take sci-fi/mythical stuff and put that with everyday things. I enjoy when writers take something that has been around forever and put it in the present day. Add on the cast, and this show seems to be made for me.

The first episode opened with the Dire Straits song, "Money for Nothing", and we see Zeus, played by Jeff Goldblum. He is an egomaniac. He is conducting storms above the clouds, all the while complaining about humans because they want water and air. He is whiny and wants everyone to tell him how great he is all the time. He is a child in a grown person's body. Hera, Zeus' wife and sister, is played by Janet McTeer. She is manipulative. She is constantly talking Zeus down. She wants him to be a better ruler. She is always telling him to calm down. She is also horrible to her stepson, Dionysus. Nabhaan Rizwan plays Dionysus, and he is my favorite character up to this point. He is funny, fun and wants his dad to recognize him. He wants to do something to help his personal legacy. But, he is still childlike and doesn't really have any common sense. He partners up with Orpheus, Killian Scott. These two are on a mission to get someone back that Orpheus loves. Oh, and Orpheus is the world's biggest rock star. His partner, Riddy, Aurora Perrineau, has some stuff she has to work out on her own. But she is on a mission that she may not be fully aware of just yet. In later episodes we meet Poseidon, Cliff Curtis, Hades, David Thewlis, Persephone, Rakie Ayola and Medusa, Debi Mazar. They're all pretty wonderful, especially Poseidon. We also get to know Ari, Leila Farzad, and Caeneus, Misia Butler. They are going to, at some point, team up with Riddy to try and get some stuff done.

What I think I have liked most about the show is how they portray the gods. They are stupid and crazy and egotistic. They act like kids. They think they can't get hurt or be overthrown. They are petulant little kids, with a tremendous amount of power. Goldblum is amazing in this show. I am such a big fan of his, and to see him take on a role like this, as a villain, is a sight to behold. And he is nailing it. Outside Dionysus, whenever Goldblum's Zeus is on screen, I am excited to see how horribly he is going to act next. I should mention, Stephen Dillane plays Prometheus the whole time. He is the narrator and Zeus' only "friend". I am very much enjoying Dillane in this role. I only know him as Stannis Baratheon from "Game of Thrones". That role was kind of bland and boring, for me, on that show. Here, in "KAOS", Dillane is magnetic and fun. He is the funniest person on the show. He also is the only god that seems to be a rational thinker. He does some bad stuff, but he is repenting and wants what is right.

I am so glad that I started this show the other day. I am fully in after three episodes. I'm really curious to see where it goes from here. There's only eight episodes in the first season, so I got five left and I cannot wait to see how they wrap it up. I highly recommend this show. It is pretty cool. 

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.

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

R.I.P. James Earl Jones

James Earl Jones passed away at 93 years old yesterday.

James Earl Jones is one of the most famous actors that has ever been. He is Darth Vader's voice. He was excellent in "Coming To America". He is the voice of reason in "Field of Dreams" and "Sandlot". He did so much work that was important to so many different people. Everyone is a fan of his. I have never come across anyone that doesn't like any of his work. There are two things for me that made me love him instantly as an actor. The first, "Lion King".

This is my all time favorite Disney movie. I saw it on opening day. I saw the 3-D version when they released that on its opening day. My dad and I would watch it together all the time. I adore that movie. And as I get older, and probably when I was a kid too, Mufasa was the best. I loved his wisdom. I loved his love for his kids. I felt like he was the best version of a father. My dad loved this role, and I related Mufasa to him. They were one in the same. I cried and cried and cried when Mufasa was killed. I didn't want to believe it. When he came back in Simba's dream, I wished it was real. All of that is due to James Earl Jones. His voice and line delivery were perfect. He sounded like a wise father. He sounded like he gave the best advice. His voice was comforting. It made me feel safe as a kid. I was so late to the "Star Wars" game that Mufasa was James Earl Jones, not Darth Vader. He was only Mufasa in my eyes, and I was so happy with that. Mufasa is my all time favorite Disney character and one of my all time favorite movie characters. I was instantly in love with the animation, but it was the voice that really pulled me in. For James Earl Jones to be able to pull all of that off in an animated movie, that is a true sign of his greatness.

The second thing, James Earl Jones was the voice of Michigan football. The first time I went to the Big House, and heard his voice over the loudspeaker, I was stunned. It was Mufasa, but he was talking glowingly about my favorite football team. I asked my dad, and he informed me that James Earl Jones was a Michigan alum. I did not know that until that day, and it made me like him even more. On my return trip to Ann Arbor, I anxiously awaited his voice over. When it came booming over the speakers I was transported back to the first time. His voice was so iconic and so easy to listen to, especially when talking about Michigan football. I wanted to run through a wall after hearing him speak. He had me, just a fan, pumped for the game. I cannot even fathom how the players and coaches felt hearing that. Having a legend that is an alum doing the voice over work has to feel amazing. The voice, the tambre, the way he said certain things, it will get you totally fired up to watch and play a football game in front of 100,000 plus fans every home game Saturday. I am sure, and very hopeful, that Michigan does something to honor him this Saturday. It would be perfect and fitting and deserved.

Rest In Peace James Earl Jones. I'm sure you're commanding whatever room you are in now with your powerful and iconic voice. 

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.

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

Ty Watches "Chimp Crazy"

Last night my wife and I finished the short docuseries "Chimp Crazy". We actually watched the first three episodes over the weekend, and then finished it off with the finale last night. Let’s discuss.

