Another Blow Out Haw River 38 Air Cavs 0

Conner's game went well. In 55 seconds HR kicked off, recovered the on sides kick, ran an offensive play for a touchdown. The boys are developing more and more confidence and skill. With the score 30 - 0 at the half, Conner got more playing time. Here is a good play he had.



Collin's game was the opposite. They lost 38 - 0 against Gibsonville. Collin is getting more contact and is starting to understand better what to do. I'm proud of both the boys and enjoy watching them whether they win or lose. Here is a play Collin was in on.

I just read a really good review of Armistice

I'm posting this review that I read on MUTEMATH's newest album Armistice.

You can find it here or you can read it below. My favorite line is "it's like Muse playing over Rush with Phil Collins writing the songs."

Author's Rating Vocals 8.75 Musicianship 9 Lyrics 8.75 Production 9.5 Creativity 9.25 Lasting Value 9.5 Reviewer Tilt 9 Final Verdict: 91% Member Ratings Vocals 9.13 Musicianship 9.46 Lyrics 8.42 Production 9.33 Creativity 9.67 Lasting Value 9.42 Reviewer Tilt 9.13 Average: 92% Inside AP.net View Artist Profile View News Articles Stream the Music Buy the Album or MP3s

MUTEMATH - Armistice Reviewed by: Chris Fallon (09/22/09)

MUTEMATH - Armistice Release Date: August 18, 2009 Record Label: Warner Bros. For the follow-up to their self-titled 2006 debut, caps-happy MUTEMATH not only changed up their typeset (who'd they let vote on this change? Kanye West and Travis Barker?), but the Louisiana quartet set it upon themselves to "embarrass" the very album many people claimed was the return to progressive pop music bands like Genesis and The Moody Blues brought to mainstream audiences years ago. Keeping their Cajun-flavored soul intact, MUTEMATH is a glossier band than any jazz musician could ever imagine pursuing, more hook-friendly than Radiohead and never as monumentally lavish as Muse. However, Armistice wants to be all said styles. There's not enough Twilight-approved songs to get MUTEMATH onto MTV's radar, yet there isn't enough indie moodiness to speak to those who enjoy neatly-trimmed beards and Ben Gibbard. MUTEMATH walks down a lonesome road, and in-between Paul Meany's smooth vocals and a mammoth wall of sound lurking behind him, what makes Armistice so damn captivating is how it's a collaborative effort that proves MUTEMATH changed that typeset for one very important reason: they are a unified front. No, I said front, not font ... although, to be fair ... that would have been funnier. Working with producer Dennis Herring (Modest Mouse, Counting Crows), the band has taken their creatively complex and overwhelming sound, gone all Spinal Tap with it and used their own dramatic inner-forces to reconstruct the very record they first released. Littered with songs that are vividly spastic and feel like Meany is defiantly belting out hymns for his own insecurities ("No Response"), MUTEMATH is bigger than whatever momentum was garnered through "Spotlight," featured on that hip teenage vampire film about ... hip teenage vampires and ... that one girl who looks stoned all the time ... and Paramore or something? I should probably IMDb that movie for a plot synopsis, but damn it, there's simply no time! But I digress... Herring has, oddly enough, assisted the band by breathing new life into their frontiers, and given them the tools to build something that any fan of dark pop music will feast upon. "Clipping" might be the band's biggest reach, scattering Meany's soft vocals with heavy distortion, and with "The Nerve" kicking things off with a jolt of electric boogaloo (okay, it's not quite that funky), there is hardly anything that will instantly reel listeners in with sincere immediacy. Yet that seems to be the intent: Armistice plays like Coldplay's X&Y without the lush choruses; it's moody, it's dark, and it's more of a moth than a butterfly. Now, due to it's severe distance from their debut, it appears as a sophomore slump, but slow down, my avid little cynic: Armistice could not be any brighter; it's like Muse playing over Rush with Phil Collins writing the songs. On the album cover for the record, the band stands in front of what appears to be gates to their own world. For each of us, it's easy to spread out the metaphoric language and pick away at what it could all mean. However, it might be better off to the individual to decide where they would prefer Armistice to take them; it isn't a record that caters to a nationwide "kid-tested mother-approved" taste test -- no, this is an album that will speak to everybody in different ways, and may take an investment to really get into. You see, despite all the easy comparisons one can draw this album to, MUTEMATH are staking a claim in pop music for the advanced music fan, embarking on dark-pop that is far from the Cure and more complex than Jimmy Eat World. Some of the best albums you'll ever hear are ones that you have to spend real time with, and Armistice just might be the most challenging pop record you'll ever find yourself listening to several years down a road that MUTEMATH paved themselves. Recommended if You Like Coldplay's X&Y; Genesis' Abacab; Modest Mouse's We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank; Muse's Absolution; The Postal Service's Give Up Choice Cuts "No Response," "Backfire" and "Armistice" Track Listing 1. The Nerve 2. Backfire 3. Clipping 4. Spotlight 5. No Response 6. Pins and Needles 7. Goodbye 8. Odds 9. Electrify 10. Armistice 11. Lost Year 12. Burden Band Members Paul Meany: vocals/keyboards Greg Hill: guitars Roy Mitchell-Cardenas: bass Darren King: drums/samples Online Vitals Official Site | Official Myspace Purchase Amazon MP3

My garage is a dump!!!

Since moving from NY I have not had the motivation to tackle the huge project of organizing my garage. When I look at my buddy Brian's garage I get slightly envious. He has a ton of great cabinets and work benches to store his tools. I just have plastic totes. Needless to say I can never find my tools without spending an enormous amount of time searching through bins and boxes. Falling over piles of stuff that hasn't been unpacked yet.

What a dump this place is.
























































Well this weekend I got a little initiative and started organizing my tools. This is looking better. I don't like that gap there but I would have missed the stud on the opposite side.

























































This is a start. I'll work more on it this week if I have time.

Haw River 44 - Eli Whitney 0

Last night was Conner's first football game. It must have been cold because Conner wore his helmet from about 5:50 till after 9:00. I kept asking him to take the it off but he didn't want to. He was the only kid on his team walking around before the game with his helmet on, and mouth guard in. On the way home he commented on how sweaty his head was. Well duh...........


I helped run the chains on the side lines. That's a trick my dad used to pull when I was playing so that he could see every play. It's the best seat in the house. It got dark and our camera doesn't do well taking pics at night. I had to put a massive fill lite on this one.


Even though Conner is the smallest kid on the team, he was around the same size as most of the opposing players. That mad me feel better. I'm very proud of him.

Football season is starting

Football season is upon us folks and it is a little more special this year. Why? You ask. Because my boys have started their first year playing football. It has been fun getting out in the yard to teach them how to hit and tackle each other.


I got some video of Collin doing blocking drills. Conner was too far away and parents aren't allowed on the field so I didn't catch any of Conner

Labor Day Weekend Ribs

Since starting a huge debate on the smoking meat forum about whether to foil ribs or not I decided to smoke some ribs on Saturday. I've got family in town and wanted to give them a treat. I got some pork spare ribs from my favorite meat market, Kenyon's, and made a little magic.

I did use the 3-2-1 method which is 3 hours smoking, 2 hours wrapped in foil in the smoker, 1 hour un-foiled in the smoker. This is one way to get fall-off-the-bone ribs.