Saddest Week of 2018?

This week has been awful. There’s no other way to phrase it. Several sad events have occurred this week that really have me bummed out. I will be talking about two of them in my article this week.

The first of which is the awful news coming from the world of professional wrestling. Arguably the biggest star in the WWE, Roman Reigns, revealed that he is being forced to step away from wrestling to battle leukemia. The news of this really hit me harder than it should. I’m not a regular viewer of new WWE programming anymore. I’m not a particularly big fan of Roman Reigns as a performer. However, this is a man who has a young family, who has tirelessly dedicated himself to the entertainment of others, and who clearly takes care of himself. More than anything, it is a sad reminder that cancer doesn’t care who you are. It’s a sad reminder that this horrific disease still effects people every single day. As someone who has lost multiple family members to cancer, it’s a sad reminder that this awful thing still exists. Roman’s going away speech on Raw this week was about as emotional as WWE programming gets and I eagerly await his return.

The other tragic event that occurred this week is the attempted bombing of several key figures in the Democratic Party. A significant number of prominent Democrats, many of whom I deeply admire, were the targets of attempted acts of terrorism. Those targeted by these attempted bombings are staunch critics of President Trump, the Republican Party, and conservative ideals. These are the people who think the way I think. I hope to one day be amongst these people as prominent, outspoken figures against Conservatism who are trying to promote a better America and a better world. The targets of these attacks are individuals fighting a battle of ideals, not weapons. It is important to note that in addition to several key Liberal figures, CNN was also targeted with a mailed explosive device. CNN has been repeatedly criticized and demonized by the President and other conservative figures. Logic suggests that a radical right wing person or group is responsible for these attempted killings. Those responsible attempted to commit mass murder directed at the left. The fact that this is the point we have reached in America is deeply saddening. I disagree with just about every conservative idea that has ever existed. However, not once have I ever considered the murder of anyone on the right to be a good idea. Even the thought of killing people for their involvement on the opposing side of the political spectrum is absolutely mind-blowing. This is where we are in America, apparently. It is just sad.

I’ll leave my overly depressing article with this thought….. Maybe some good will come from this. Perhaps Roman Reigns’s recent diagnosis will bring about more attention to cancer and increase funding for a cure. Maybe politicians on both sides of the isle will come together to help heal the wound that has clearly split the country. Maybe the President will do something to reverse the violent and hateful climate he has helped create in America. I believe that the first two could genuinely happen, maybe. The last one, probably not. Be we will see. I’ll be back next Thursday with hopefully a slightly less depressing article. Be sure to check out some of the other great content on Mid-American Culture!

Black Ops 4: My First Impressions

Welcome back to my first impressions series! This is the series when I give my unsolicited opinion on things far too early for them to be educated opinions. Today, I will be discussing my first impressions of Call of Duty Black Ops 4.

I’ll start with the most anticipated addition to the game, Blackout mode. Blackout mode is a battle royale style game mode that is very similar to Fortnite and PUBG. I have played around 20 games in this mode and I can confidently say that it is pretty cool. I always sucked at building in Fortnite, so the idea of a battle royale game without that added element is very appealing to me. The vehicle play in Blackout is far superior to that of Fortnite, and that is a huge plus. The map is spectacular, mixing in old COD maps, zombie spawns, new locations, and an abundant natural space between locations. With that being said, there are some issues. The lag is absolutely horrible. This is an issue that I think will be fixed with time, as this is COD’s first time operating with servers anywhere near this size. Also, I think most guns in the mode need some kind of buff. The recoil is significantly greater in Blackout than it is in multiplayer and I often find myself enraged by the amount of shots that I just can’t seem to make in Blackout. Overall, however, I really enjoy the mode and I look forward to seeing what they do with it in the future.

Next, I will briefly discuss Zombies. I played a couple games in zombies and I was kind of disappointed. Much like most of the more recent games, I feel like they just tried to do too much. The game set in a gladiator arena is cool, but the mode is overly complicated. Most of it just feels unnecessary. I doubt I will be playing much zombies.

