Michigan Band That You Should Know About

Note: This is going to be a long one so strap in. There will be nice big headers and relatively short bits for easy skimming along with some embedded YouTube videos and pretty pictures to keep your attention along the way.

Pure Michigan Music: My Perceptions

There are a lot of reasons to not be proud of Michigan... high unemployment, the top two murder capitals of America, Ted Nugent, etc. But remember that despite how bad things are (and how terrible of a human being Ted Nugent is) there's quite a lot in the mitten to be proud of. Faygo is delicious, we have some beautiful landscapes, we produced Barry Gordy and Motown, Koegels, and one of what is, in my opinion, the most unique music scenes in the country.

Unlike states and cities with famous music scenes (New Jersey, Florida, Nashville, Washington D.C.) Michigan isn't really known for one genre (Florida has the punk rock and pop punk, New Jersey is one of the epicenters of emo, Nashville has country, and D.C. had the hardcore punk pioneers in the 1980's). Other than the "Motown sound" which was 50 years ago, we produce a wide range of artists. The White Stripes, The Swellers, Iggy Pop, Madona, Kid Rock, The Verve Pipe, Eminem, Chiodos, Andrew W.K. Some of the titans of the music industry have come from this state and you wouldn't put them on the same bill in a million years.

I'm sure that most music fans are proud of their regional music scene as every state has one and every independent scene is like a fingerprint. I believe that Michigan and states like us are lucky to not be pigeonholed as the origin of a particular type of music because it allows all kinds of different bands and artists to exist and co-habitate.

Allcoy

I've been a proud member of the Michigan scene for a long time now. Probably closing in on the 10 year mark at this point. Allcoy are a band that is made up of some top notch guys that have been here for longer than I have and I have followed them through various projects ever since.

One of the first times I ever wandered in to The Flint Local 432, I saw Allcoy singer/guitarist Josh Augustine playing in a band called "For The Best". At the risk of potentially offending Josh (whom I consider a great guy and a friend) I am going to have to admit that I didn't love For The Best's music. What drew me to them was the fact that there was a lot of love and passion in the way they played and performed. There was something in there that I knew was real.

Several years, recordings, and band names later Allcoy is what has risen from the ashes of several Michigan bands and the cream really does rise to the top. The line-up consists of three parts of former Michigan pop-punk band Radio Pirate DJ (that's actually not that many, considering RPDJ had somewhere in the neighborhood of a hundred and forty members and line up changes). Guitarist Bryan Aldrich, drummer Drew Easton, and vocalist/guitarist Josh Augustine were all members of Radio Pirate DJ at one point or another. The line-up is rounded out with Anthony Palsgrove on the bass.

The music that Allcoy makes can be described quite easily; contemporary nostalgia grunge rock. I'm almost positive that I just made that up so I'm going to elaborate. Almost everything about Allcoy's sound screams "throwback" to me. They are a band who have somehow time traveled here from the 1990's.

On the surface the most prominent vibe you get from Allcoy's debut record "Loud Music For Quiet People" is one of angst filled grunge. This is impressive sonically but even more impressive lyrically since, as veterans of independent music, it's surprising and refreshing that they can still manage convincing angst. Among the fresh grunge sound (yeah I said fresh grunge) is distinct echoes of the very beginnings of emo with tinges of The Promise Ring, Rites of Spring, and very early Get Up Kids.

The guitars are thick and distorted but with very clean leads and solos. The vocals are the strongest I've ever heard from Josh, ranging from soft verses to bellowing choruses. The bass is strong and distinct. The drumming is thunderous and spot on. Everything about Allcoy is a well oiled machine.

Above all the nostalgia, and any comparisons or genre labels, is an incredible fresh rock sound. Allcoy are a contemporary rock and roll band that jaded scene veterans and the new generation of teenagers going to shows can both agree to love.

