Sometimes there’s a group out there who you just marvel at the talent and skill the group has. You wonder how it can be that someone can play so masterfully. So it is with the trio known as The Lovell Sisters.

I first came across these girls one weekend morning flipping through the channels and on the short lived Turner station that was about the south there was a show featuring southern artists. I was intrigued as here was a group of girls (sisters) who played some of the best bluegrass and folk I had heard in a while. This album (their second on Amie Street) is evidence that these girls are definately going to be something hot someday soon.

Anyways, check out the two songs below, take one moment is about taking a moment to enjoy the one you love and Ichetucknee Chutney is one of the BEST bluegrass tunes to come around in a while.

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For those not in the know, my parttime gig is playing with professional grade fireworks. For the past three seasons, I’ve been doing the Friday Night Fireworks for the Atlanta Braves. The photo was taken by a Friend of mine who does some amazing work. The problem with doing fourteen outdoor pyro shows in a summer is that my hands tend to take a beating.

I’ve tried all kinds of skin care products but the one I am currently using is the gold bond medicated. It seems to work the best. The big problem I’m having though is that messing with the copper wires, the wood racks, I’m getting a larger than normal amount of cuts and punctures (think bee stings) than I usually would. I need to find something to help prevent/repair that. Anyone have any suggestions?

Last nights show was a memorial to our fallen Vets. All themed music around the armed services. Its pretty good, the video is below:

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Wow! Schools out (or out at the end of the week) for most of the Country now, Memorial Day is this weekend and the official start to summer is upon us. We all know what that means. Summer time is when we coat the kids with Off, the Dogs with Frontline and the bald heads with sun block and head outside to enjoy the fresh air and the sun (unless you’re in the South East at the moment in which case you’re enjoying higher than normal amounts of rain…).

Here to help you ease in to Summer Time is Brent Ellis. His cover of summertime is a nice, light and airy version what will have you sitting on your front porch sipping a sweet tea or mint julep in no time. In fact, most of the tracks on this album are quite jazzy and worth the listen.

Oh, and if you have a blog and aren’t participating in Amie Street Music Wednesday yet, why not? You could win a couple bucks on Amie Street to help feed your music addiction!

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I was watching Rob Riner’s The Princess Bride last night (such a classic movie!) and as I watched the ending where little Freddy Savage’s grandpa is saying good by and Fred asks if he can come back tomorrow and read the story again and his grandfather (played by Peter Falk) says “As you Wish” it dawned on me that unconditional love is perhaps one of the strongest things in the world.

We learned earlier in the movie that “As you wish” is Westley’s way of telling Buttercup that he loved her (and she finally realized it) unconditionally, he would respond that way no matter the request. I don’t mean unconditional love in the way that a golfer loves his golf swing training aid or the way a little kid loves their blankie, but the way a dog loves his master or a parent loves their child.

Having (now) three little girls of mine own to watch after, I’m reminded of this daily as the two older ones are constantly pushing the limit of how far I will let them get away with things. As my parents used to tell me “Just because I’m mad at you, or I do not approve of what you’re doing, don’t forget that I still love you no matter what”. And its true.

Without a parents love we would not have the ability to grow up to be empathetic parents and people ourselves. We need role models in our lives that provide that sort of love, thats the important part of being a parent.

So whenever my girls come to me and ask for something I usually comply, with a wink and an “As you wish”.

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I was looking for a good way to get some documents and photos on my Blackberry with out having to use up the precious memory card space I’m saving for Slacker Cache files and videos, mp3s and other stuff I must have at all times on my Phone. That’s when I came across, SugarSync.

SugarSync is another in a long list of Online Backup Solutions. This one however, ROCKS. I was a little skeptical at first as I signed up for the 2gb FREE account, however, once I had downloaded the PC client, I was pleasantly surprised. My account was setup and ready to use in a matter of minutes and after I verified the account, I was able to grab the client and set it up on my laptop. Once installed, I logged in and selected the folder I wanted to “share” on the cloud. As I went cheap (I’ll talk about the other accounts in a minute) I created a special folder that I can drop things in that I’ll need on the go. That way, my entire itunes DB isn’t being backed up on the account.

