Another Great Reason to Love Guitar Hero/Rockband

Hey there friends. I'm a music lover. Can't get enough of the stuff. So when Guitar Hero first came out, I thought it was great. You're simulating playing a guitar and it does a pretty damn good job at having you strum when you're supposed to. But that's not the point of this post. I'm here to write about the effect that the music in Rockband and Guitar Hero has had on my kids.

Nothing beats hearing your three year old walking down the hall singing, "Slow ride, dun dun, take it easy, dun dun, slow ride". lmao How great is that? My wife even has her as a ring tone. I don't want to instill my, or our style for that matter, of music into the kids. They listen to what they like and we let it be. Case in point, The Offspring's latest single... I can't stand the damn song. They play it over and over but the kids love it. So I let it play so that they can enjoy it.



Anyways, I love the music selection in both of these games. It exposes the kids to wide array of music. The Donnas, Metallica, Pantera, Jimi Hendrix, KISS, Guns N Roses, Queens of the Stone Age, Slayer, Soundgarden... The list goes on and on... And the kids ask for their favorites to be played. "I want to hear Black Hole Sun.", "Oh that's Black Magic Woman! Leave it there", "I love One!" These are just some of the phrases that I hear at home or in the car. Just last night, my daughter walks up to me says, "My friend at school can play Jordan on Expert and get 5 stars!!!!" Of course my son and her start debating about her friend being a liar cause Jordan is a pretty hard song to play. She then mentioned Buckethead.

Buckethead. I haven't seen that guy since forever and look what resurfaced him. My kids arguing over a game. He's been around since like the late 80's and for my kids to be mentioning Buckethead, and saying that he's cool, astounds me. This is music before their time. Santana, Buckethead, Iron Maiden, Ozzy, Queen, these are all great artists that my kids would not be exposed to as much as they are because of the music on these games. Yeah, they would hear Iron Maiden when I played it, but they wouldn't know who it is or the name of the song. They would know of Iron Maiden as "a band my dad likes". Now, Number of the Beast is one their favorite songs. Because of that, they venture off to listen to the rest of the album and enjoy other songs that otherwise they would not be interested in. I can now say that my kids are Iron Maiden fans, as well as Metallica fans, and Santana fans and Buckethead fans.

I love it. Anything that will expose music to the youths of our nation is great. And even though the games are a challenge to complete, the bright spots are definitely in the music. Just for the hell of it, because I'm feeling a little nostalgic here, here's Buckethead's Jordan as it's played in Guitar Hero II. I chose this version because even the mighty Buckethead created a solo just for this song. From what I hear, it's the only studio version of the song. You only hear live versions of this song so for him to do a studio version for a game says something. So without further delay... Here's Jordan. By the way, this is not an actual person playing the game. He's got a computer trying to do it cause it's so damn hard. lmao Later!

An Ode to Coffee

Hey there. Like millions of other people across the globe, I tend to start my day with a cup of joe. Been drinking the stuff since I was little. I know caffeine is not good for you at a young age, but eh, grandma used to give me coffee (usually black) while eating pan dulce (sweet bread). Now that's I'm in the work force, coffee is basically the forgotten food group. lol So here's to you, coffee. Enjoy!



Oh warm, sweet nectar of gods
Day in, day out
You quench my thirst
While dispelling the Sandman's dust
You heighten my senses
And liven my body
To start a day with you
Is to be destined for greatness
You are never dull
You never taste the same
With many colors to suit everyone
You never argue
And always go down smooth
Oh warm, sweet coffee
In a world full of turmoil
I can always count on your aroma
To quiet demons and bring angels
Bringing peace to millions
One cup at a time.

Yaba Daba Doooo!!!

Hey there friends. Hope you all had a safe and happy Halloween. Our Halloween evening started a little rough... We were at work again til close to 5 and that kind of put us in a not so good mood. The end of the month always sucks and for those of you working in the finance industry, you probably know what I'm talking about. After we left, we headed over to my mother in law's to get the kids ready. We snapped a few pics there with the kids in their costumes, ready to hunt for candy. Check em out.