Links:
Purevolume
MySpace
Facebook
Bandcamp
YouTube
Twitter

Allcoy - Happy Ever After (Official Video)

One Day Song Challenge

A lot of my friends on FaceBook have been doing this 30 Day Song Challenge thing. I would like to do it too but frankly don't want to have another thing to remember every day for a month and I'm almost certain that none of my friends want one more person cluttering up their feed with YouTube links for a whole month. That's not to say I personally mind that my friends are doing it, I find it interesting, but some people might get annoyed by it and I try my best to care as much as possible about what other people think of me. This is a character flaw, but it's not one that seems to be going away anytime soon. All of that taken into account I decided to just do it all at once, here on my blog.


Day 01 - Your Favorite Song: I think that everyone who's done this has pretty much agreed that this question is next to impossible to answer. I too find it extremely different to narrow down a single favorite song. I'm going to go with this one because I like it quite a lot.

Frank Turner - I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c21SfaAwBw0

Day 02 - Your Least Favorite Song: This is a lot easier since there isn't a whole lot of music that I dislike totally and completely.

The Insane Clown Posse - Miracles
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-agl0pOQfs

(It is important to note that I insist on writing out their entire name and not abbreviate it because the stupidity of it needs to be driven home as often as possible.)

Day 03 - A Song That Makes You Happy: A lot of music and a lot of songs make me happy but lately this one's been doing it for a lot of different reasons. First off, it's important to note that I've been a fan of Hanson for a lot of years (they are literally my second favorite band of all time) and the fact that this song recently made it to number 1 on Vh-1's video countdown is awesome. They'll never have another hit as big as their first single but I'm glad that people are being reminded that they're still around and moreover the throwback motown sound, soulful groove, and insanely fun vibe are making a lot of people reconsider the unfounded hatred they felt toward them 14 years ago simply because their single over-saturated the market.

Hanson - Give A Little
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56VPiS8dPDE

Day 04 - A Song That Makes You Sad: A dead serious song by a joke rapper tucked in the middle of a record called "This Gigantic Robot Kills" could pontentially bring an album like that to a screeching hault... but it's just so sincere. Heartfelt lyrics about a real person, gorgeous chorus, beautiful melody, and a really sad story. It's a eulogy of sorts for a friend who committed suicide. It's a sad song about a sad event but it's still somehow hopeful. To me it's sort of like grief embodied in a song: sadness, anger, regret, and a glimmer of hope in the end.

MC Lars - Twenty-Three
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpQ3q6PE6Ls

Day 05 - A Song That Reminds You of Someone: I thought about this one for a bit. There are a few potential answers but everything I thought of besides this one was either WAY too corny, despite being true, or by Hanson and I don't want to start repeating myself this early in the list. This song reminds me of my good friend Zach Irwin and if you know him, you probably know why.

Ani Difranco - Not A Pretty Girl
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5tDzgAnmmw

Day 06 - A Song That Reminds You of Somewhere: I saw this band years ago at The Flint Local 432. Ever since then this song has reminded me of that night and that place more than any other. I'm not sure why this song chose to become the soundtrack to my memories of the Local more than any of the other hundreds of groups I saw there. They're not even from Michigan, heh.

Scout - All I Want is You
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0p3-pNZp02Q

Day 07 - A Song That Reminds You of a Certain Event: Loren walked down the isle to this at our wedding. A friend of Jaren's that had spent the night before sat on the deck and made sure the CD player (which only sometimes worked) didn't decide to stop it's self.

Yanni - In the Morning Light
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPDqALFLjZI

Day 08 - A Song That You Know All the Words To: Well this could apply to any song by The Swellers and most by Hanson but I'll throw a curve ball.

P.O.D - The Youth of the Nation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDKwCvD56kw

Day 09 - A Song That You Can Dance To: I can't dance at all but I like to try to dance to this song. Classic powerpop and the single least offensive pop vocalist to ever exist had a love child to make this band and song.

Parachute - She (For Liz)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5zQRnVwHsY

Day 10 - A Song That Makes You Fall Asleep: Even playing and singing this song makes me tired. That seems like an insult or like I'm saying it's boring... I prefer to think of it as relaxing as opposed to boring.