Lastly, I will discuss multiplayer. Multiplayer is the highlight of the game for me. The gameplay is reminiscent of Black Ops 2, which was one of the high points in the Call of Duty series. The game is futuristic, but not overly so. The removal of the crazy jumping and wall running and all of that other nonsense is a great move on Call of Duty’s part. The game play is still fast-paced and exciting and I have enjoyed it very much.

Overall, Black Ops 4 seems to be a solid game. It is right up there with WWII in terms of quality and I highly recommend it to any gamer. I eagerly await to see how it ages over time.

Thanks for reading. Be sure to check out some of the other great content here on Mid-American Culture!

Will Black Ops 4 Be Terrible?

Since the days of Modern Warfare 2, I have been a huge fan of the Call of Duty game series. I have put countless hours in to the games throughout the years. During the heyday of my all-time favorite COD game, the original Black Ops, I logged an absolutely absurd 22 and a half days of game time. If there was any doubt that I am a fan, that statistic should put it to rest. With that being said, I have been extremely disappointed in almost every Call of Duty game that is set in a futuristic time period. The only exception to this being Black Ops 2, which was a great game in its own right. Call of Duty strayed away from the future warfare genre last year when it released WWII. That game was phenomenal and reminded me of why I fell in love with the series. The only major hole was that I felt the Zombies experience was greatly lacking. Other than that, the developers hit it out of the park. Which leaves me cautiously optimistic about Black Ops 4. The gameplay looks spectacular and the introduction of the new Blackout (Battle Royale) mode has me very excited. I’m also hopeful that the zombies experience will be much improved from WWII. I haven’t done extensive research on it, but the Black Ops series generally does pretty well with zombies. The game is set to release tomorrow (Friday, October 12th) at midnight. I will most certainly be up and ready to try out the multiplayer and the new battle royale mode. Next week, I will most likely write an installment of my “My First Impressions” series on the game. Until then, be sure to check out some of the other great content here on Mid-American Culture!

Some People Should Not Give Style/Fashion Advice

I have a confession to make. I love watching men’s fashion and style videos on YouTube. I consider myself to be a relatively well-dressed guy and I’m always looking for new, creative outfit ideas and new clothing, shoes, etc. to try out. This leads me to the unfortunate discovery I made a few days ago. I encountered a video entitled “19 Things Men Should Never Wear” uploaded by a channel called Gentleman’s Gazette. The channel has nearly 350,000 subscribers, which led me to believe it was a credible channel and that the video was worth watching. Boy, was I wrong.

The creator of the channel, Sven Raphael Schneider is hands down the most uppity, pretentious and overall jerkish human being that I have ever encountered on YouTube, and that includes Logan and Jake Paul. At one point in the video, he actually says that wearing a certain style of clothing makes you look like a “peasant”. Throughout the video, Schneider continues to degrade all different sorts of styles. I was so put off by this clown and his video that I held off on uploading what I planned to upload this week just to talk about this joke of a video, this joke of a YouTube video, and this joke of a person. I am someone who believes that someone should be free to dress however they please and never be judged for it. On the flip side of that, I also believe that criticizing what someone wears, especially in the excessively stuck-up and rude way that Schneider did, opens you up to any amount of criticism. Therefore, I would like to point out that the guy has mixed the baggy suits of the 90’s with the obscenely outdated styles of 1930’s formal wear in such a way that I want to gouge out my eyes with a spoon every time I look at it.

If you want to subject yourself to the kind of torture I endured at the hands of this video, I have linked it down below. Thanks for reading. Check out some of the other content here on Mid-American Culture!

Why is nothing happening lately?

This post is going to be relatively short. It’s essentially going to me discussing my issues with writing over the last couple of weeks. In part, I blame my very busy life. As a full-time student with a part time job, I rely heavily on detailed time management as it is. Over the last couple of weeks, I have been moving and I partially blame that on my lack of inspiration for good content. That part is entirely on me. I have not been able to do research to create anything worth sharing. This is totally on me and I apologize.