This is some pretty interesting stuff going on here. I am not going to spoil anything, which will be tough, but here we go. The long and short of this docu series is about people who buy and sell and own monkeys. These people are pretty terrible that are at the forefront of this series. The guy who created and directs is Cam Goode. This is the same guy that made "Tiger King". "Tiger King" came at the exact right time. We were on lockdown and we all needed something to take our minds off what was happening. Everyone watched it, everyone had an opinion, RD and I did a podcast about the show and then it was kind of gone. I know some people who cringe now whenever "Tiger King" comes up. It is almost upsetting how much we all consumed and talked about the show. "Chimp Crazy" feels different. Yes, the people are trashy, they are lowlifes and they have zero common sense. But what happens here is, in its own way, worse than "Tiger King" Every person that Goode has talked about in his two main shows are pretty awful people. They do horrible stuff to animals that don't deserve it one bit. The animals are their toys. They own them so they can make friends and find some minimal form of fame. "Chimp Crazy" tells that story better than "Tiger King". We get a real good look at how absurd and ridiculous the world of owning exoctic animals can truly be. Monkeys and camels and sheep and goats should be able to live free. If they are unfortunate enough to end up in a zoo, at least they are getting the correct food and care they need. The people in "Chimp Crazy" leave monkeys in cages when they get older. They feed them McDonald's and have them drink full sugar Powerade. They barely interact with the monkeys when they get too big. And when they do interact with a grown monkey, bad things happen. That should be expected, but these people continue to make the same mistakes over and over again. Friends will be attacked, the monkeys will get taken away, or worse, and then they will get another monkey. No lessons are ever learned from people who think they can domesticate wild animals. It is incredibly frustrating. It is also entertaining for someone like me. I found myself so intrigued by what was going on from episode to episode. When big things happened, I couldn't wait to watch more. I wanted to see what would happen next. I wanted to see how the story would unfold. I was so curious and just wanted to watch more and more. I was happy with the mini series. I was invested from the jump and found the ending to be satisfying for what the material was giving me.

I definitely recommend watching this series. It is intriguing and funny and sad and nuts. It is worth your time. 

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.

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

Check Out King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard on their Tour

A buddy of mine invited me to see King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard live last night. Let’s discuss.

I have never really listened to their music much before. I have heard a few tunes, and my friend told me to listen to their most recent record, which I enjoyed quite a bit. My brother is a super fan as well. He couldn't go last night, but he has told me a ton about the band before. So, I met my friend at the venue, The Factory in Chesterfield, which is rad, and we took our seats.

The opening band was called Geese. They were pretty solid. They are kind of post punk/rock music. They had some cool visuals in the background while they played. I liked their stuff and I will be listening to them in the future. Then King Gizzard took the stage. Again, due to my lack of knowledge, I didn't know what to expect. I know that they play a bunch of different genres of music, that they have recorded 26 records and that they are super talented. But I have never seen a live show and I didn't know what they would bring to the table. I was super impressed with the next two hours of music. They opened the set with a run of metal music. They were shredding. They blew through these songs and I found myself bopping along. Immediately I was impressed with how proficient they were with their instruments. Metal music is tough to play, but these guys made it look easy. The guitars sounded really good too. They had the right distortion and you could hear every note in every solo. After the metal music run, they switched over to some psychedelic music. Again, I was shocked, in a good way, that they were so easily able to pull off a totally different genre. They sounded great yet again. The instruments sounded good too. And this time I could fully hear the lyrics and singing, which was dynamite. I loved the use of a wah wah pedal during this part of their set. They switched over to electronic at this point. The stagehands brought out a table that had a bunch of different boards attached to it. Every member of the band, except the drummer, gathered around the table and took the crowd to space. They were making crazy noises come out of those boards. The mics had a wild robot-like effect being used. They made a genre of music that I don't really like very listenable for me. One of the band members informed us that what the "leader" of the band just performed was totally improvised, which is wild. That takes an insane amount of talent to do that at every show, and it was rad. The set ended with about seven or eight songs that were a mix of blues and rock. This was my favorite part of the show. I love this style of music and King Gizzard played it exceptionally. The tone and sound coming off the three guitars was amazing. The keyboard player busted out the saxophone. Earlier on the "leader" of the band played some flute. Some of the other members got to show off their vocals during this part. The two guys who are front and center on the stage absolutely destroyed the guitar.

When my buddy and I left, I was in awe of what I just witnessed. Not knowing much about the band made the experience that much better for me. This was all new to me, and it blew me away. The band has a great energy on stage. They want you to dance and have a good time. They seem to genuinely like playing music with one another. The fact that they can shift from genre to genre was so cool. My buddy told me they play a different set every night, which is bonkers if you think about it.

I don't know why I never bought into the hype before, but King Gizzard more than won me over last night. I am a fan for sure now. I have found myself listening to their music all day today and enjoying the hell out of myself. This was a great, great show. I definitely recommend seeing them live if they are near your hometown. You will have a blast. I sure know I did. 

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.

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

We Want the Best for Our Dogs as They Age

Our dog, Charlie, is getting old. He will be 12 in December. He is still all there with his mind. Unfortunately for him, his back legs are starting to give out. It sucks.

When Charlie was a young pup he used to jump everywhere. He would jump into bed with us, jump into recliners or love seats or couches, jump into the car for rides, hell, he even jumped gates while being trained. He had hops as my son would say. He also liked to chase squirrels when we would let him roam in the backyard. The moment he caught a glimpse of one, he was off like a bolt. He would try to chase them down to no avail. As he was getting a little older his chases got shorter or he would just jump a few times a day so he could cuddle up on a pillow. But now, his jumping days are behind him. He had a herniated disc in his back that made it very hard for him to jump. He also walks with a little swing in his gait. His back legs tend to sway side to side when he walks now. He still hops down the one step to get in the backyard, but no more bounding out there to get squirrels. We have taken him to a few different vets, and he has an appointment scheduled with a neurological vet later this month. We have gotten the same feedback from all of them so far. The herniated disc makes it difficult for him to jump. He has shown no signs of pain, we tried to put him on strict crate rest for six weeks, and he barely got better. I'm sure the neuro vet will tell us much of the same, but I don't think we will do surgery unless he starts to show some kind of real discomfort.