Bright Eyes - Lua
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aZh261KZWI

Day 11 - A Song From Your Favorite Band: Not my absolute favorite song from them but it has a cool video.

The Swellers - Fire Away
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fhc6_BTWFjY

Day 12 - A Song From a Band You Hate: I already used The Insane Clown Posse so I'll go with another one here. Like I said previously, I don't hate much music so it's a small pool to draw from.

Creed - With Arms Wide Open
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99j0zLuNhi8

(Please note that my hatred of Creed has very little to do with them sonically it's more the whole aesthetic. I find everything about them boring as hell, all of their songs sound basically the same, that one song isn't very innovative, and the list goes on. I might be able to forgive those flaws if they weren't also horrible lyricists (this song and video in particular is potentially the corniest thing anyone has ever put to tape.) and I'm fairly certain that Scott Stapp dresses himself from the "I'm A Tool" handbook exclusively.

Day 13 - A Song That Is a Guilty Pleasure: It's a bit hard to say what exactly a guilty pleasure for me would be because I'm not ashamed of anything that I like. It's the one area of my life where I'm am completely and totally comfortable with and I don't care what anyone thinks. Anything that I like and listen to is something that I'm more than willing and able to defend in an open debate with eloquence. I'll go with this though since I have to say something.

Justin Bieber - One Time
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHVhwcOg6y8

I love that little bastard.

Day 14 - A Song That No One Would Expect You to Love: Hahahaha. I don't thing anyone who knows me would be surprised by anything I said I liked unless I suddenly declared myself a fan of The Insane Clown Posse but I assume the question is asking for a song that I actually do love that no one would expect. Hmmm... I guess I'll go with this.

Tupac - Thugz Mansion
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rN9efn6dxD4

(I like the album version too but the laid back vibe of the acoustic remix fits my mood more at the moment)

Day 15 - A Song That Describes You: Before I started this little project I set a small rule for myself. No using songs that I wrote. Simple enough. Let it be known, I did NOT write this song. It was written about me though so I don't think I can say that any other song quite describes me as well as this one does as far as songs by other people go. Hah.

The Swellers - Travis Valentine's Day
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Irft7BhmX6Y

(Please note: Someone else that I don't know already uploaded this)

Day 16 - A Song That You Used to Love But Now Hate: I wouldn't say that I hate it exactly, it's still objectively a great song, but GOD am I sick of it. When "Sex on Fire" first hit I was happy to see them finally getting some recognition and then this song hit and it was everywhere. I don't even listen to the radio and I managed to hear it a dozen times a day. The loud speaker at the department store, commercials, the video on TV, people covering it on YouTube. It got old.

Kings of Leon - Use Somebody
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnhXHvRoUd0

Day 17 - A Song That You Hear Often On the Radio: I don't actively listen to the radio. I'm seriously not saying that to sound like a hipster. It's not that I don't listen to the radio because I hate mainstream music and can only be satisfied by the hip underground. I don't listen to the radio because I have 34,164 songs on my iPod, 1,061 CD, 36 vinyl records, and 25 cassette tapes. I really don't need the radio. The internet does a fine job of introducing me to new music and I have plenty that I know I like at my fingertips. There have, however, been a hand full of occasions where I've jumped in the car without my iPod to go to the corner store and have listened to the radio and the one song that I somehow managed to hear every single time I did that was this.

Dirty Heads - Lay Me Down (Feat. Rome)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnuEOYK1Kps

Day 18 - A Song That You Wish You Heard On the Radio: Seriously, is the radio really an indicator of success anymore? Am I the only person that owns an iPod? Whatever, I guess I'll just answer.

The Swellers - The Best I Ever Had
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NZevVU8ODU&feature=related

I want them to be the biggest band in the universe.

Day 19 - A Song From Your Favorite Album: I seriously don't want to keep posting Swellers songs but these questions aren't giving me a lot of choice in the matter.

