Not Your Father's Schweddy Balls

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In my home, the Holiday Season means many wonderful things. It means a home that can be seen from orbit, wrapped in white and red Christmas lights. It means a beautiful Christmas tree, lovingly decorated for my kids. It means a family outing to our hometown Christmas parade, concluding with Santa on a big red firetruck.

The Holiday Season also means yummy, tasty balls.

Hold on there!! Did I just say balls? Well… Yes, I did. I'm talking about rum balls… kahlua balls… amaretto balls. All tasty Holiday treats that I have enjoyed since I was a small boy. They are a true Holiday tradition in my home and I would love to make them a Holiday tradition in your home.

The recipe for these balls is simple and easy. The best part is they are the "no bake" variety which means you get all the flavor and all the alcohol. So... Here is how to make a sack of balls. Select your liquor of choice or get crazy and mix them up in a jungle variety sack.

No Bake Balls:

  • 1 to 2 cups finely crushed vanilla wafers.
  • 1 to 2 cup confectioners' sugar.
  • 1 cup chopped nuts (optional).
  • 2 tablespoons cocoa.
  • Stir together, then add the following…
  • 2 tablespoons corn syrup.
  • 1/3 to 1/2 cup of Rum, Kahlua, or Amaretto
  • Roll 1 inch balls.
  • Roll balls in powered sugar.
  • Store in airtight container.

Have a great Holiday Season!! Enjoy my balls!!

Gottlieb Jazz Collection

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I recently came across a set of over 1,600 images captured by William P. Gottlieb from the 1930's and 1940's. Gottlieb was a notable journalist and self-taught photographer who covered the jazz scene and musicians in it during the period recognized as the "Golden Age of Jazz". Covering a ten year period, from 1938 to 1948, Gottlieb captured these images while following musicians in the New York City and Washington D.C.

Gottlieb was born in January of 1917 in the Canarsie neighborhood of Brooklyn and grew up in Bound Brook, New Jersey. He began his career as a journalist while attending Lehigh University where he wrote for the weekly campus newspaper and became the editor-in-chief of the The Lehigh Review. During Gottlieb's last year of college, he began writing a weekly jazz column for the Washington Post. From there, Gottlieb also wrote for Down Beat Magazine, The Record Changer, The Saturday Review, and Collier's.

The list of jazz musicians that Gottlieb followed and captured in images is extensive. Some of the more prominent personalities included Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Billie Holiday, Dizzy Gillespie, Earl Hines, Jo Stafford, Thelonious Monk, Stan Kenton, Ray McKinley, Benny Goodman, Les Paul, and Ella Fitzgerald. From candid moments to street scenes to performances on stage, Gottlieb documented this period in time with an in the moment and intimacy rarely seen.

Gottlieb stopped photographing jazz musicians in 1948. In 2006, Gottlieb suffered a stroke and passed away in April of that year from complications. Following his wishes, the images in this collection entered the public domain on February 16, 2010. They  were made public by the Library of Congress (LOC) and can be viewed directly at the LOC's web site or the LOC's Flickr feed/portfolio.

These timeless images are snapshots of our past. They are venues and moments that are gone, but still live in our collective consciousness. Gottlieb's images are the vision and product of self self-taught photographer and creative. They are truly an impressive legacy.

Enjoy!!

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Paper Trail:

This post was originally published on Kerrsplat.com, dated December 17, 2013.

The Slingshot Channel

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If you have not seen Joerg Sprave from The SlingShot Channel on YouTube, do yourself a favor and checkout his videos and web site. Joerg and the folks involved with his projects are crazy insane (in a good way) and uber creative.

What do Joerg and his team do, you ask? They do anything and everything that can be done with rubber powered projectile launchers and weapons. From everyday slingshots to rapid fire slingshots to a slingshot canon, Joerg and his team design, build, and demonstrate some of the most outrageous and original inventions of rubber powered destruction I have ever seen.

Warning... Be sure you have ample time to spend before you start watching Joerg's videos. They are addictive. You will be watching for a while. 

Enjoy!!

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Paper Trail:

This post was originally published on Kerrsplat.com, dated December 14, 2013.

Feeling Down?? The Callin' Oates Hotline to the Rescue!!

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OMG... The Callin' Oates Hotline is back up and in service. I feel whole again!! No, seriously... I friggin' love Hall and Oates!! I grew up on Daryl Hall, John Oates, and all their music in the late 70's and early 80's. Some of the fondest memories of my life, past and present, were experienced with Hall and Oates playing in the background. 

Okay, okay... Some of you are thinking, "Calm down Bill. What the hell is this all about? Callin' Oates Hotline, really?" Answer... Really.

A few years ago, a good friend of mine, Morgan, told me about the Callin' Oates Hotline. I didn't believe her at first, but she texted me the number. I immediately called and discovered she was right. Call the number. Get a menu of songs to choose from. Listen on your phone. If you're with good company, switch to speaker phone.