All of that is to say, it is wild to watch this dog age in real time. I have knee and foot issues, but they haven't gotten so bad that I cannot do the physical things I am used to doing. Sure, I don’t play competitive rec league basketball anymore, but I still coach the game. I can still trail and distance run. I still hike. I still do yard work. I can still do these things because I listen to my body, understand when I need to take breaks and do the important things to assure I can still be physical as long as possible. Charlie doesn't really have that option. We can crate rest him, but the moment he gets put he wants to move. We can limit his jumping, but if we don't watch him like a hawk he will try it sometimes. We can limit his movement, but I want him to still have some kind of freedom. But it has to be a real mind screw for him to not be able to do all the things he used to do with ease. It bums me out.

Right now I am writing on the love seat, and while I'm sure he'd like to be up here with me, he has decided to lay down on the floor. When I get my son up for the day, after he has left I usually have an hour to kill before my daughter has to get moving. Sometimes I like to lay on the couch and look at my phone. Charlie would usually join me. Now, he waits for me to pick him up or he just goes and lays in his dog bed. The vet has pretty much ruled out a walk that lasts past one block, and he is not happy with that. He wants more but we were told that could further his injury. But he doesn't get it. He is confused. We used to let him run down the steps when friends or family would come over. Now we have to hold him for fear that he wouldn’t make it back up the steps. It is a downer to see him go through this. He used to run all day along. He used to jump and play for hours. But now he cannot physically do this and you can tell he is frustrated.

We all get pets and grow to love them immensely. But deep down we know that they will be long gone before we are. We know this is coming yet we still do it. And we will continue to do it. But it is a real bummer to watch my dog going through this now and knowing this is how it is going to be for the rest of his life. I'm going to try and make it as fun as possible for him moving forward. Maybe the neuro vet will give me some pointers. But seeing his lack of mobility in person is truly upsetting. I want him to feel better, and again, he has shown no signs of real pain, but I don't think his back legs will work like they used to ever again. We got him a ramp to get into bed with us, but he is not the biggest fan. Maybe it is time for some wheels for his back legs to see if that will perk him up. The legs are still functional, so that is a future decision to make. So we got that going for us. But, for the time being, if he wants cuddles I'll gladly pick him up and let him rest next to me, hoping one day that he may just jump up here again. Till then, we will do what is best for the Charlie boy. 

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.

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

Better Never than Late on "Avatar: The Way of Water"

Over the weekend my wife and I watched the new "Avatar" movie, "The Way of Water". Let’s discuss.

I was lukewarm on the first "Avatar". I found it boring, the bad guys were cliche and it was way, way too long. I went to the theaters to see it and I spent more time playing with the strings on my sweatshirt than watching the movie. It looked neat and all, but I just couldn't get into it. So, when my wife said she wanted to watch the newer "Avatar", I had my doubts, but I did go in open minded.

First and foremost, this movie is incredibly beautiful. It is one of the prettiest movies I've ever seen. It is so colorful and so bright and just really cool to look at on my tv. I'm sure it looked even better in the movie theater. I bet it was a true experience in IMAX. The new storyline with the kids I enjoyed very much. I was in when they had to move and the kids were super bummed. I liked how the other Avatar kids would bicker and fight amongst each other. The writers treated their storylines as if they were human kids. I appreciated that. I like that they went there. The middle child in the Sully family was, by far, the best kid actor in the movie. I bought every twist and turn. I rooted for him. I wanted him to do good, which he does. I really enjoyed the kids' story in the movie. It was very relatable. And I really liked the way they interpreted whales in the movie. I like that they could communicate with the people. I enjoyed how they added an opening at the back of the whale's body where the Avatars could communicate with them. I, next to the kids' story, liked the whale stuff the best.

Outside those three things, this movie was not really for me. As beautiful as the movie looks on screen, none of it is real. It is all CGI. It is all computerized. My wife turned to me at one point and asked what I thought they were acting against. I couldn't give her an answer. I had nothing. I understand that CGI is here to stay and that it makes real cool stuff happen in movies, but when it makes 99 percent of a blockbuster movie, that is where I kind of check out. I also did not care for the adult stories in the movie. The Sully's were moody and a real bummer. I understood what they were doing and why they were doing it, but still, it was a real bore. I felt the same about the other adults. When they go to water land in the movie, the parents there are just as bad. They may actually whine more. They bring back the Marines in this one, the bad guys, but this time they are younger Avatar versions of themselves. Look, they need to give these bad guys some depth or more of an arc. They are as cliche in this as they were in the first movie. It is a bad and boring take on villains. I am not a fan of the way the "Avatar" writers portray villains. I mentioned above how much I liked the kids in the movie. Well, there was one kid that I found to be very annoying. That was Spider, the human who wants to be an Avatar. The kid tries his best in the movie, but he comes off very annoying. My wife didn't even like him, and she is very forgiving with movies like these. Finally, this movie is over 3 hours long. That is far too long for any movie. We watched it at home and it took us two days to finish. I cannot imagine seeing it in theaters. I felt like Milhouse because I just wanted them to get to the fireworks factory. And when they do finally get to the fight scene, which was rad, after the fight ends there is still a good 15 minutes of movie left. I wish movies would go back to being 90 to 100 minutes long. That is all you really need to tell a good story. I do like some 2 hour plus movies, but they are few and far between. And this movie surpassed 3 hours, it was too much.

Watch the movie if you want to see some cool CGI stuff, fast forward through a good portion of the movie. Otherwise, you can skip 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.

Follow Ty on instagram.

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

Seeing Califone Perform Live was an Experience Unlike Any Other

Last night my buddy Kirk invited me to a concert. I haven't been to a show in awhile, so I was pretty stoked to check it out. I listened to some of the band's music prior to the show, which I very much enjoyed. Kirk also let me know that there were only 50 tickets available. The show was in a small venue, so they had to limit the amount of tickets they could sell. All of these things made me even more excited to go.

The band we saw is called Califone. I had not heard of them until last Friday. Their music is cool. It is ambient. I told my dad that the music felt like a warm blanket. I enjoy the singer's voice and like how mellow the music can be from time to time. Seeing them in such a small venue had me very curious to see how it would all work. It worked wonderfully. We saw the show in the basement of someone else's home. When we drove up to the house, we did some street parking and walked to the front door. There was a board in the front that said the band name and how to get in. We walked up, were greeted by a few people and an adorable pug, and they let us in after Kirk gave them his name. We walked downstairs, found a few seats and chatted for a bit. The lead singer walked where everything was set up, tuned his guitar and waited for his drummer. The show was scheduled to start at 8pm, and that is exactly when they started.