The Swellers - Ups and Downsizing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TK_17qaOhBs

Day 20 - A Song That You Listen to When You’re Angry: Listen to this song and try to be angry. I dare you. It's the cure for anger.

LFO - Summer Girls
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHuGG_FsC20

Day 21 - A Song That You Listen to When You’re Happy: What the hell kind of question is that? I think whoever made this was running out of ideas. I listen to a lot of things when I'm happy. I guess... I tend to listen to this song A LOT when I've been drinking and I'm a happy drunk... seriously like a thousand of those 18 million views are probably from me when I was drunk.

Sam Tsui & Kurt Schneider - Love the Way You Lie MASHUP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkHJ2-zoSB4&feature=channel_video_title

Day 22 - A Song That You Listen to When You’re Sad: I know that listening to a sad song when you're sad seems weird... or maybe not, I don't know. At any rate I like to listen to this song when I'm sad.

Bruce Springsteen - The River
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAB4vOkL6cE

Day 23 - A Song That You Want to Play at Your Wedding: Well I did play this song at my wedding... does that count?

Bon Jovi - Always
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BMwcO6_hyA

Day 24 - A Song That You Want to Play at Your Funeral: Well that's morbid... I guess this one. It's always reminded me of myself. Particularly the lyrics "He's the kind of guy you wish would just leave, he wears his heart on his sleeve" and "He doesn't wait, he just goes,
Out of control" plus a couple others. Bonus: it's actually about a funeral.

Socratic - Funeral Masses
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x001hU1UP1Y

Day 25 - A Song That Makes You Laugh: It's not as blatantly funny as his early material (it's actually pretty angry) but he is a comic that uses music and this is my favorite. It makes me laugh.

Bo Burnham - Rant
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hCQLEIWadk

Day 26 - A Song That You Can Play On An Instrument: I can play a bunch of songs on an instrument. I'll go with this.

Joseph Arthur - In the Sun
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuzjgN2y4Is

Day 27 - A Song That You Wish You Could Play: That is a very long list. I guess I would have to go with this one. Everything about it is perfect to me. I wish that I could play that guitar part and solo. The clean toned throwback bluesy strat sound (that's a lot of adjectives). I also wish I could play the piano part. It's really poppy and has a powerful hook to it but it also has a really classical feeling. I wish I could sing that way too. John Francis Daley has a really strong pop tenor but there's a lot of soul too. Everything about this song is perfect to me and I wish I could play or write a song half as good. By they way, yes that is John Francis Daley, actor in such TV shows as Freaks and Geeks and Bones and films such as the Ryan Reynolds vehicle Waiting and other things that didn't do as well on vocals and piano. But hey! Bones is doing great and people love Freaks and Geeks in retrospect. I'm a big fan of his.

Dayplayer - Peak

Find more artists like Dayplayer at Myspace Music

(I absolutely could not find a YouTube video for it and Windows Movie Maker was being EXTREMELY uncooperative in helping to make my own.)

Day 28 - A Song That Makes You Feel Guilty: I'll go with this. White people, it should make you feel guilty too.

Macklemore - White Privilege
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pp_lW7yYgiM

Day 29 - A Song From Your Childhood: It has all of the halmarks of a great 90's ballad: electric piano, black guy that sings like a white guy, more than a little corny. The perfect storm of 90's songs.

Blessid Union of Souls - I Believe
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_eAzaTquN8

Day 30 - Your Favorite Song At This Time Last Year: Jeezis, now I know whoever made this thing ran out of ideas. Let's see... this time last year was when my daughter was born... okay upon Googling it I just discovered that May of 2010 was when the Nashville flood happened and I remember that was right about the time I discovered this. This gentleman is an actor who does the voice of the kid on Fox's animated comedy American Dad and was also apparently on ER for six years.

Scott Grimes - Hide
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8j6PTdKQzU

Doing This Brian Style

Today's blog will be brought to you in the trade mark Brian Buckley style of a random bulleted list.

