Muse - Black Holes and Revelations:
A few months ago I registered on Muse's website to take a listen to their new CD (you can stream it at no charge). I liked what I heard, and only recently did I return to check out some of their other releases. While Absolution is still my favorite Muse release, Black Holes and Revelations is a close second place. "Take A Bow" is without a doubt the my favorite Muse song, and if forced to make a Top 10 list of all time it might make it in there. "Knights of Cydonia" is the type of song that a prog-snob like myself would love (the video is quite entertaining as well). "Invincible" and "Starlight" are other highlights, striking a good balance between being catchy and having some really good riffs.

Dream Theater - Black Clouds and Silver Linings:
This one took a few listened to appreciate, but once I got it, I was absolutely floored by this release. Musically, this album is great prog, especially the soaring melodic themes on the last two epics. Lyrically, it's very good as well, although there are some weak moment. Finally, the song with the catchy chorus, "A Rite of Passage", works very well (something that hasn't always been the case). Mike Portnoy's 12 Step Saga, which has spanned five albums, comes to a satisfying close (the song is stronger when placed with the other songs from this musical journey).

I am currently in the process of redesigning the site, and to be quite honest I am not sure what type of content will be on the site when I am finished. Several sections of the site have not been updated in quite some time. I have stopped doing movie reviews and music reviews are farther in between. Photos can be quickly uploaded to various picture sites for all to see. And it's been seven years since Alicia and I were married, so why have a wedding section on the site? If it were not for the two fantasy football leagues that I run on a yearly basis, the site might not even exist.

But the site does exist, so I suppose I should think of some other things to share with the rest of the world. I recently finish editing my Hawaii video from 2004, and I'll soon be looking for a couple clips to share on this site.

After having just two or three photographs on the right side of the page for the last couple of years, I've decided to bring back previous photographs.
- 2004: Trip to Hawaii
- 2005: Trips to San Diego, Houston, Prescott, and Pinetop; more
- 2006: Hunter; trips to California, Ruidoso, and Phoenix; more
- 2007: Trips to Little Rock and Ruidoso, two weddings, and more
- 2008: ALLTEL show car and trips to San Diego and Canada and the Oregon Coast
- 2009: Hawaii (in progress) and more (coming soon)

For those that know me well, I am a progressive music junkie. Some of the bands I listen to are well known, such as Rush, Yes, and Pink Floyd. Others are not, such as Spock's Beard, The Flower Kings, Pain of Salvation, and Enchant. Still others fall somewhere in between, such as Dream Theater, Porcupine Tree, and Marillion. While I am no longer writing reviews, I have put together a page of my favorite albums among other things.

My main hobby in life is golf. I've become quite obsessed with the game in recent years. The main purpose of this section of my site is to track my rounds of golf from March 2009 onward. I also have a list of courses I've played, and I'll be adding some photographs of the courses in the near future.

The 2009 Fantasy Football season is over! The Nut Flush captured their third title in franchise history in the Black and Blue Fantasy Football League. In the Maroon and Gold Fantasy Football League, Rushmore Royal Rockets once again proved while they are the most dominant team in league history. The team came within 50 points of eclipsing their record for most points in a season, and, like The Nut Flush, they captured their third ever FFL title. Get all of the season's results on the fantasy football website. Be sure to check out the fantasy football forum while you are taking a look around as there are always a few good reads on there.

 
December 26 - Steven Jr. (my nephew) and his dad check out a Christmas present, Learning Puppy.

 
October 10 - Alicia and I spent the weekend in Phoenix, and the timing of the trip coincided with the birth of our nephew Steven George Tilson. Here's Mike and Steven (born 10/5/09).