Howdy, Been a really long time, could spend lots of one's and zero's telling you why butI aint going ta do that...not today, today, you might learn something about the art of Public Relations and Food Preparation.

I wanna tell you in a non-descript way, how to make waffles from scratch

Necessary Items for this activity


WAFFLE IRON (1) Contact your local power supply if you don't have electricity
MICROWAVE OVEN, OR REGULAR OVEN
MIXING MACHINE OF ONE OF THOSE HAND HELD DEALIO'S
MEDIUM MIXING BOWLS (2)
LARGE MiXING BOWL (1)
MEASURING CUP
MEASURING SPOONS 1/2 Teaspoon, 1 Teaspoon (TSP) and 1 Tablespoon (TBSP)
SIFTER (1)
ROLL OF PAPER TOWELS for CLEANING AND SIFTING
WHISK
LADDLE

and all this stuff listed below


It's only a handful of ingredients, and 30 minutes of your time but the satisfaction will last all week. So get a pen and paper if you're memory aint so good and if you don't have a Microwave like me, you'll wanna preheat the oven to 300 and melt 4 TBSP of butter in a bowl for later

2 CUPS FLOUR
2 TBSP SUGAR
2 TSP BAKING POWDER
1/2 TSP SALTS

Sift all those things together onto a paper towel, then dump that into the sifter over another paper towel and sift again, using a SIFTER if you got one, if you don't, get one.


Then the wet ingredients...

2 CUPS OF MILK, 2% or bigger, don't skimp on milk fat when it comes to baked goods.
2 EGG YOLKS (SEPARATE THE EGGS)...Whisk them together


Now take the EGG WHITES (2) and beat/quisinart/bigmixingmachine them starting on low, adding 1/2 TSP of vanilla extract and start on low, and up your power 1 level every 30 seconds until them shits is fluffy and stiff like a cloud

add the dry to the wet and stir until mixed, NO MORE VISIBLE FLOUR, ETC., but don't overmix that tasty shit
Next add the MELTED BUTTER and EGG WHITES and FOLD** the entire batter until most of the egg white chunks are gone and it looks like that guys bucket at the HILTON

** - (Do not stir, pull batter from one side of mixing dish underneath the batter on top toward you and rotate the spoon/spachula to bring that batter to the top and FOLD it over the batter on top, PRACTICE makes perfect)

then using your very necessary WAFFLE IRON (plug in 10 minutes before batter is done to ensure timing awesomeness), add the correct amount of batter and cook to your preferred level of doneness.

Remember, people also like fresh fruit on their waffles, so it's good to have some kicking around, you know, BLUEBERRIES. RASBERRYS, BANANAS are crowd favorites.

Whip up some soft or pre melted butter, offer a choice of Aunt J or Pure Maple, and listen for the sound of Mmmmmmmm fill the room. I made these for my baby the other day and she was in heaven, aint that right Roxana?


Also I just spent stupid loot i aint got to go HD in my recording studio, so BRING IT SUCKA'S!!!


let the good times roll.
jhs

In the last 9 months, I've spent a vast portion of my time, energy and money into the studio in my home, with the diligent help of musical prodigy/new roomie Kyle Paas. We've turned what was once a rare, huge cool apartment, into Greenpoint's Electric Ladyland. No crazy consoles, but enough tasty recording gear to capture the magic nicely and a collection of guitars, basses, amps and keyboards even Pink Floyd would be proud of...

Booking more and more work all the time, getting more sessions, happy satisfied ARTISTS, yes, well...for the most part anyway. Working on lots of great things, keeping busy on the side with some engineering work for the Way Nice™ Mixing Co. of Hatters fame headed by the JK. If you know anyone who needs a mix done "Way Nice", lemme know, I can arrange a sit down.

Worked on some really cool things this past few months with JK, Sara Bareillas in 5.1 for one, that was a treat, recorded Fountains of Wayne at the Knitting Factory, got a day in with Jack Daley, bassist for Lenny Kravitz, and got an ISO box for my computer from him too, $weet! In addition, today KP and I are putting the finishing touches up some new lighting, curtains, dimmers and paint for Sunday's Rockwood-Stocked All-Star Christmas-Compilation Extravaganza. All in all, I gotta run back to the hardware store, again, and the curtains need to be hemmed (any takers?), but things are looking...and sounding, really fucking good.

jhs

i have been super busy with things lately, juggling a whole bunch o projects and so in all the confusion I haven't had a moment to visit my honorary niece, Mikaela...