• My brother-in-law got Loren and I an iPod touch for Christmas (primarily to use as a simple way to video chat with him Colorado) but I downloaded Tetris for it. I have since become clinically addicted to Tetris. Moreover I've discovered that I am very good at it. Why are all of my skills completely useless?
• Music I've been listening to lately: Lauren O'Connel, The White Stripes, and some old Scout and Tsunami Bomb records I haven't touched in years.
• Lyric is on the precipice of crawling. All of the pieces are there, she just can't seem to put them together in the right order. She gets up on her hands and knees and lunges forward with her legs, makes it a few inches, pushes up again and repeats. She can army crawl and role like there's no tomorrow. Also sometimes she pushes up without touching her knees or calves to the floor... just her feet and hands, forming a sort of triangle. In this position she sort of leans forward trying to make herself go. Like I said, all the pieces are there, she just can't figure out what order to put them in.
• Also new to Lyric's list of talents and abilities is clapping. She loves to clap which is nice since I can just pretend that she's applauding everything I do. Also on the list is a new face. We call it her angry face because when she's cranky or upset she'll scrunch up her nose and lips and snort in and out through her nose really loudly like a bull. I think it has the opposite effect of what she intends it to because it's just adorable.
• I've spent the last two Sunday evenings at a bar in my hometown of Davison called Mo Joe's doing karaoke and drinking with my best friend Michael Walters. I seriously wish that I could do karaoke every single weekend, I don't even need the beer, just the karaoke. I may not be a good singer by any stretch of the imagination but I love to sing. Sitting and watching people doing their songs and getting up there myself is better than therapy or medication. Also the bar has the best wings I've ever eaten.
• In a blog a while back I wrote that I was close to recording and finally putting together an album. That has yet to happen what with the baby and lack of motivation but I'm giving some serious thought to maybe picking up the guitar again and getting something down before I'm too old and jaded to care. Who knows.
• I'm an extremely sarcastic and often cynical person. It's my way of coping with life, which often gets to be too much for me just because of the way that I'm wired. I'm often very self deprecating and I tend to make fun of my own friends sarcastically. Most people close to me know that I'm joking and the subject matter is usually so outlandish that they know there's no possible way it could be in earnest but occasionally my jokes hit a sore spot and I've gotten into some pretty big fights over it. I'm not a mean person. I just deal with things in the way that comes easiest to me. If I have ever offended anyone with something I've said sarcastically I am truly sorry but I'm not going to change who I am. If what I'm saying is bothering you, say something and I'll stop. This has been a public service announcement.
  

This Is the New Year

It's officially 2011 and everyone's making their new year's resolutions. I've already been plugging away at a diet for about 5 weeks now so I guess I could throw that on there. I', resolved to start being a better person all around (grades, parenting, cooking, cleaning) but that's pretty much a standing resolution, I think if we ever stop plugging at that one there's a problem.

I guess if I'm going to come up with something original for the new year it's going to be: Blog more (because people need and want to know my thoughts, dammit), make time to hit the gym a couple times a week, spend less money, read more (I keep an Excel spreadsheet of all of the books I have to read and it's getting ridiculous, especially since I got some more for Christmas) , and try to get some order back in my thoughts and life. I feel better when things are in order. It's a disease and a gift at the same time.

Those are some of my superficial and non-superficial goals for 2011. It's going to be a good year. 2010 wasn't bad (my daughter was born so it was sort of a banner year) but I have a really good feeling about 2011.

Things I'm looking forward to in 2011:

1. Green Lantern: I have high hopes for this movie. Don't get me wrong, I really like Ryan Reynolds a lot, but I was skeptical about his casting. He's known for being more of a comedic actor, even in his action roles, and the character of Hal Jordan is a staunch, military man. From what I've seen of the trailer it doesn't look like he's playing the character as Hal Jordan, what he's playing is Kyle Rainer (geeks will understand this). I think it really is a toss up, I'm not a huge fan of the Green Lantern mythos because it all tends to be very cosmic and I'm more a fan of street level super heroes but I've read enough and I know enough to know what I'm talking about. I think if they do it right and build enough of a story around the character Reynolds is playing, I will definitely like it as will most average, non-comic book readers, but I have a feeling the Green Lantern fans and purists aren't going to like it.