Once we dressed, we were off to my uncle's place. He has a yearly thing there with a haunted house. He seems to be the only in the spirit in his neighborhood, but he always has a good turnout. This was his sign to attract the haunting guests.



That's my little "Daphne" standing next to the sign. She didn't want to be called anything else that night. My wife and I sat down and had us a little grub after saying hi to everyone. She snapped this pic while I was eating. She already dubbed it, "My babe doing what he does best... eating".



Yup, that's me as Fred Flintstone. I walked around telling people I forgot my bowling ball. That didn't stop me from showing off my twinkle toes moves. lol Everyone got a laugh out of that. Wilma? She's there too, check her out.



My little cousin, in the pic above, got a hold of "Wilma's" make up. She was walking around applying it to herself. By the end of the night, the little pirate looked like this. lol



We soon after took off looking for candy. Check out the "crowd" that we hung out with. The sidewalk looks eerily empty. It added to the creepiness of Halloween. It was raining earlier that day so there was this mist still lingering.



After getting ourselves bags of candy, we headed back to my uncle's place. Daphne was so happy with her haul that she just had to shake it. lmao



My bro then came out with his get up. Don't know what the hell he was supposed to be but I called him Eric Estrada. lmao I sometimes wonder how I can be related to him...



Soon after, our kids started dropping like flies, falling asleep everywhere. Even my babe started to look tired. We packed up our stuff and jumped in the "Flintstone Mobile" and headed home.



We had a blast. We already came up with what we're going to be for next year's Halloween. lmao We're like that. My wife loves to plan ahead and the costume idea for next year pretty much came from her, but I like it so it should be good. We're thinking of getting the costumes sometime this week since we figured they'll be discounted since Halloween is over this year. What are we going to be??? You'll just have to wait and see! Later!

The Ultimate XBOX Experience with Charter

Hey there friends. Resistance 2, Rock Band 2, Gears of War 2, these are just some of the most anticipated games that will be monstrous hits for the XBOX gaming system. And what better way to get the full experience than with blazing fast internet and HD service. If you don't have any of the above, don't worry. Our friends at Charter Communications bring you the Charter Communications Xbox Sweepstakes .

Charter Communications will be giving away ax XBOX 360 prize pack a day until Dec. 15th. (80) The prize pack includes:

XBox 360® Pro Console
XBox LIVE Headset
Wireless Controller
Component HD AV Cable
20Gb Detachable Hard Drive

There are multiple ways to be entered into the sweepstakes. You can automatically be entered into the drawing by purchasing one of their low cost bundles, you can mail in a post card with all the information needed, or you can register online with Charter and be automatically entered. There is no purchase necessary to enter and a purchase will not increase your chances of winning but if you don't have the high speed internet or HD services, you're not doing the XBOX 360 justice. (169) The HD quality of these games have astounding detail that cannot be matched and the high speed internet will allow you to get with friends to team up or go head to head with other XBOX players across the world. With a game like Gears of War 2, a head set is a must to be able to communicate with your team mates as you navigate through the world blasting enemies and saving lives.

Charter Communications is giving away all you need to have the ultimate XBOX 360 experience. You have nothing to lose but the XBOX world to gain. Sign up for your chance to win at Charter Communications Xbox Sweepstakes . For official rules of the sweepstakes, click here. Later.

Blogs of the Month for October

Hey there friends. We had some major changes in the line up for top blogs of the month. The only blog left over from last month is Picture to People ,claiming the top spot, while everyone else dropped off and were replaced with new top droppers. 200 EC credits are coming your way! Check em out, friends.

Nothing Fits Better Than a Great Suit

Hey there friends. Always make a great first impression. We've heard that line since we were young. I've been fortunate enough to have a job that requires some travel to attend business meetings or conferences. I've been to Las Vegas, New York, and New Orleans to represent our company. How better to make a great first impression than with a great looking suit. Not just any suit, but a custom suit that was made to your specifications. A suit with perfect measurements, your style, and made with the material that makes you look and feel great. Enter MySuitNY.com.

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With so many options, MySiutNY makes it so easy to get a mens’ suit without all the hassle. No longer do you need to go through racks of pre-made suits for one that looks decent. Make your appointment today get the suit that will make you look and feel like a million bucks.