Joke a Day Video Project

A few weeks ago, I started a joke a day video project. My goal is to record on video (at least) one joke per day for an entire year. At the end of the year, I would edit all the jokes into one video and post it.

At first if sounded easy, and the only difficulty that I would have was to remember to record something. After a few days, I realized that I was not only telling a joke but also creating a kind of journal. The context of the joke should try to match the environment of the background in the video. I have a few jokes planned for certain situations, but usually most are not planned out in advance.

Also, I now realize that not only should I edit all the jokes into one final video, but also I should have been posting each individual one to Facebook. Yeah...I might still do that.

Looking back at the videos so far, I can see that I don't look too comfortable in the early ones. I hope that the final video will also show how I progress in telling the jokes while I'm being recorded.

Here's a list of some of the jokes that have used or may use in the future:

Did you hear the story about the broken pencil…there’s no point.

What's the difference between a violin and a viola? 

A viola burns longer.

Why does a viola burn longer?

It’s usually still in the case.

My dog used to chase people on a bike. It got so bad that I finally had to take his bike away.

I wanted to grow my own food but I couldn’t get bacon seeds.

The secret to t good BBQ is to have a sauce that will cover up your mistakes.

When I see lovers’ names carved in a tree, I don’t think it’s sweet—I just think how surprising it is how many people bring a knife on a date.

I buy a lot of expensive cologne—I guess I have no common scents.

What happens when blondes move from New Jersey to New York? Both states get smarter.

Why can’t the bicycle stand up? Because it’s two tired.

Farting on an elevator is wrong on so many levels.

April 1

Since my last post, I've been busy connecting my electronics and audio projects. My, how time flies!

I've cleaned out a small section of the basement to use as an office. I moved a small desk into the area so that I can use a laptop to do my work. I'm still working on my job search, but in my spare time I now have a small space to relax and listen to music.

This weekend as I prepare to do my taxes, I'll see if I can locate a file cabinet to organize my paperwork. Right now, I'm using some crates as a bookshelf.

Last month, I purchased a new record player. It's nothing fancy--just enough to play my records without skipping. Since the audio output is not too strong, I have it hooked up to some amplified computer speakers. It's good enough to fill the room with sound.

Now when I do my work, I can listen to the record player, radio, CD player, or cassette tape player.

I also dusted off my guitar and amplifier. I'm running it through my iPhone so that I can use some guitar pedal apps and Garage Band. The batteries on my iRig stomp box keep dying--now I have to find my AC adapters.

Traveling with Snuggles

The new year started out with Snuggles traveling along the East Coast from Long Island, NY to the Washington DC area.

One of the first stops this year was to Center Moriches High School in Suffolk County, New York. We went there to see a girls volleyball tournament.

In February, it was off to the Capital Hill Volleyball tournament in Washington DC. While there, he toured the areas of Arlington, VA and Washington, D.C. Here's Snuggles reading the Washington Metrorail map.

Getting the Band Back Together

I'm just going to make a post here that will act like a portal to some of my favorite music and band links. I plan on posting links for guitar tabs, song lyrics, and sheet music.

Guitar Tabs and Chords:
Black Sabbath--Paranoid
Dead Boys--Sonic Reducer
Devo--Jocko Homo
Judas Priest--Breaking the Law
Judas Priest--You Got Another Thing Comin'
Kinks--You Really Got Me
Kiss--Love Gun
MC5--Kick Out the Jams
Rainbow--Man on the Silver Mountain
Rainbow--Man on the Silver Mountain
Ramones
Ultimate Guitar Tabs


Song Lyrics:
Song Lyrics


Sheet Music:


Videos:
Black Sabbath--Paranoid
Cheetah Chrome/Dead Boys--Sonic Reducer
Kiss--Love Gun
MC5--Kick Out the Jams
McRad--Weakness
McRad--Weakness

Cooking with Kenjin

Now that it's getting colder outside and the holiday season has started, it's time to start baking. Here's a recipe based on one that we found on the Internet--Apple Roses by Manuela.