From the jump, this was an awesome experience for me. Califone is awesome. Seeing two of the members playing live was rad. The singer/guitar player was amazing. He used a lot of effects from his pedalboard that I liked a lot. He used reverse a ton to help loop the guitar for each song. He also played a good amount of slide guitar, which is something I'm a big fan of. His voice sounded great. Being in a small room, with different acoustics could have caused some issues, but it did not. He sounded great. I also really enjoyed the lyrics. He reminds me a little bit of Bob Dylan. I believe Bob Dylan is the greatest songwriter of all time. Califone's lead singer/songwriter is not far off for me. His lyrics are very poetic. He paints a nice picture, tells a nice story. I found myself listening even harder last night. I wanted to get the full live experience. The percussionist was excellent as well. Kirk mentioned that he played and experimented like not many other percussionists out there. I agree. He was playing synthesizer at one point. He used a violin bow to make noises on his cymbals. He would use different drums that he would attach to his high hat. He played other wood instruments that added a really nice sound. He was dynamite.

All in all this was a wonderful experience for me. The band was awesome. The crowd was there to enjoy the music. No one acted up or acted out of pocket. Everyone that was there was very friendly and respectful. The venue was cool too. It was akin to going to a friend's house to hear a band, except this band was way better than your friend's band. I highly recommend going to a small show like this. This was so damn cool to see where I saw it with who I saw play live. I am forever a fan now, and I will be looking out for more shows like this in the future. What a cool experience. 

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.

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

SeedSing Classic: It is Time to Repeal and Replace Capitalism

Now more than ever the destructive narrative of capitalism is on display with the criminal greed being seen in our corporations and government. 

The post originally appeared on September 7th, 2015.

What do we really celebrate on Labor Day? History says that the day started as a reaction to the Haymarket Massacre in 1886. The deaths in Chicago that day brought to light the struggles of workers nationwide. Demonstrators at Haymarket Square that day were rallying for an eight hour work day. When we go back and look at how the heads of capitalism treated their workers, who were US citizens, it is frightening. The labor movement needed to strike, rally, and demonstrate just so the capital owners would treat the workers like real humans. We celebrate Labor Day because workers needed to demand, and risk their safety, for a humanity that the capital owners were not willing to provide.

Capitalism is anti humanity and it is not allowing us to socially evolve, it is time for a new economic system. The people at the very top of our capitalistic society are large carnivores that get rewarded for anything that they can consume. There is no humanity to the capital owners. We celebrate record stock markets, and forget we have such a small volume of people participating in the market. We complain about welfare queens, without accepting that some of our richest CEOs get their salaries enhanced by government subsidies. The devourers at the top of the economic food chain have made the people below fearful and reverent at the same time. Capitalism is not allowing us to grow as humans, it is keeping us in cages like the animals that the capital owners need to control.

The way capitalism is sold to the general public is through use of code words like freedom and opportunity. In the world of today there is very little opportunity or freedom for the people not at the top of the capitalism food chain. The use of freedom and opportunity have their roots in trying to keep people non-empowered. If you want to go out and start your own business, you do have that freedom. If you have a great idea that can change the world, you have the opportunity to pursue that dream. Our modern capitalistic system does throw up every hurdle imaginable so the current capital owners have a say over your success. The system allows for the commoditization of people who can steal and exploit other people's work. The defenders of capitalism use opportunity and freedom as defenses for these patent trolls. Capitalism does not create ideas, it creates ways to steal great ideas and give them to the carnivores at the top.

The idea of commoditization has reached a truly dangerous level in our society. We have used capitalism to justify putting a price on the our most important human needs. Healthcare is one of our largest, and wealthiest, industries. We all accept that doctors should be well paid because of their skill and necessity. Our ability to get healthcare, through insurance, is directly related to our income. That is insane. Medical care is a necessity for everyone in the world, why should it be a commodity? Why do we not question this? Most doctors are not builders and creators, they are administrators. When you go to the doctor, it is for maintenance or to discuss something out side of the norm. Your income level rarely dictates the maintenance you require. Your income level can directly relate to the need for a doctor when there is something outside of norm. Lower income people have more severe, treatable, medical issues because of how capitalism financially elevates doctors. Basic human needs like healthcare are not a commodity. Capitalism has set a value to our lives, that is anti-humanity.

The ability to communicate has been the greatest tool for social evolution. The printing press created a new world filled with scientific and social advances. The internet is just getting its legs, and changing the entire world for the better. Many of the innovations related to communication were not done in pursuit of economic riches. The internet was created by the government, and nurtured by the social system, to become the tool we use today. The engineers of the world create things that not only maintain society, but allow it to grow. The Wright Brothers looked to the government for support before they looked to the capital owners. Roads, rails, and bridges are designed and built by engineers with government support, not private business support. Why is it that the government has allowed business to commoditize basic needs like communication? The rise of the telecom deregulation was another sacrifice at the idol of capitalism. We have been told that private business can handle our communication better than the government funded engineers who built the network. Our reward is one of the worst communication networks in the developed world. The telecom companies get their money, the CEOs get their large paydays, and the citizens get a subpar product thanks to the tenets of capitalism. The telecom companies do not have any concern for our ability to communicate, their concern is only to gain money. Our government, and our cultural programming, have allowed for basic communication to be another commodity to be bought and sold. Due to capitalism the more wealth you have, the better communication available.

Capitalism is a wall that stops innovation. The ability to create a commodity out of basic social needs is a large problem. Your health is not something that should be paid for. Your voice and ideas are not things that should be granted by a company with no creators. Capitalism exists to give freedom and opportunity to those already established, and make sure the non established have very nearly no options to compete. We deserve the right pursue our dreams, and not be hampered by our inability to pay for health or communication. Everyone deserves freedom and opportunity.