The other half of blame goes to the fact that there is nothing really happening in the pop-culture or political world that I have deemed worth writing about. No artists I really care about are releasing new music in the immediate future. The Carter V is due to release tonight but it’s going to be a letdown no matter what due to the extended time fans have had to spend waiting for its release. I won’t have anything of substance to write about in regards to politics until closer to the midterm elections, barring something unforeseen. The controversy surrounding Brett Kavanaugh is big news right now, but my take on that doesn’t warrant a full article. Sexual assault is bad and someone who has been accused of it by multiple women shouldn’t be appointed to a lifetime seat on the Supreme Court. That’s fairly obvious to any sane human being. I’m not deep into any new TV shows, I haven’t seen any good movies lately, and frankly for this week, I’ve got nothing. I’m working on a long-term article for Mid-American Culture but it’s nowhere near ready to be published. And so, I have decided to take this opportunity to rant to our readers about my lack of content this week. Blame it on me. Blame it on my busy schedule. Blame it on nothing big in the entertainment world. However, that’s the life of a writer. We all hit writers block from time to time, whatever the cause may be. Next week, I will be back in my usual form brining you some fire content. In the meantime, check out some of the other great content here on Mid-American Culture!

Reasons to join the Mid-American Culture Team

As was shared on our twitter page a few days ago, the team here at Mid-American Culture is looking for new writers! This is an exciting time for us as we look for new individuals with a love of writing and culture to join our crew. Here are just a few reasons why you should consider joining if you share our passions:

1. Speaking your mind

Mid-American Culture has given me a platform with which to speak my mind about anything I choose. It can do the same for you!

2. Meet new people

Writing for Mid-American Culture has introduced me to some awesome guys. You too can get to know the staff here and join the great thing we have created together.

3. Learn new things

Working on this website along the other guys has exposed me to all sorts of new things. Our weekly playlists have shown me all sorts of new music, our restaurant review challenge introduced me to new places to eat, our Album Reviews Through A Friend series introduced me to a genre of music I really wouldn’t have ever even listened to if not for Mid-American Culture. There’s so much out there to experience. Come be apart of it.

4. It’s awesome

Who doesn’t want to be able to say they write for a website? How cool is that?!

If you’re interested in joining us here at Mid-American Culture, send us a message via our Mid-American Culture twitter page (linked below) and tell us why you think you’d be a good fit! We’re looking forward to working with you!

Apply here!

Which McDonald’s Dipping Sauce is the Best?

During my tenure here at Mid-American Culture, I have tackled a number of serious issues including, but not limited to, Presidential politics, moral lapses in the fashion and entertainment industries, and gun violence. Today, I will be tackling another serious issue. It is no secret that our nation is one of division. Any number of issues can be cited as examples of this. However, where as any number of people may feel emotionally unattached to any particular issue, there is one issue I know of in which nearly everyone has a strong opinion: McDonalds Chicken McNugget dipping sauces.

Virtually everyone who has ever tried chicken nuggets from McDonalds has a favorite sauce. Today, I will put this great cultural debate to rest with my definitive ranking of each sauce from worst to best. Attending college in a small town where the food options are essentially terrible school meal plan food, Subway, and McDonalds, I am naturally a frequent visitor at the local McDonalds establishment. I rarely stray from my signature order of a 10 piece chicken nugget meal with a Diet Coke. This has allowed me a plethora of opportunities to sample each of their different dipping sauces. I conducted thorough undercover research at this local McDonalds, posing as a hungry college student with a mild Diet Coke addiction. Undenounced to them, I spent the entire first month of classes gathering facts for this groundbreaking piece. The day has finally come for me to reveal my findings. Without further ado, here is the definitive ranking of McDonalds sauces. (Please note that I was unable to acquire any Szechuan sauce, so it will not make an appearance on this list. I also will not be including any discontinued flavors.)

*All opinions are my own and do not necessarily express those of Mid-American Culture, McDonalds, or other chicken nugget enthusiasts*

8. Creamy Ranch

I will keep the number eight entry short and simple. Ranch sauce in general is garbage. Unless you are using it for a high quality chicken wing with some other type of sauce on it, Ranch belongs in the trash. Next!

7. Tangy BBQ

Simply put, this sauce is not very good. BBQ sauce, particularly McDonalds BBQ sauce, does little to nothing to enhance the McNugget experience. The taste of the Tangy BBQ sauce overpowers all of the characteristics of the chicken nugget, making for an unpleasant eating experience. Stay away.