So today I made some time on this beautiful sunday afternoon to have a play date, I met up with Ilana and her little girl Mikaela at the playground on 12th street between ave A and B. After some good old fashioned playground fun, we went to Sushi Lounge and I saw a first and only, that little 3 year old ray of sunshine ate Avocado Rolls like it was going out of style, imagine that, a little girl that eats sushi!!!

then it was up to the old homestead where we watched The Simpson's, a little finding Nemo and some Uncle Jeffrey time. This is such an amazing time in a children's lives, they cross the threshold from doing what you make them do to being conscious and aware of everything, and full of questions...

so much fun, amazing how things I forgot about, things I think to be been there done that in my life, are so new, exciting and adventurous for someone like her. The whole interaction seemed to make life slow down a little bit, and seem so pure and possible, what a joy it is to re-enjoy those simple things again, thanks Mika.

jhs

this here package arrived in my mailbox just the other day and I forgot to tell you guys...



in case you can't tell, this here is all the contents of my lost wallet,
complete with paychecks, metro card and all my credit cards...

turns out the young man who found my wallet, is a kid and incidentally was looking for his own wallet at the time he discovered mine, but i think he's a college student who has now gone back off to school and left my wallet sitting at home, waiting to come home.

His mom called me a couple of weeks ago and confirmed that he had indeed procrastinated on this most karma oriented of missions and that she would oblige me with the eventual return of the wallet, of which she would also have done sooner if not for a trip to the islands in the month of august.

Either way...it's here, it's back and I will hopefully never, ever ever, lose my wallet again.

jhs

Four days ago, my girlfriend Roxana's cousin died of cancer, she was only 24 years old
and it's a tragedy to lose someone so young. Her family is bigger and closer than mine, outside of my brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, i don't speak to any of my cousins, we don't visit, we don't chat, we don't email...dunno, that's the way it's always been.

So when she called me on Thursday and told me the bad news, I went to be with her, I was also with her Friday too. So Saturday came and I had to get back to things I had planned, I went to the Yankees game with my boss, followed by dinner with him and his 4 year old boy Rex, the day was great and I really enjoyed hanging with my buddy Jon and his boy...afterwards I was on a high from the experience which was filled with love and friendship, something I don't often get in the familial sense since most of my family lives so far away.

My phone rang shortly after and it was a good friend Theresa who was a roommate of my brother Jeremiah in florida some time ago, and he had told her to look me up when she made her big move to the city. Excited still over the great day I had, I jumped at the opportunity to do something nice for someone and show them around, introduce them to a few people...I picked her up in times sq and we jetted down to The Cutting Room Studios for a couple of hours with my roommate and a producer friend of mine, talking business, live, music and enjoying ourselves.

I was also going to take her to a keg party last night in brooklyn hosted by my buddy Rocky who is cheif engineer at the studio, but before that we made our way to Rockwood Music Hall which I had told Theresa about and she was stoked, when we arrived, there were plenty of people I knew there, and as I said hello and made my rounds, some of the more boisterously intoxicated persons asked where my girlfriend was, instead of keeping her and essentially my business to myself, i decided to tell them she was with her best friend and didn't feel like going out because of the death of her cousin...to which both girls I was talking to replied in unison "You should go be with her"...

I suppose they are right, but it just hadn't occurred to me since I know that if the situation was reversed I would never expect my girlfriend to drop everything and to mourn the death of a cousin with me, besides, she was with her best friend and for all I knew, I hadn't heard from her since I left her that morning except when she texted me about going to the MoMa today to see Dali's Exhibit. And maybe she needed some space, or time alone, whatever...

What happened next blew my mind, one of the young ladies I was talking to decided to compare my not being there for my girlfriend on day 3 with her Fiance deciding to leave the country for 6 weeks days after her FATHER died....um, sorry...not the same thing. But it made me think enough that I was now prepared to leave all my friends, abandon all my plans and go be with Roxana...so I went inside to say goodbye to people, and then another person, who I will not name, said hello and could see that I was pensive, she asked...so I told her the same deal, to which she replied "You know, not being there for her when she needs you is a clear indiicator of how much you actually love her"

HELLO....IT'S HER FUCKING COUSIN, NOT HER MOM, DAD, SISTER, BROTHER....i'm not insensitive, but it's been three daya and she has a life and other friends besides me!!!

The best part was that her friend, whom I met just seconds before, started quizzing me about how I had spent my day, casting judgement on my decisionsm making comments like "oh yeah, that's was really important" and essentially implying that I was a bad person for not supporting my girlfriend in her time of need. To that kid I say, how dare you??? You don't know me, you don't know my girlfriend, and if I ever fucking see you again, stay the fuck outta my way you self righteous prick or I'll fucking kick your ass.

After being bombarded by these four lovingly self righteous and fairweathered judgementally inclined sons a bitches in the span of minutes, I simply walked out on everyone, got in a cab and went to my girlfriends house, where she was sitting comfortably in the company of her two best friends and had been watching movies, doing homework and taking naps all day...

