Tate's Crazy Train

As with all good parenting, we try to instill in our children a respect for the arts and other fine hobbies.  We received a wonderful gift for Christmas that has broadened our children's appreciation for fine music and of course provided an outlet to stimulate and improve their right AND left side of their brains.  This joyous gift (which we really do love) came in the form of:

We're diggin it, I have to play late at night or Tate gets on and messes up my scores.  Tate is so into  rockin he puts is little leg up on the ottoman so he can copy his dad, even though it sticks straight out in a painfully contorted fashion. 

One thing my Sister and Brother - in - Law did NOT know is that this excellent gift contained one of our all-time favorite songs in the world,"Crazy Train" by Ozzy Osbourne - BONUS!   I came to appreciate this song only a few years ago having avoided this type of music throughout my youth, however, I happened upon this song via a file share at work and came to love it.  It is now our favorite house cleaning song.  

Tate loves Crazy Train as well, here's a little clip of Tater gettin on the train:

You can sort of see Taters' "Wiggles" guitar in the video, he uses that for his Jam Sessions

If you don't know Crazy Train or are appalled to think of someone partaking of his lyrics, you'll find they are filled with peace loving thoughts, except for the fact that he can't handle it and is going off the rails anyway!

Crazy Train

by Ozzy Osbourne

Crazy, but thats how it goes

Millions of people living as foes

Maybe its not to late

To learn how to love

And forget how to hate

Mental wounds not healing

Lifes a bitter shame

Im going off the rails on a crazy train

Ive listened to preachers

Ive listened to fools

Ive watched all the dropouts

Who make their own rules

One person conditioned to rule and control

The media sells it and you have the role

Mental wounds still screaming

Driving me insane

Im going off the rails on a crazy train

I know that things are going wrong for me

You gotta listen to my words

Yeh-h

Heirs of a cold war

Thats what weve become

Inheriting troubles Im mentally numb

Crazy, I just cannot bear

Im living with something that just isnt fair

Mental wounds not healing

Who and whats to blame

Im going off the rails on a crazy train

Retarded Videos Edition

Well, I've been messing around with video editing and trying to branch out into new and creative methods of generating entertaining videos. Until recently my main fare was simply slideshows of the rowdy and boisterous type filled with edgy (yet old) rock music like "Jump" by Van Halen, or "Crazy Train" by Ozzy, although I always mix in something on the other end of the spectrum for the feel good portion of a video, like "Lean on Me".  I was able to incorporate a really old and cheesy song in a recent video called "Mule Skinner Blues", it's great.

As I started to say earlier I branched out to some live video instead of full stills, there's some additional entertainment benefit to seeing the kids running around and they like them even more than slideshows.  Here's a smattering of my most recent masterpieces... well let's stick with "pieces" and you can judge for yourself what kind of piece you'd like to call it.

Attack of the ShirtTards
This is what the boys do when Dad's neglect them in order to focus on Guitar Hero.  Videography by McKenna, ShirtTardedness by Zane and his cousins.  Song is called "Dance of the Mad Bast@&ds" by PWEI -Pop Will Eat Itself.  

"Wassup - Alien Edition"

Ok, my inspiration for this (if you can call it that) was the People Choice Awards website had a link to a new "Wassup" spinoff which is more of a political satire and statement on the state of our economy and the war in Iraq which I don't agree with but in general it was funny.   If you don't know what "Wassup" is than rewind like 8 years to the Super Bowl Budweiser Commercial (This is definitely not an endorsement junk).  The setting is various people saying "What's up", it's so cliche I don't blame you if you barf just being reminded of it.  Long and very lame story short, I decided to replace the actors in the video with scenes for the Aliens movie(all edited of course and rated PG).  Here's my feeble attempt.  Unfortunately live acting doesn't dub over with voices overs as well as cartoons but hey, I wanted Aliens.

All available thanks to YouTube on my channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/AaronatA2

Enjoy, keep a bowl handy. 

Windcave Hike on New Year's Eve

McKenna, Zane, and I went on a hike with the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts in the ward on New Years' Eve.  We had a great time.  We normally just go to the cave(if you can call it that, more like a big overhang) but on this hike everyone except a few people pressed on to the top of Pass Mountain.  It was a little tough going there for a few of the kids but they all did it without incident. 

Zane's "wound" when he slid on the trail, not a tear was shed!

Top o' the Mountain