I added a couple of files and logged in to the web interface. The cool thing is that you get a special “subdomain” thats all yours. So, I’d go to http://mcangeli.sugarsync.com and log in and viola, I’m looking at my shared folders. Almost as soon as I drop an item in the folder I can refresh the screen and see it. Making it available to me anywhere I have internet access. HOW FREAKING COOL!?!?

Its easy to navigate the web interface, but what had really caught my attention was the Blackberry client they offer on their site as well. Yes, you can also hit m.sugarsync.com and use it via the BB Browser, but that has some limitations and isn’t always the best choice and while the current client is rather basic, it offers all the functionality anyone needs. I was able to browse my folder and open an excel spreadsheet with out any issues and it loaded as quickly as though it was on my Berry (note: I was on wifi at the time, that probably didn’t hurt at all).

The other nice feature is the ability to take photos from with in the SugarSync. client and have it automatically uploaded to the server in the mobile photos folder. This is great for those who like snapping off pics of whatever they see (like giant cows on the side of the road) and is a great tool for getting the photos back to your computer without having to sync up.

SugarSync. has a number of different accounts ranging from the 2gb free plan to 30gb for $4.99 a month up to 250gb for $24.99 a month. They claim their most popular account is the 60gb for $9.99 a month (or $99.99 a year) which I could easily see. My problem would be I’d fill that 60gb in a second and would have to up my storage.

So far, I’m fairly impressed with the ease of use of SugarSync., the options available with it and the speed. Not to mention, the FREE 2gb account is a good starter package for those looking for a simple way to share documents between computers and devices like Blackberries and iPhones. The other cool thing is that I can load the SugarSync. client on another machine and use it to sync folders on another machine as long as I’m with in my limit. This brings a whole new meaning to file sharing!

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So I was a little absent from life last week (anyone following me on Twitter or facebook knows why) as I spent the better part of last week at the hospital with my wife. We are pleased to announce that Mary “The Leaves” Angeli was born at 4:58pm edt. on May 5th (Cinco de Mayo). Surprisingly, the birth was a fairly easy one (as we understand most third times are) and the little angel is doing well. Needless to say, I have a lot of things to catch up on (like memory upgrades at work, yardwork at home).

The girls were a little apprehensive at first, Emma wanted little to do with her new sister, while Grace was all about holding her. Things are better now with both girls being open to holding Mary and helping out where they can (some how, daddy still ends up with all the dirty diapers!) The dogs have adjusted well too. For two of them, this is the third time now a little bundle has interupted their life, for the third he’s taking it in stride. Maybe this will calm the spazz down a little.

I’m now out numbered (even if you count the boy dogs) 4 to 1, which means my life will be a never ending parade of my little pony shows, gymnastics meets (we’ve had gymnastics the past two weekends) and terrorizing boyfriends and potential suitors. Something I’m actually looking forward to. Of course, being the AWESOME parents that we are, little Mary was at her big sister Emma’s Gymnastics exhibition this past weekend, she took it in stride and slept thru the whole thing. Here’s to hoping the third one is as wonderful as the first two (oh and I promise, I’ll write more soon!)

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Grace Graduates this Friday from Preschool. I know its not really that big of a deal (and I wish there wasn’t a ceremony or anything) but it kind of is. Next year, she’ll be taking off to the world of Kindergarten and big kid school. Its a big step.

In honor, I’ve selected the song ‘Graduation’ By Jake Shumabukuro this week. It has a nice beachy sound (it is a Ukelele) and it fitting. If you haven’t had the chance to hear any of Jakes other songs, I highly recommend them! He’s toured with some impressive names as well.