2. New Swellers Album: The Swellers announced fairly recently that they will be releasing a new record in 2011. Nick and Jonathon are good friends of mine but moreover they are and always will be my favorite band. I am EXTREMELY excited.

3. New Blink-182 Album: There was a time when I would have apologized for being a Blink fan but that time isn't now. I'm an adult and I'm too old to give a shit about labels and cliches in the music community. I like what I like and I have a wide pallet when it comes to that. Word is that the first album since 2003 (and since their reunion) is going to drop this Summer and I'm excited to hear it.

4. X-Men: First Class: Okay, now as far as movies go X-Men Origins: Wolverine was a solid C+ in my opinion. It was a bit of a mish mash of various things and more than a little hackneyed but it was fun. X-Men III: The Last Stand was a fucking train wreck for fans of the comic. It took 20 years of comics, bits and pieces of this and that, and mashed it together into one mess of a movie and Brett Ratner should be ashamed of himself. I have a feeling that X-Men: First Class will be more in the vein of the former. I'm expecting a lot of fun but I have my expectations low on substance. There are two things that are a light in the tunnel of hope for this with me and they are: Matthew Vaughn and James McAvoy.

5. Captain America: The First Avenger: Pretty much everything I said about Green Lantern applies to this movie as well. Seriously, just read that and substitute Chris Evans for Ryan Reynolds and Captain America for Green Lantern.

6. Cowboys and Aliens: Are you picking up the theme yet? I am a fan of comic books and graphic novels and this is going to be a big year for them. As for this one I have two words: John Favreau. He has proven that he knows what he's doing in this area and I'm going to put my faith in him. I have a bad feeling it's going to tank though.

7. Thor: I'm on the fence with this as to what to expect. I just hope they find away to minimize the Thor-speak.

8. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II: Ten years, some of the greatest pieces of contemporary fiction that exist, and a 12 year old boy inside me that Can. Not. Wait.

9. I Am Number Four: I'm curious.

Now I know that this is essentially a rhetorical question since very few people actually read my blog but after all that self indulgence I feel obligated to ask: What are your resolutions and what cultural events are you looking forward to in 2011?

My Top Albums of 2010

These are my favorite albums of 2010. I have a passion for a few genres but I'm extremely eclectic in my tastes so if you want a list of the hippest records that came out this year check Pitchfork or something. Mine is going to be all over the place. They are in order.

1. Hanson - Shout it Out
2. Kate Nash - My Best Friend is You
3. Gaslight Anthem - American Slang
4. Tim Barry - 28th and Stonewall
5. Danielle Ate the Sandwich - Two Bedroom Apartment
6. Ray Lamontagne & the Pariah Dogs - God Willin' and the Creek Won't Rise
7. Backseat Goodby - The Good Years
8. Otem Relik - Elephant Graveyard
9. Micah Schabel - When the Stage Lights Go Dim
10. The Rocket Summer - Of Men and Angels

Honorable Mentions:

Crystal Bowersox - Farmer's Daughter
Cee-Lo Green - The Lady Killer
Syndicate - The Line Starts Here
Rooney - Eureka
The 88 - The 88

My Mom and Halloween

I've never been big into Halloween. I was a very bookish kid and I was definitely never the type of boy who liked snakes, snails, and puppy dog tails, so to speak. I didn't like getting messy, "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" gave me night terrors, and anything remotely related to horror made me nauseous (I'm not joking).

When Halloween season came around I took to the more light-hearted, cartoonish side to it. My mom was a certified genius when it came to costume making. One year I went as Johnny 5 from the movie "Short Circut" and she managed to pull this off. She made the large metal tread-like wheels for my legs from the lids to copy paper boxes and glued HUNDREDS of popsicle sticks to them for the "treads" one at a time. Having to buy a costume was like admitting defeat for her. I only ever remember wearing one store bought costume in my whole childhood and it was as a Power Ranger in the first grade.