Ingredients to make 6 roses:

• 1 thawed Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry sheet
• 2 red delicious apples
• 1.5 table spoons lemon, juice
• flour, to sprinkle the counter
• 3 tablespoons of apricot preserve
• cinnamon sugar
• powdered sugar for decorating (optional)

Directions:

Cut the apples in half and remove their cores. Cut the apples into thin slices. Put slices into a bowl with water and lemon juice (to prevent browning). Microwave the apples in the bowl for about three minutes to make them soft.

In a bowl, prepare the apricot preserve. Add three table spoons of apricot preserve with two tablespoons of water. Microwave for about a minute and mix together.

Roll out the thawed pastry puff on a lightly floured counter. Cut the dough into six strips. Each strip should be about 2” x 9” in size.

Spread the apricot preserves onto each pastry puff strip and sprinkle cinnamon sugar.

After draining the apples, place the apples on the dough. About half the apple slice should be on the dough and each apple slice should cover about half the slice under it.

Fold over the dough leaving half the apple slices exposed. Roll each slice. Each apple rose should fit into a greased muffin pan.

Cook at 375 degrees F for about 40 to 45 minutes until fully cooked.

Sprinkle with powered sugar when finished.

Developing T-Shirt Designs

Every now and then, my style preferences in T-shirt fashion seems to change. The cycle includes plain shirts, skateboarding brands, sports teams, Ed Roth designs, and surfing culture designs. Now, I’m just interested in designing my own shirts.

I’ve created two stores to create and sell my designs. I originally started by using the Café Press Web site. Now, I’ve been spending a lot of time using the Zazzle Web site. Each Web site has its advantages, and each design on those sites are a little different due to the design applications that they use.

The most important part of the design process starts with my camera, scanner, photo editing applications, and art program. Most of my images are eventually opened in Microsoft Paint for various simple image manipulation tasks. The final image is then used in Café Press or Zazzle. From there, I can add additional text to the designs.

Basic Pizza Dough Recipe

It’s been a while, but I started baking again. I found my old recipes and I tried some new ones. I’m going to post some of the recipes so that I can always find them in one place. Right now, most recipes are printed out and stuck in one of my baking books. Below is a recipe for pizza dough.

Basic Pizza Dough 
Recipe courtesy of Paula Deen 

Yield:  2 (12-inch) pizzas 

Ingredients 

• 1 3/4 cup warm water 
• 1 (1/4-ounce) package active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons) 
• 2 teaspoons salt 
• 4 1/2 to 5 cups bread flour  2 cups bread flour and 2 1/2 to 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for bowl 
• Cornmeal, for pan 

Directions 

• Preheat oven at 450 degrees F. 
• Measure out 1 3/4 cups warm water (it should be pleasantly warm on your wrist). Sprinkle the yeast on top of the water and allow it to activate, about 10 minutes. 
• Put the salt and 2 cups of the flour into a food processor. Pulse 5 times to blend. Pour in the yeast and water and pulse 5 times. Add the olive oil. Add the remaining flour 1 cup at a time, pulsing and scraping the sides of the bowl until well blended. As soon as the mixture is combined, dump it out onto a well-floured board and knead for 15 turns, until the dough is smooth and elastic. 
• Place the dough in a greased bowl and turn to coat all sides. Cover with plastic wrap or a tea towel. Allow the dough to rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes, until doubled in size, then punch it down. Divide it in half; each half will make 1 (12-inch) pizza. 
• Place on a cornmeal-dusted pizza stone, pizza pan, or cookie sheet. Roll up edge slightly to create a ridge around the pizza. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes, or until crust is light brown. 

If using only half dough, freeze the other half. Place the dough in a resealable freezer bag. To thaw, remove the bag from the freezer and place in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Roll the dough out while cold then allow it to come to room temperature before adding toppings. 

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/basic-pizza-dough-recipe.html?oc=linkback