Capitalism is one of the most destructive forces in history. We need to have a discussion on how to replace this carnivorous ideology with one that rewards innovation and creates an evolving society. In the future we will continue to discuss the pitfalls of capitalism, and start to formulate an ideology that will bring about a brighter future. We encourage your dissent and contribution. Your ideas are not a commodity. Come share them with us.

Happy Labor day. Enjoy this day of rest and remember that protesters died for the right to have a reasonable work schedule. Let us use this Labor Day to start a new movement. The old capitalistic ways need to be repealed, the replacement will produce true opportunity. We can find this new way forward together. The only thing we will lose are the cages the capitalists keep society in.

RD Kulik

RD is the creator and Head Editor for SeedSing. 

So Long Chesterfield Mall and Thanks for All the Memories

Another day and another Saint Louis landmark is going by the wayside. I fully understand that what I'm talking about is definitely for my STL readers, but I live here and this stuff was/is important to me and I have an avenue to talk about it. Let’s get to it.

As a kid we all had that one mall that we would go to to hang out with friends and dork around. This is a very common Generation X and Millennial thing, but it had a wild heyday. Malls were all the craze for a good decade or so. Here in West County, that mall for me was Chesterfield Mall. I had a lot of firsts there, and today is the last day that it will be open. Today is the last day that Chesterfield Mall will be called Chesterfield Mall. I don't know what they're changing it into, it is a big space, but this is the last gasp. This bums me out.

Like I said, I had a ton of experiences at Chesterfield Mall. When I was in middle school this was the hang out. My friends and I would get one of our parents to drive us out there, drop us off and pick us up at 9pm, when it closed. It was a formative time and it was the place to be. We'd run into other friends that had the same plan as us. We'd go to the movie theater that was just down the hill. We'd eat at the food court for dinner. We would bring our girlfriends with us, if we were lucky enough to have a girlfriend. Chesterfield Mall was the first place I had Sbarro. It was the first place I tried Panda Express. I had my first crab rangoon at Chesterfield Mall. There used to be a great sandwich shop within the mall called Kent's Deli, and that was where I first tried beer cheese soup, which was delightful. They used to have a store within the mall where you could adopt and pet dogs. I would spend hours, literal hours hanging out in the dog store. The first Foot Locker I went to was in Chesterfield Mall. The first time I went to a card/memorabilia shop was in Chesterfield Mall. My first Auntie Anne's experience was there. I got all of my Starter jackets at stores that were there. I used to do school clothes shopping at JCPenney, or if I were lucky enough, Chesterfield Mall. When my son was born I'd bring him there to ride the carousel and get lunch at Saint Louis Bread Co. We would ride the train. I'd take my nieces to Journeys when they were younger. I remember my wife taking them to Claire's. I used to go to the shoe store with my mom and she would let me pick out new school shoes. We would go to Dillard's on the regular because they always had some kind of sale or deal on stuff. I used to know where the best parking was. Chesterfield Mall was the first, and only American Girl Doll store I ever went inside, to buy my nieces Xmas or birthday gifts. I did my only food challenge ever at the Cheeburger Cheeburger that they used to run. It was brutal, but at least I got to sit down in a theater and let it all digest on the same level as the restaurant. In its later years I would go into V Stock and sell all of my old DVDs. Chesterfield Mall was a big deal in my life. Just sitting down and writing this, so many memories came flooding back. That place was a constant in my life for a very long time. That mall meant something to me. That mall made middle school years fly by. That mall provided me with some of the coolest sports gear I have ever owned.

Rest In Peace Chesterfield Mall. You were a West County institution. You will be missed. 

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.

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

R.I.P. Ted Drewes Jr.

I was reading the news yesterday and came across a headline that let me know that Ted Drewes Jr had passed away. This is a very niche Saint Louis thing. You may see that name and have little to no idea who Ted Drewes Jr was. Let me explain.

For those of us born and raised in STL, Ted Drewes Jr was a household name. Saint Louis is known for a few food things. We have toasted ravioli, cracker thin pizza crust and gooey butter cake. Another big food thing is Ted Drewes. This is where you get, in my opinion, the best frozen custard in the US. People will line up around the block for this sweet, cold treat. They have created different concretes over the years that are only specific to Ted Drewes. They were the first to hold their frozen custard upside down in the cup to prove how frozen the custard is. They sold shirts. I have seen people wearing Ted Drewes shirts in states like Wisconsin and Michigan. When my kids were old enough we took them there to get their first cold treat in the summer. During COVID they had an excellent plan to stay open and it worked. People were still able to get their custard even when we had to be extra careful. And all along the way, there was Ted Drewes Jr.

Some of my earliest memories watching tv include Drewes Jr. He would show up on screen, talk about how great the custard is, and would flip the cup upside down to show off how cold it was. When he would show up at the actual location it was always a treat. It felt like a celebrity sighting. The lines would be longer, but people, myself included, would wait just to say hi and see him smile back at us. It was truly amazing. He was always smiling. I'm sure he had his moments where he wasn't smiling, we are all human, but when he was out in the public eye, or doing a tv spot, the man would have a big grin on his face. He loved what he did, and it showed.

And the custard was something special. It was a perfect cold treat on a hot day. When you'd get one of their famous sundaes or concretes, nothing else compared. The way the custard was mixed was done better than anyone else in the custard/ice cream business. And I know you may be reading this and asking why I keep saying custard and not ice cream. Ted Drewes made custard, not ice cream. The treats that were purchased and enjoyed were very much not ice cream. They were custard and that is the way it has always been at Ted Drewes.

I don't know how Ted Drewes Jr passed, but it is a bummer either way. He had a good long life, but he is gone and that stinks. It's going to feel weird next time I go there. I'm sure it is going to be flooded with patrons just to pay their respect, and that makes me happy. I will wait as long as it is necessary when I return. This custard is too delicious to not wait for. But it is going to be odd because he won't be there, but I'm sure there will be pictures everywhere. That is going to be tough at first. I'm sure they have a contingency plan in place, but without Ted Drewes Jr being there or on tv, it is going to take awhile to get used to.