Today we woke up, made love all morning, went to brunch and then spent the day at the Moma...The Salvador Dali Exhibit, it was an awesome day.

Moral of the story, when you think people are your friends, think again, people in glass houses will throw stones, and so in the future, next time somebody ask about my girlfriend, I'll simply say, she's fine, she's out with her friends, and keep my fucking mouth shut...

jhs

Some kid, whose name I can't recall, called me nearly two weeks ago, from a non Florida area code, and said he found my wallet. He said it was out in the middle of the highway, and coincidentally enough, he was actually there looking for his own wallet. Excited and surprised, I thanked him kindly, repeatedly and he asked if I wanted him to mail it, to which I said "of course". I gave him all my mailing info, thanked him again and...and that was two weeks ago.

I feel almost that because I didn't offer a reward over the phone, fully expecting to see a return address on the package and then reciprocate a few bucks...but do you really think he just decided not to mail it? Did he forget? Hmmm.

His number is no longer in my call list so the only way I'll be able to reach him is when I get his number off my wireless bill. I suppose I'll wait another week before I call with the "hey, remember that wallet you found, did you ever mail it to me?"

Anyway, the wallet remains lost and I'll keep checking the mailbox.

jeffrey

so, not to get into it to deeply

but I've been in florida since a tulmultuous wednesday night/thursday morning trying to make it to florida after 3 cancelled flights and 3 different airports for my father surgery last thursday

ever since it's been a non stop roller coaster of breakdowns, buildups, disinvitations and misery.  I've been doing my best not to fall apart at the seams, for my mother and fathers sake, they are counting on me right now to do what they cannot do for each other or themselves...

i'm happy to do it, I love my parents very much and I'm happy to be there for them, especially since they have been there for me from day one for the last 30 years...

my dads surgery went well, he's now cancer free and without a prostate, but the two days since has been agony and complication after complication...testing my mental and emotional strength as never before. I wasn't there for my twin brother when he got sick, and I've regreted it every day since...that's 10 years ago, I'll be damned if I'm going to make that mistake again, luckily I grew up since then.

But go figure amidst all the bullshit, and suffering my mother and father have endured over the last few months and especially the last few days, if I didn't lose my motherfucking wallet tonight.  I went out this afternoon to get my father a box o joe from Dunkin Donuts, and stopped at Chick Filet on the way back, well, low and behold the smell was enough to inspire my father to eat for the first time in four days...

so he sent me back to pick up some chicken nuggets for him, of which I paid, AGAIN with my credit card...so I know I had it then.  Everything was great, the nurses finally figured out what would work to ease my fathers post surgical suffering and at 10:30 i decided to call it a night, and stopped at the Cheesecake Factory for a salad and a scotch.

So all is well, I decided to ante up and get the top shelf 18 year old stuff, so my bill was hefty for a single person, and when it was time to pay I reached for my wallet and POOF, nothing.

I looked everywhere, in the car, in the parking lot, at the hopital parking lot, in my fathers hospital room, which I had to sneak into at 12:30am to look for my wallet, and still nothing.  I know what happened, I was on the phone when I went thru the drive thru and I never put it back in my pocket, most likely in my lap, and when I exited the vehicle at 6pm at the hospital...tumblina onto the pavement.  The question is...

where the fuck is it?

who would find a wallet on the ground in a hospital parking lot and not turn it in...given the it's got all my credit/debit cards and my only ID, i really hope I can get it back or else I'm stuck in florida until my roommate in NYC can next day air me my old ID or passport.  But seriously...the wallet had everything in it, including my business cards, complete with phone number and email address, so if I don't hear from someone tomorrow about my wallet, I'm my last shred of hope for humanity might be lost.

I mean, who finds a wallet in a hospital parking lot and doesn't turn it in? Doesn't call/email the owner of the wallet if that info is readily available?  I surely hope my first phone call or email of the day tomorrow is from whomever found my wallet...

in the immortal words of the Mighty Mighty Bosstones..."Never lose my wallet, that would put me on the spot, never lose my sense, at least the one I've got, never lose my family, never lose my friends...never lose my youth, I hope it never ends...HOPE I NEVER LOSE MY WALLET."

fingers crossed.

jhs

i love my dad, i respect him, and I aspire to be the measure of the man I feel he is. A stand up guy if there ever was one. The only thing is that I grew up in the 80's and early 90's, which compared to my brothers kids is a world away, and my dad is originally a farm boy from Michigan, who, grew up literally, under the loving, hardworking iron fist of Raymond Edward Swart Sr...who was a Michigan State Penitentary guard for nearly 30 years. Needless to say, I also grew up under a the ripples my Grandpa's iron fist left behind, otherwise known as tough love.

