Risley Ranch

Moon Marbles

Joe's cub scout pack took a tour of Moon Marble Company in Bonner Springs, Kansas, today.  What a great shop!  Marble making is an art, and owner Bruce Breslow is an artist with colored glass and fire.

The kids were first taught how to "knuckle down" by Jay:

And they played a quick practice game:

Then Bruce made a beautiful marble for the kids, right before their eyes.  The tour ended with each scout getting their own tube of marbles and a shooter.

I love home-grown businesses like this.  In a non-descript building in a non-descript town in Eastern Kansas, Moon Marbles is something of a sojourn for marble and toy lovers.  Bruce, the owner, told us he had 135,000 visitors last year, and in their history have had visitors from all 50 states and 39 countries!

If you're into nostalgic toys, check out Moon Marble Company.  And make sure to vote for them as one of the 8 Wonders of Kansas Commerce.

More photos of their shop:

And my personal favorite:

100 Years of Jazz

My buddy, Joe, who owns J&S Coffee, where I get coffee everyday, asked me the other day, "Say the big flood is coming, and you can take three albums with you on the Ark...what do you take?"  My answer:  1) AC/DC's Back In Black, Kris Kristofferson's Silver Tongue Devil and I, and Miles Davis' Kind of Blue.  How would you have answered?

It's not question for me that Jazz would have to be on the list.  I love it.  And for Xmas, Amy got us tickets to "Stolen Moments: The First One Hundred Years of Jazz" at the Lied Center.  The event was Friday night, and I call it an "event" and not a "concert," because it was unique.  It was part concert, part narration and part multi-media history lesson.

Stolen Moments is really an educational "presentation" from JazzReach -- a NY not-for-profit dedicated to "the promotion, performance, creation and teaching of jazz music."  Started by Benjamin Schuman, JazzReach uses the Metta Quintet, for which he's the drummer, to tell the One-Hundred-Years story.

It was very cool.  They played early Jazz tunes by Jelly Roll Morton and Louis Armstrong, Jazz from the 1930s like Count Basie (who was from Kansas City) and Duke Ellington, Be-Bop by Charlie Parker (also from KC) and Dizzy Gillespie, west-coast Cool Jazz from the 50's by Chet Baker and Gerry Mulligan, Hard Bop by Horace Silver, Jazz from the 60's by Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane, and modern Jazz by Wynton Marsalis.  And seriously, how do I get a cool nickname like "Count" or "Dizzy"!  Man.

My good friend Jenne's creative comment on my last post about Jazz aside, there's not enough Jazz in the world, IMHO.  I wonder if Obama like's Jazz?  I hope so.  It will make him a better President.

Anyway, thanks Honey for a great evening.

Is there a reason I haven't posted on this blog since November 2008?

Yes.  But excuses are silly.  I'm thinking about creating a Wordpress blog instead, so I bought Scott McNulty's book yesterday.  Looks like a good how-to.