Also, if you’re not participating in Amie Street Music Wednesday yet, you really should be. Its a good way to find new music on one of the best sites around and who knows, you could win $25 of credit at Amie Street like I did!

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I was going thru the headlines on CNN today when I came across one I thought would provide for some entertaining reading. I was right. Apparently, President Obama has decided that the Whitehouse would not be observing the “National Day of Prayer” that Congress enacted in the 1950’s. While that doesn’t bother me so much, I thought it might aggravate some on the right and the left and I wasn’t wrong. The Comments Alone provide enough fun reading and good arguments against either side (liberal or conservative) and just go to further prove that MOST PEOPLE DO NOT DESERVE THE PRIVILEGE of voting.

Its hard to sit back and watch the derisive nature with which the two parties have come to despise the each other with. Its like two rival football teams except much worse. The interesting thing is the number of people commending Obama for promoting “the separation of church and state” that the Constitution guarantees. The only problem with their argument is that the Constitution makes no such guarantee.

The First Amendment states “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof . . .” but the phrasing “Separation of Church and State” actually comes from a letter by Jefferson, almost 15 years after the constitution was signed. The principle of keeping religion and government separate stems from the persecution many were under that caused them to fled to the new world. The founders of the United States wanted to form a country where everyone was free to practice as they wanted, as long as no harm was caused to others. They did not want to create a religion run by government that would be forced upon the people.

The national day of prayer doesn’t tell people who or what to pray for or to. The fact that people are using the National Day of Prayer to push their religion’s agenda (or their lack of a religion) on others is more disturbing then the fact that there is a national day of prayer. As Mr. Obama said, we should all be praying every day as it is, it is rather silly that we need a national day of prayer, but to use it one way or the other to push your personal agenda or ideology is more detrimental to the country than having a Day of Prayer to begin with.

For more info on the separation of church and state Check Wikipedia

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Every TV season there’s one or two shows that I gloom on to that never seem to quite make it. A couple of years ago, there was “Studio 60″ Before that, “Firefly”. This season isn’t too different. My current favorite is Castle. The premise is that a best selling crime novelist is shadowing a NYC detective for his next best seller. The kicker is that its a female detective. The show has several things going for it. The writing is witty, the play between Becket and Castle is perfect and the story lines are different then your usual crime dramas. One of the best was this weeks where a mother staged the abduction of her child so she could get the ransom and paint the father as a bad father when she took him to divorce court. Really kept me guessing till the end of the show.

This isn’t the first time Nathan Fillion has been on tv. He was in Joss Whedon’s ill fated cultfest Firefly as Mal, and a couple of other TV shows. His wit and charm are key to making the character of Richard Castle work and its hard to imagine another actor in the role. Playing Kate Becket is Stana Katic. She’s had minor roles in some major TV movies and shows, she’s also been in a couple of regular movies (Quantum of Solace). The way the two work together is magic and one reason this show should be back in the fall.

The other show you’re not watching is Fox’s Dollhouse. Dollhouse is a creation of Joss Whedon (firefly, buffy, angel) and stars Eliza Dushku. From the Dollhouse site:

ECHO (Dushku) is an “Active,” a member of a highly illegal and underground group of individuals who have had their personalities wiped clean so they can be imprinted with any number of new personas. Hired by the wealthy, powerful and connected, the Actives don’t just perform their hired roles, they wholly become — with mind, personality and physiology — whomever the client wants or needs them to be. Whether imprinted to be a lover, an assassin, a corporate negotiator or a best friend, the Actives know no other life than the specific engagements they are in at that time.

The show is very scifi and has the “actives” dealing with things from love to POS systems to spies and killers. Its a hard one to get in to if you’re not in to the whole scifi scene, but if you’re a fan of Firefly, buffy or any of Whedon’s other works its pretty easy to get drawn in. And besides, the idea of an organization that can provide you with a person “programmed” to do/act however you want is a nifty idea. Isn’t it?

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