6. No Sauce

Going sauce-less is always an option. I don’t consider it to be a bad one at that. In fact, I spent much of my younger years using the sauce-less approach when it comes to my nuggets. It is certainly better than options seven and eight. If you’re feeling extra adventurous, eat the breading off of the nugget, leaving only the chicken, and eat it sauce-less or perhaps dip it in some ketchup (not a McNugget sauce, therefore, not on this list). That is a veteran move.

5. Honey

This is, without question, the most controversial entry to my list. It is not traditionally a McNugget dipping sauce. However, it is a sauce, it is available at McDonalds, and you can get it with your chicken nuggets upon request. Therefore, I have deemed it eligible for this list. I can see how this may not be for everyone, but I highly suggest trying it. You may get a weird look when you ask for it with your nuggets, but who cares? It’s good.

4. Spicy Buffalo

I am a sucker for buffalo sauce. I love it on wings. I love it on grilled chicken. I love it on burgers. I love it on French fries. I certainly don’t dislike it on McNuggets. This is a very high quality sauce that would have certainly been higher on the list if not for the excellence of the final 3.

3. Honey Mustard

This sauce is simply masterful. Dare I say, Honey Mustard is the fanciest of all the McDonalds sauces. It has just a hint of a Dijon flavor that adds a certain elegance to the McNugget experience. This sauce comes highly recommended.

2. Sweet n Sour

Sweet n Sour sauce is the staple of the McNugget sauce family. It is a true classic with a taste of which I will never grow tired. Sweet flavors mixed with sour flavors mixed with savory chicken nugget flavors make for an epic eating experience. You can’t go wrong with Sweet n Sour.

1. Hot Mustard

Hot Mustard is the top tier of sauces. It combines the Dijon mustard flavors of the honey mustard and adds a fiery kick, which makes for a tasteful sensation the likes of which I had never experienced before trying this sauce. Online research for the article told me that this sauce is only available regionally. Therefore, if this is an option for you, I can not urge you enough to try it. You wont regret it.

Hopefully I have settled this great debate once and for all. That concludes my article for this week. Until next week, make sure to check out some of the other great content from the writers here at Mid-American Culture!

Madden 19: My First Impressions

Since approximately 2010, the Madden football video game series has been a constant staple in my gaming arsenal. In fact, with the exception of maybe Call of Duty, I have put more time into the Madden series than any other game series ever. This year’s installment of the game is sure to see it’s fair share of time inside of my Xbox. I’m here today to share my first impressions of the game.

I’ve had the game for approximately two weeks (give or take). Throughout that timeframe, I have played extensively in the Franchise mode, so my thoughts on it will take up the bulk of this piece. My first impression of franchise was that it was pretty much the same as last year with a few minor tweaks. The system with which you progress players has changed, and honestly, I prefer the old system. Instead of using XP points to upgrade individual skills (speed, strength, catching, zone coverage, etc.) you earn upgrades to certain characteristics of your player that upgrade different individual skills. For example, say you earn an upgrade for your quarterback. You can choose to upgrade your QB as a scrambler, field general, pocket passer, and so on. Each of those categories improves individual skills. I prefer the in-depth nature of picking individual skills to upgrade. That is probably my most major complaint with the game thus far. As far as other, more minor gripes go, I have experienced some bugs, particularly with commentary. I keep getting commentary referring to the game I’m playing as the Super Bowl, when in reality, it is a regular season game. It’s minor things like that, but they do tend to get annoying after a while. However, I expect these will be fixed for the most part in a coming update. I have not yet experienced any of the other offseason features of franchise mode. If there is something new worth mentioning in a later article, I will certainly do that. Overall, I feel that franchise mode, and the rest of the game for that matter, are extremely similar to last year’s game. With that being said, if it’s not broken, there’s no need to fix it. I think that can be applied to Madden. There are many small, realism based changes to the game that I am very fond of. Overall, I just don’t see enough of a change to call it anything close to significantly different from any past installment in the series. If you’re a football or Madden fan, it is certainly worth picking up. Just don’t expect to be mind-blown. You’ll be sorely disappointed.

Thanks for reading. Be sure to check out some of the other great content here in Mid-American Culture!