Rest In Peace Ted Drewes Jr. I hope you're handing out sweet, cold treats wherever you may be now. 

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.

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

Ty Watches "Sign Stealer"

I was on the fence about watching the new Netflix doc, "Sign Stealer". I am, as you all know, a super fan of Michigan football. They're the only sports team that I truly love. I care deeply about the outcome of each game. It is a problem, I've been working on it for a long time and have gotten better, but I still care. Some would say too much. So, the idea of a doc that focuses on Michigan's "scandal" from their title winning season seemed like a bad idea. But I read some reviews of it from people that I like, and they said it wasn't all that bad. I am also a big fan of the whole "Untold" series that Netflix does. It is a nice mix of true crime and sports. I like to watch stories about both those things. So, probably against my better wishes, I tuned in to "Sign Stealer" yesterday.

As I sat down to watch I tried to have an open mind. I wanted to hear everyone's side of the story. I wanted to hear from Connor Stalions himself. This is the first time he has spoken about the whole thing since the story broke. But, it was hard for me to tamp down my love for Michigan football while I watched. Look, the whole idea of "Untold" on Netflix is to reveal hard hitting, real life journalistic stuff. The next "Untold" I'm going to watch is about the murder of Steve McNair. I've also seen them take on the Manti Teo catfishing incident, a crime boss buying his son a hockey team, these are real criminal acts.

The whole thing behind "Sign Stealer" is about a low level employee deciphering signals from other teams, a custom that most high level division 1 football teams do. This is not a crime. This is not even fully illegal. It is a gray area, but still, not illegal. The only illegal thing being done, according to the dumbass NCAA bylaws, is advanced in person scouting. What the hell does that even mean? Can low level coaches go to college football games just as a fan? Can they invite friends and family? Can they just be regular fans? I guess not, according to this one rule. I agree that what Stalions did was shady, but he was not the reason that Michigan got better at football. It was nice to see Mike Barrett talk about this on the record. He was there. He put in the work. He made himself a better player and a better leader. So to hear his side of the story was enlightening. Then you have this new person in this that I truly hate, Brohio, talking about how "shady" and "upsetting" this whole situation became for him as a fan and a message board moron. The fact that he calls himself that, that he would lend his "intelligence" on this matter and expect people to take him seriously is the funniest thing to come from this doc. In the end, what I read prior to watching the doc said that if you're a hater or a fan, there is nothing in this that will change your mind. Fans of other schools are going to claim that this lays it all out there and the sanctions should be coming. Michigan fans are going to say it is no big deal, because it is no big deal. For Netflix and "Untold" to take this low level issue and make it akin to true crime docs was unnecessary. But, they need to strike while the iron is hot on this topic, before it fizzles into nothing.

What we watched in "Sign Stealer" will not change the outcome of last season, and the last three years of Michigan football. They are the reigning champs. They've beaten the university of Ohio State fair and square three years in a row. Teams had a chance to beat Michigan after Stalions was let go, and they still couldn't do it. Michigan will keep their trophy, keep their titles and keep all their wins over the past three years. I guess you can watch this doc if you want, but there is nothing in here that will change your mind either way. Go Blue. 

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.

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

Ty Watches "Jackpot"

It was my pick for date night movie last weekend, and since Paul Feig was recently on "CBB", I decided to go with his new movie, "Jackpot!". He made it sound good on the podcast, the cast sounded great and Feig tends to make pretty funny movies. Add on the fact that it was deemed an action comedy, that was all I had to hear. As we sat down post dinner, I was kind of excited for what we were about to see. I was wrong.

I hate to say it, but this was a bad movie. There was nothing that was even remotely redeeming for me as a viewer. The premise is really good too, which makes it an even bigger bummer that I did not like this movie. "Jackpot!" takes place in the near future, 2030, and everyone who lives in LA, if they choose, is eligible to win a big lottery if they're name gets picked. The winner has 24 hours where, if someone can kill them without using a gun, they get the prize. See, the premise is pretty solid. It definitely has legs. And, casting Awkwafina as the main character and winner, should've been a homerun. Putting John Cena in there as her helper and protector had a chance to work. And Simu Liu playing an over the top bad guy was a nice change of pace for him. I thoroughly enjoy these three actors, I like their other projects, they make me laugh and Awkwafina and Simu Liu have really good chemistry. But, it simply didn't work. My wife said it best when she told me, "this movie doesn't know what it wants to be". She was totally right. At moments it was pure action. Then they'd do something they thought was dramatic and somber. But that would be buttoned by a joke, that didn't work ever. This movie did this for the whole 100 minutes. It would jump from genre to genre to genre, I guess thinking that the audience wouldn't notice. But my wife and I noticed, and I'm sure a bunch of other people noticed. Awkwafina is underused. She excels when she can kind of go off in a movie or show. She was way too understated in this role. John Cena plays the same character in every movie it seems now. He's good at playing a big goofball, but it can be tiresome and it didn't mesh well here. When he would get into fights in this movie I would just say to myself, well he is going to kick their ass. There was no arc for him. He stayed the same person the whole time. I knew he was going to be fine in the end. There were zero moments, for me, when I thought he was in true danger. As for Liu, he was almost too over the top. He was cliche in his role. He became a 90's action movie villain far too much. And I couldn't buy him as a bad guy. Liu is too nice a dude in real life for me to ever buy him as a villain. He is Shag Chi and Ken to me. He is a handsome dude that can kick butt. He isn't some kind of monster that they tried to portray him as here.

I couldn't find anything I liked in this movie. This should have worked for me, being a fan of everyone involved, but it didn't. Sometimes people that you're a fan of will make bad stuff. It is a fact. "Jackpot!" is that for me. Feig, Awkwafina, Cena and Liu missed the mark here. I do not recommend this movie. It is not good. 

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.