I loved it!! The number immediately went into my contacts list on my phone and set as a favorite. Not only that... I began a crusade to spread the word. I told family. I told friends. I blogged about the hotline. Life was "fan" friggin-tastic!!

One day, though, my worst fear was realized. I was feeling down. I needed the Callin' Oates Hotline. I dialed the number only to discover it was out of service. I didn't know what to do. I had just redone my playlist on my phone. In my haste, I had forgotten to add any Hall and Oates. I was crushed. I had no choice. I had to listen to what I had... Men at Work.

Thank God those dark days are over. Yesterday evening, just when I needed an emotionally pickup and calm in my life, another good friend of mine, Josh, texted me with the news. Here are Josh's words, clear and straight from the heart, "Bill. Someone posted this to Reddit today. It is on the front page right now. There is an emergency Hall and Oates Hotline!!"

I read Josh's text once, twice, a third time before it registered. I read the Reddit posts. I wrote down the number and knew instantly that this was real. This was actually happening. The Callin' Oates Hotline number was the same as the old number. My heart skipped a beat. Trembling, I dialed the number. 

It was true. It was and is all true... The Callin' Oates Hotline is operational. The hotline is back and better than ever. More song... Better sound quality… Same number… I couldn't have hoped or asked for more. All is well in my world. I hope the Callin' Oates Hotline makes things better in your world as well. 

Enjoy!! 

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Paper Trail:

This post was originally published on Kerrsplat.com, dated December 13, 2013.

Kindlewood

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Talent and creativity live all around us. I was reminded of this when a friend of mine and his band played at the Black Cat in Washington D.C. My friend's name is Galen Smith and the band is Kindlewood.

I met Galen not all that long ago. We are work colleagues by day. I knew from work that Galen was a member of Kindlewood. That was the extent of my knowledge.

That all changed, though. I discovered that Galen, along with Kelci Smith and Jamison Lyman, have created a unique and wonderful sound with Kindlewood. Subtle and understated yet haunting and powerful, Kindlewood is truly a local Baltimore/Washington D.C. musical treasure.

Kindlewood, to date, has produced two albums and is currently working on their third. Their first album is entitled, I Don't Believe in Ghosts. Their second album is entitled, Desiderium. The video presented here is from a track off of their second album entitled, Dangerous is the Sound. It was shot as a live motel session by Cory Pampalone and is a delight to watch and listen too.

If you are in the Baltimore/Washington D.C. area, I highly recommend experiencing Kindlewood in a live venue. It will be a truly memorable and enjoyable experience. If you are not local to the Baltimore/Washington D.C. area, do not despair. Kindlewood is also available through iTunes and well worth your support.

Enjoy!!
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Paper Trail:

This post was originally published on Kerrsplat.com, dated November 16, 2013.

Snow Crash

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“When the Deliverator puts the hammer down, shit happens.”
- Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash

Snow Crash is a science fiction novel written by Neal Stephenson. It was published in 1992 and broke new ground as post-cyberpunk tour de force that became an immediate modern science fiction classic. Due to it's original lexicon, Snow Crash is not the easiest of reads initially, but is well worth the investment. The characters are well developed and complex. The story is unique and unfolds as a classic mystery with lots of discovery. As pure escapism, Snow Crash completely transports the reader into an alternate reality of a near future will be immediately recognized.

The novel begins with Hiro Protagonist, last of the freelance hackers and the greatest sword fighter in the world. Hiro works as a high-speed pizza deliverer for the Mafia (a Deliverator). Living in a U-Store-It near the Los Angeles airport, Hiro splits his time between the real world and the Metaverse, a three-dimensional virtual world accessed by personal computers and public terminals. Strapped for cash and living on the edge in reality, Hiro is a warrior prince and one of the original hacker elite that created and developed the Metaverse.

After an unfortunate mishap while delivering a pizza, Hiro teams up with Y.T. (short for Yours Truly), a 15 year old female skateboard courier that is streetwise and sassy. Together, Hiro and Y.T are pursued by Raven, an Aleut harpoon Master that drives a motorcycle with a sidecar nuke. Their goal? Unravel the mystery that is Snow Crash, a new a dangerous drug and computer virus.

Snow Crash is a rocket ride from start to finish and one of my favorite novels. It is an absolute recommendation and a must read for any fan of cyberpunk or science fiction. If you have not read Snow Crash, what are you waiting for? If you have read Snow Crash, get comfy and read it again!

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Paper Trail: 
    ▪    Neal Stephenson - Official Web Site
    ▪    Wikipedia - Snow Crash
    ▪    Amazon - Snow Crash
    ▪    Audible - Snow Crash

This post was originally published on Kerrsplat.com, dated October 27, 2013.