Boring Video Games Are Awesome

Earlier in the week, I couldn’t sleep, so I did what I normally do when this happens: I binge watched YouTube videos. My YouTube adventures led me to a gameplay video of a game called House Flipper. On the surface, this game sounds very intriguing. To be fair, it is very intriguing. However, it wasn’t what I expected it to be. The first stages of the game consist of your character starting a house flipping business. Your humble beginnings lead you to take jobs cleaning houses, painting rooms, etc. The gameplay that I watched can be described only as tedious. You quite literally go through and mop the house, physically pick up the trash, wipe down the windows, and use a paint roller to add color to the rooms of the houses. When I describe this to you, you’re probably thinking that this sounds boring as all hell. In a way, you’re right. It is boring. It is tedious. On the flip-side though, there is something so addictive and charming about it. Putting in all of that hard work and seeing the results of a clean and beautiful house is extremely rewarding. As you progress through the game, you undoubtably find more and more interesting and fun things to do to these houses, eventually buying your own and flipping them for a profit. This game, among other PC classics have really made me want to get a gaming PC, just to share in the experience. Not too long ago, I also downloaded Roller Coaster Tycoon (a childhood favorite of mine) onto my laptop. Obviously, it doesn’t run as well as it does on a desktop computer, but it sent me on a nostalgia trip I can only liken to visiting your old school or your childhood house. I felt right at home in the game. These minimally exciting, but yet intriguing games are awesome and I hope that this recent experience has rekindled my love of such games. I encourage everyone to check out this game, or at the very least some gameplay of it, so that you can experience it’s strange, almost boring charm. I will link some gameplay below. That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading. Check out some of the other great content on Mid-American Culture while you’re here. See you next week!

View House Flipper gameplay here!

The Art of the Wrestling Promo

Promos are a dying art in the world of professional wrestling. Gone are the days of countless charismatic wrestlers taking the time to simultaneously build themselves up as superheroes and belittle their opponents with nothing but their own oratory abilities. Frankly speaking, there are so few wrestlers in the current wrestling scene who possess the skills to even touch the promos of old. Microphone work, in my opinion, is one of the things that is beyond lacking in today’s wrestling product. So, today, as I yearn for the days of old when jacked-up dudes could be seen on any wrestling program eviscerating each other on the microphone, I will be discussing some of the greatest promos in the history of professional wrestling.

We’ll start with what I consider to be the greatest heel promo of all time. Shawn Michaels cut this masterpiece in Montreal, Canada in 2005. Capitalizing on the immense hatred Canada has for him due to his role in the infamous Montreal Screwjob, The Heartbreak Kid absolutely destroys Bret Hart, Hulk Hogan, and the entire Canadian population. I am skeptical that anyone in the modern era of professional wrestling has ever had as much heat as Shawn Michaels had during this promo. It is truly a masterful example of one of the all-time great talents delivering an all-time great promo. I love it.

I would have to be delusional to not include the most charismatic man in the history of professional wrestling, and perhaps the world, Ric Flair. There are so many classic examples of the Nature Boy cutting world class promos to choose from. Ultimately, I had to go with the classic. This promo is an embodiment of everything Ric Flair is about. From the hilarious “spilt liquor” line, to the legendary rolex-wearing, diamond ring-wearing bit, to everything else in this relatively short promo, Ric Flair is at his very best here. You really cant argue when anyone says that Flair is the best promo of all time.

For my last example of classic wrestling promos, I turn to the greatest talker in the history of wrestling, Mr. James E. Cornette. Not only is Cornette the greatest manager in the history of wrestling, he also possesses one of the greatest minds for the wrestling business that has ever existed. It is no wonder he is such a good promo. Nobody has ever mastered the art of getting heat via a promo quite like Cornette. In this very short promo, Cornette absolutely buries the state of West Virginia, as well as rival tag team The Rock’ n’ Roll Express. This is just one of countless examples of a masterful Cornette promo. On a final note, look at interviewer Brian Matthews’ epic mullet. That is the stuff of legends.

This is exactly what the world of professional wrestling needs. Charismatic figures have driven wrestling for as long as it has been popular. If half of the current WWE roster had a quarter of the charisma and mic skills of these men, wrestling would be in an infinitely better place than it is now.

Thanks for reading. Make sure to check out some of the other great content here on Mid-American Culture!