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

Ty Watches "VelociPastor"

I put some movie reviews on the back burner the past couple weeks due to my football previews. Now I'm back to resolve this issue. The first movie I want to talk about is "Velocipastor". Let’s do this.

Now, the title should tell you all you need to know about this movie. This is a movie that was made around 2017, and the people involved knew exactly what they were doing. They had an idea, they ran with it, they made it cheap and they had fun. I read that this movie was based on a trailer, which makes sense. The synopsis of the movie is, as much as I remember, as follows, a pastor gets the power of a prehistoric animal and he, with the help of a sex worker, decides to rid the world of evil. That synopsis alone was more than enough for me to watch. A few friends of my wife and I told us that they either saw it and loved it, or wanted to see it. The movie is a little under 90 minutes, which is even better.

The movie starts with the pastor waving to his parents, who then explode in a car fire. We don't see the parents, but we see some writing on the screen that says, "car is on fire". What a start. From there it only gets wilder. The pastor goes away to China, on the advice of his mentor, and this is where he collects the dino tooth that gives him his power. He is hiking, some ninjas take out a lady running from them, and as she is dying she gives the pastor the tooth. He returns to America, and his church, after this craziness. Meanwhile, the sex worker is having a tough go of it with her employer. He is loud and mean and just not a good dude at all. Later, the pastor goes out to the woods because he hears a noise. Then he starts to morph into the velociraptor, taking out the people that are messing with the sex worker. The sex worker takes the pastor to her place to let him sleep off the night. By the way, the "violence" that occurs is hilarious. It is nonsensical and I was laughing my ass off at the "action". The sex worker tells the pastor what he did, he doesn't believe her, but then the sex worker's boss comes into confession, confessing to many crimes, including being the person to start the car fire that took his parents. The pastor's arm then morphs into the dino arm and he takes care of the bad boss. He then returns to the sex worker's house and says that he wants to work with her. While they are ridding their neighborhood of crime, the sex worker and pastor become close. But, the pastor's mentor is not happy with what he is seeing. He takes the pastor to see a witch doctor. But, the mentor tells us a story about his past. This was nuts. This was the funniest part in the whole movie to me. To shift focus, to tell this story and to put it in a war, chef's kiss. We return to the witch doctor's place, and while they are doing their work on the pastor, he becomes hungry. He starts to morph and while it's happening, he rips his mentor's eye out. This takes us on another excursion to the bad guys in the movie, a cabal of ninjas who sell drugs to kids. The pastor's mentor is not happy with what he is seeing, but he gets taken out by the bad guys. This is all leading to a bug showdown between the pastor, the sex worker and the bad guy ninjas. The fight starts great, with one of the main bad guy ninjas revealing that he is the pastor's brother. We get some flashback shots we've already seen, but this time the brother is in the background, going unnoticed. Another great idea by the movie makers here. There's a big fight, the pastor takes out his brother, but the sex worker gets taken out as well. This is when the pastor morphs back into his dino form, and he tries to take out the main bad guy ninja. He gets paralyzed by the bad guy ninja, or so we think. But, his injury was just a ruse. He still has dino arms and he gets rid of the main bad guy ninja. We then find out that, not only is the sex worker okay, but now she is pregnant. The movie ends with the pastor and the sex worker deciding they are going to continue their work, as a couple.

Look, this is by no means a good movie, but it wasn't made as a good movie. Like I said, the creators of this knew exactly what they wanted to do, how to make the movie, and they nailed it. I highly recommend everyone watch this. It is so worth the minimal time it takes, and it is funny as hell. Watch "Velocipastor". You will not regret it at all. What a dynamite movie. 

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.

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

Ty Predicts the 2024 College Football Season

Today I will wrap up my 2024 football preview with NCAA football. This is my favorite sport to watch. I loathe the NCAA, but man do I love college football. We actually get started this weekend with four games, but it all truly pops off next weekend. College football is just around the corner and I cannot wait. This year is different with conference realignment and the first year of the 12 team playoff. I'll still pick power 5 conference winners, but I'm not going to go team by team in each conference. I'm just going to pick the winners, one surprise from each conference, both good and bad, and then give you my 12 team playoff, with predictions all the way to the title game. I'll also do award predictions. And, of course, I'm going to talk about Michigan no matter what. With all that being said, let's get into the power 5 conference picks.

I'll start with the ACC. A bunch of teams have joined this conference of late, but it doesn't really matter. Clemson or FSU will win it this season, and I'll go with Clemson. They look quietly good coming into this season. As for my surprises, I think FSU is going to take a step back. Their game against Georgia Tech in Ireland this weekend will speak volumes as to how their season is going to play out. As for my good surprise, give me NC State. They got Grayson McCall to commit out of the portal and he is a good QB. I believe they will be Clemson's biggest threat. On to the Big 12 now.

The Big 12 has added a few teams in the past couple years. They are trying to remain a viable power conference, and they've had some good success over the past few years. My conference winner is Utah. It is weird that Utah is even in the Big 12, and I am counting on the QB to stay healthy, which is not a safe bet, but they have the most complete team in the conference and the best coaching staff. It wouldn't surprise me if they win the Big 12 with ease to be honest. As for my not so good surprise, I have zero faith in Oklahoma State. Their star running back was arrested for a DUI recently and their dickhead of a head coach laughed it off. Their QB is in his 7th year, and he is not Stetson Bennett. And now they are going to have QR codes on their helmets to help with NIL. This all seems like a recipe for disaster. My good surprise, give me KU. They have a great QB, who needs to stay healthy. But, they won big games without him last year. KU has a good football team. On to the skeleton of the Pac 12.

There's two teams left. Everyone else is gone. I don't know why they didn't just fold, but they didn't, and here we are. This is between two mediocre teams as well, Oregon State and Washington State. Oregon State has an entirely new coaching staff, and Washington State hasn't been a true threat in over a decade. I guess I'll go with WSU to win the Pac 12, but honestly, who cares? Moving on to the SEC.