Two days ago, I was visiting my friend Ilana at the Thompkins Square Park children's play-ground where her daughter Mikaela was running around in her bathing suit enjoying the warm open air and hydrant spray when she came at me with arms wide open yelling...Jeffrey! Jeffrey!

My father is one of the most selfless, hardworking, and wonderful men you could ever meet, but he's a big guy, with a loud booming voice, the kind of man who's Six foot one, two hundred pounds when he's happy, and Six foot eleven two eighty when he's mad, both of which served in his favor in his execution, of his Tough Love™ (thnx JK) style of parenting. Needless to say, he was quick to raise his voice, like striking a match, probably cause it's 100% effective in getting someones attention, and always followed the discipline with genuine love, understanding and some kind of bonding, usually television...damn box!

In todays, timeout, Wii-bysitter, democratic parenting age, kinda the way my brother does Andy does it. There are still some who do it the old fashioned way, no bartering, no whining, no bullshit, dictator and dictatee...some like me, so I found out...

Sometime later, among a few pull ups, and twenty minutes of pushing Mika on the swing, the sun began to set, the children desperately getting in as much play time as the diminishing sunlight would allow. Mikaela was across the playground on a tire swing hung from a quad chain so the kids can sit in a circle and swing together, all of which I merely observed the kids interaction and behavior and their parents reactions to it.

Of course, at the precise moment all the parents turned away talking to each other, a little boy, who was outnumbered two to one by two girls, one of which was Mika, reached out and slapped Mika right over the face, to which my instincts...(or is it learned?) were to immediately raise my voice and get in the face of the little boy to which I said, "No, do not hit!!!, play nice, NEVER EVER HIT!"...Now, I didn't yell, but I did raise my voice a few decibels, and I did make myself clear...I was only standing up for Mikaela, she's my girl.

At which time, a very intense looking man came walking sternly towards me and only looked at me, I knew what he was thinking..."Who the fuck are you and what the fuck is going on?" Now, although I've never shook hands with the dude, I never forget a face, and I've seen him and watched his kids play on at least 10 occasions...anyway, I immediately told him what happened and then folded my arms calmly, and turned to my friend Ilana and started explaining it to her.

And that was that, a few other parents also inquired, so I told, the man still never introduced himself and nor I to him, but I think we're all square. The look on the other childrens faces when I scolded that boy was priceless, it was the same look my dad used to describe to me when he was making up after scolding me as a boy...it told me that I I'm just like my dad.

Jeffrey

ps - question is, should I have calmly told the boy what he did was wrong, reasoning with him, while leaving his developmental ego intact? where's the fear of God in that? That's not how my dad did it, and it's clear that's how I'm inclined to do it. My brothers kids are extremely well behaved, for the record.

Oh woh is me, not only was it recently pointed out that a large majority of my good efforts and great ideas are somehow thwarted or at least tarnished by Murphy, that guy who made up that law about shit that can go wrong, but now I have lost my trusty old blue, my coziest of sleeping bags....

Needless to say, in my 7 years in NYC, I've never needed my sleeping bag, which has stayed stowed quietly in my closet since...well, forever as far as you know. I even acquired a second one when my nephew pitstopped at my house one summer when heading home from camp, and his father (my brother Andy), did so much shopping while he was here in NYC, that they borrowed my suitcase to take the extra stuff and subsequently left me Dylan's sleeping bag, so now officially I have 2.

I've been wanting to explore the idea of camping (as per Roxana), and without a car it's just not feasible to go camping for less than $500 after car rental, gas, tolls, food, water, booze...etc. So I decided sunday to have an "Urban Camping Experience" which entailed me setting up my Sears 2 person tent up on my roof, running an extension cord out my window, up onto the roof and going from there. The only thing is that the roof is much harder and less forgiving than the earth might be at a normal campsite. So the key is to lay down as many things in the bottom of the tent to provide cushy comfort, best of which is a sleeping bag, zipped open and spread out, it fits perfectly, better than that is TWO!!!

Wow, I happen to have two, so I run in my closet and hmmm, waddaya know, only 1. The second one I remember lending out to the Way Nice™ Mixing Co. president Jon Kaplan, to which I am almost certain that he returned it, almost. So I called him up on a Sunday to inquire, of course he answered the phone, no automated voice systems at Way Nice™, pure customer service...so he invited me to check the studio headquarters in Wburg, which I did, NO DICE!!! To my dismay, he was also unsure but was mostly sure that he indeed returned it, to which my memory resurfaced and indeed he did. So where did it go??????

Did I lend it out?
Did I lose it?
Did I give it to goodwill?

No, no, and motherfucking no!!! Ok, well maybe yes to the first one
I'm looking at you Dean McCarthy, road/tour/tech/booze manager extraordinaire...

So the point of my nonsensical story is this...Where the fuck is my blue sleeping bag?

oh and remember people, keep your eyes...OPEN!

jhs