Other things I went as include a gay space man (it was a character that I invented and she brought to life in and EXTREMELY flamboyant, bedazzled fashion), Superman (which she bought a Superman costume JUST to cut the emblem off of it so she could put it on her home made outfit made of sweat clothes and quality fabrics so I wouldn't have to wear a coat over my costume, per my request), Ash Ketchum from Pokemon (this was rather boring for her but she made my brother Picachu) and finally a computer. Yes, an entire computer.








The Gay Spaceman












Dowl rods in the spangly gold cape to make it extend like wings when I lifted it, a modified and bedazzled Robo-Cop helmet, and (you can't really tell from the photo) gold, bedazzled boots.

Then there was the computer. The mother of all Halloween costumes to ever be created. I went to my mother and told her that I wanted to be a computer for Halloween and without questions she created this.

That is a REAL mouse Velcroed to the side of the apparatus and a REAL keyboard sticking out of the front. This all would probably have been fine but she did not stop there. What you can't really tell from this photo is that those colorful "CPU" lights in the front have actual, working lights in them. My mother started by buying a set of battery powered, decorative Halloween lights from the dollar store. It was a short string of Christmas-style lights with small plastic pumpkins over the bulbs, attached to a small battery pack. I suppose it was probably designed to put on an office desk or in a window. Mom pulled the pumpkins off of each bulb and fastened the string inside the large box behind colored cellophane. She taped the battery pack with the switch on it inside the box by the bottom where I could turn it on and off with my hand. In short, she wired it so that my chest actually lit up while I was trick-or-treating.

The point of these anecdotes is this: my mom worked full time, every day. She's damn good at her job and has done it for a lot of years. Her work didn't always stop the second her key hit the door either, she spent a lot of nights working from home after a day of working in the office. She never stopped being incredible at her job but that NEVER stopped her from being an amazing mom.

My mom never missed a sporting event I was in, she led my den in cub scouts, we went camping and on family vacations, I never wanted for a single thing in my whole life, and believe me, I wasn't always the greatest kid in the world. I was sick as a kid, and it made me a wholly terror a lot of the time.

There are a lot of stay at home moms and even certain organizations who think that if a woman works, she can't be a real parent to her children. To those people I have to say, quite frankly... suck it.

THIS BLOG IS DEDICATED TO TRACY VALENTINE

Camping in Roscommon

This past weekend, my wife and I went on a wonderful weekend camping trip to Roscommon, MI where we went kayaking, walking, roasted marshmallows, drank rum and beer by a warm fire, and slept in a tiny cabin watching DVD's on a portable player.

Neither of us had ever been kayaking before, apart from Loren when she was about 9, so it was an adventure to say the least. We dressed in multiple layers and took it slow and we both managed to have a really great time.

Loren even managed to have a great time despite the fact that she was consumed with fear about tipping over and drowning in the 3 feet of water at any moment.

The trees in that part of the state where at their peak for color changing and the scenes we saw were immaculate and picturesque. Beautiful explosions of golden leaves everywhere you looked with perfectly constructed houses perched along side the river peering down over it. We saw ducks and deer and felt the cold water rush past our kayak and it was paradise to me.

We came back to our campground and had a campfire where we roasted marshmallows, made smores, drank beer and rum, and laughed together as the sun set over the Au Sable. It was gorgeous. We ate lunch that day as a diner in town called "Angel's Place" that served some of the most amazing home cooked food I've ever eaten and for dinner I had a steak at Fred's, a restaurant slash bowling alley that was amazing.

After all this we piled into our tiny heated cabin where we played board games and watched movies on a portable player until we drifted off. Best weekend that I have had in quite some time. I know that it's only been 4 months of fatherhood but I still feel like a break to remind me why I married the woman I love is important. Something to break up the day to day of cleaning, cooking, homework, diapers, crying. This is DEFINITELY something that we will be doing again, most certainly with Lyric when she's old enough to come along.