The SEC has always been one of the best power 5 conferences, and after adding Texas and Oklahoma, the gauntlet is even tougher now. The SEC is one of two true power conferences left, the second one I'll get to next. There is some major turnover within this conference, namely Nick Saban retiring after last year. Georgia maybe should have been a playoff team last year, and they return a good portion of that team this year. They are the team to beat in this conference, and I think they are the team to beat in all of college football. They have a tremendous offense and an elite defense. Georgia is the cream of the crop in college football. My bad surprise team is LSU. I have no faith in Brian Kelly as a head coach. He has never really shined in big games. They also have to replace some excellent wideouts, and their Heisman winning QB. Regression is due with this team. My good surprise, South Carolina. I believe, though the belief is dwindling, that they have a good coaching staff. They also have the best athlete in all of college football on their team, Nyck Harbor. And he has a year of playing behind him. He knows the speed of the game and what to expect. If they can scheme him ways to get the ball as much as possible, big things are in store for him and the team.

Now to the Big 10, my conference. Before I pick my winner, let me talk about Michigan for a second. Michigan is the three time Big 10 champ and reigning national title winner. They have nothing to answer for, and for people out there who still think that they are going to get in trouble, it's not happening. Let it go. Harbaugh is gone, as expected, but they did the correct thing in hiring Sherrone Moore as the head coach. He has proven himself as a coordinator and position coach, and now it's his turn. The kids love playing for him too. A lot of important players graduated or opted for the draft. They do have to replace some important players. But they have guys that can do it, and guys that have proven they can do it. Their defense should be elite yet again. Michigan will not win the Big 10 this year, they have a brutal schedule, but they aren't going to roll over and die. They have good to great players, a wonderful defense and can grind games out by running the ball. Moore's pedigree is offensive line play, and Michigan should be elite there once again. Michigan isn't going anywhere. Now, onto my Big 10 picks.

Everyone and their mother assume the University of Ohio State is going to run away with the Big 10. They went out and purchased one of the best rosters money can buy in the NIL era. But Ryan Day is still the head coach, and while he has a pretty great record as a head coach, he is timid and afraid to go for the jugular in big, important games. That being said, give me Oregon to win the conference. They have a loaded roster, Phil Knight is dumping money into that program and they all want a title come hell or high water. My bad surprise team, Iowa. They cannot seem to figure out their offense. Their offense was historically bad last year. And by all accounts, it is as bad this season during camp and practice. Their defense should be great, but having this bad of an offense for too many seasons in a row is not a good look. My good surprise, give me Wisconsin. This is year two for Luke Fickell. He is a good head coach. He is a good recruiter. He has taken lesser programs to the playoff. Wisconsin should be on the come up, and I think we will see the first signs of it this season.

Now to my playoff teams and predictions. The playoff format is a bit different, giving four auto bids to the four major conference winners, and one from a group of 5 conference winners. So, that would mean I have Georgia representing the SEC, Utah from the Big 12, Clemson from the ACC and Oregon from the Big 10. My group of 5 playoff auto bid is Liberty. They made a big bowl game last year, hung with Oregon for a half and returned most of their key players. That doesn't mean they are the 5 seed though. For me, and most others, Liberty is the 12 seed. As for the four major conference winners, from 1-4 give me Georgia, Oregon, Clemson and then Utah. So that leaves us with spots 5-11. I believe they will be, in order, the University of Ohio State, Notre Dame, Mizzou, Ole Miss, Penn State, Texas and Michigan. That last spot was between Michigan and Bama, so I'm going to go with my heart here and take Michigan. This seems like a pretty darn good field for this expanded playoff, of which I'm a big fan. The matchups would be as follows, the top four teams get a first round bye. So, my 5-12 game features the University of Ohio State facing Liberty. The University of Ohio State wins that game going away. My 6-11 Matchup has an old time rivalry, Notre Dame and Michigan. Give me Michigan baby! They will head into South Bend and win an ugly, low scoring game. My 7-10 game has Mizzou facing Texas. Texas is going to be lethal this year and Mizzou doesn't have the rushing attack that they had last year. Texas wins here. And the 8-9 game will showcase Ole Miss and Penn State. Ole Miss is going to run up and down the field on Penn State and win going away. On to the quarterfinals. Number 1 Georgia will face off with Ole Miss. Georgia will maul this team. They are as fast and much better at almost every position. Oregon will then match up with Texas. Oregon is too good, they have a more explosive QB that is willing to run and Texas will not be able to match the Ducks speed. Clemson will get Michigan. This is where Michigan's title defense ends. This will be another ugly game, but due to more complete QB and wideout play, Clemson will win. And Utah will get the University of Ohio State. We have seen this story before and Utah cannot hang with a team that likes to run and gun up and down the field. The university of Ohio State wins a shootout. The semifinals are set with Georgia facing Oregon and Clemson facing the university of Ohio State. This has all been leading up to Georgia playing the university of Ohio State for the title. Clemson isn't ready yet, and Oregon always finds a way to blow a big game. Give me Georgia winning it all. They are the best team in college football. They will remind everyone that they are the top college football team. Ryan Day will find a way to get supremely outcoached by Kirby Smart and Georgia will win the inaugural 12 team college football playoff.

Onto awards. I am going with Dillon Gabriel to win the Heisman. Oregon will let him do anything and everything he wants. He is also playing behind one of the best o lines in college football. I have Luther Burden III of Mizzou winning the Biletnikoff. I'll take Omarion Hampton from UNC as the Daok Walker winner. Will Johnson will win the Jim Thorpe award. And Mason Graham will win the Outland Trophy. Colston Loveland will win the Mackey Award. James Pearce Jr will win both the Lombardi and Ted Hendricks award. Harold Perkins wins the Butkus award. And Travis Hunter has the Paul Hornung award almost already locked up. Finally, the coach of the year in college football will be Dan Lanning at Oregon. He will take them very far this year, they will have an elite offense and their defense has improved every season under his coaching.

That does it for everything football for the time being. I can't wait for the season to start and I can't wait to see how everything turns out. It is football season baby. Time to get excited. 

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.

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