I often times am asked what my favorite snack food is, and when I tell people it’s hummus some don’t know what I’m talking about while others are curious and want to know more. When they find out I rarely buy store bought hummus and make my own, then the curiosity really sets in. It isn’t until they try it for the first time, they realize how delicious it is and so healthy for you. Chickpeas are packed with fiber and protein among a large array of vitamins for energy. Something many folks back home in Whitesburg, Kentucky may not know, but there is a local lounge/bar in downtown called Summit City, and they actually two of my original recipes on their menu. One is my home made raspberry vinaigrette salad dressing, the other is my hummus recipe for their hummus platter. So curious how do I make it?

• 1 mid sized food processor
• 2 cans of 15oz Chickpeas (drain & empty into food processor)
• 1 1/2 mid sized lemon (squeeze juice; helps to roll lemon)
• 2 Tablespoons of Sesame Tahini
• 2 Tablespoons of olive oil
• pinch of Sea Salt
• 1 whole clove of garlic minced

Run in food processor until pasty, you don’t want a runny consistency, just pasty for dipping and spreading. If mixture is too dry, add a dash more olive oil. You can also add 4 slices of roasted red pepper, cilantro or 1 steamed asparagus stalk for extra flavoring combinations. Serve with toasted pita bread, dip a decent sized portion onto plate, put a whole in the center like mashed potatoes and drizzle olive oil in the middle like a pool then garnish with paprika and serve with triangular cut pita bread pieces. Also carrots, large black olives or celery make a great side for dipping.

Enjoy!

History of the Osborne Lights

As the story goes, Arkansas resident Jennings Osborne and his family were very big on the Holidays. In 1986, Jennings asked his youngest daughter Breezy what her Christmas wish was. She replied that she would like to see their whole house covered in lights. They had quite a large house but Jennings was determined to make his daughter’s Christmas dream come true. That first year the Osborne family covered their home with a modest 1000 red lights. With each passing year, the family wanted to do more. The Osbornes eventually purchased property adjacent to their own in order to expand on their newfound hobby.

The display grew to millions of lights. There were flashing lights, multi-colored lights, custom-made light sculptures and a 75-foot Christmas tree adorned by lights. This drew onlookers from all over Arkansas. Displeased by the resulting traffic jams, the local residents asked that the Osborne family stop the annual display. Legal intervention was sought, and it appeared that the Osborne’s beloved tradition was about to come to an end. When Mickey Mouse got word of this, he offered a venue where the Osborne lights could be shared with visitors from around the globe. In 1995, Residential Street at the Disney’s Hollywood Studios became the home of this dazzling light show. Approximately 80% of the lights that are on display come from the original Osborne collection.

In 2003, Residential Street began undergoing a major renovation in preparation of the new stunt show scheduled to open in 2005. For the first time in 8 years, the Osborne lights were not displayed.

Fortunately, a new home was found for this magical attraction. The Streets of America (formerly New York Street) is now hosting the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights.

As in years past, once evening descends, this amazing display springs to life. Formerly drab buildings become twinkling light sculptures, while a host of angels fly overhead. Visitors are welcome to stroll through at their own pace. With over 4 Million Christmas lights, this is not to be missed. To enhance the experience, Florida “snow” flutters down while Christmas tunes fill the air.

Admission to the display is free with admission to the park, and it’s a MUST SEE if you’re visiting Walt Disney World over the holidays.

You see, the pilgrims came over to the Americas in search of religious freedom to preach, teach and share the gospel anywhere, anytime. The pilgrims, struggling to survive with famine and disease, endured some harsh Winters during 1620. Allying with Samoset and Squanto (both Abnaki Indians), the pilgrims were taught how to raise crops and reap a bountiful harvest the following October. We’ve all heard this story growing up in the history books, but do we really understand it’s true significance? Is it mentioned anywhere that both Indians and the pilgrims participated in a Christian prayer of thanksgiving for their wonderful harvest, new found native brave friends and their newly found freedom to worship God with no government rules or ties to bound them? The answer is rarely this fact is taught or mentioned to our youth and public today. It’s been magically erased from the text books, and now a void is left in the tradition that is truly Thanksgiving.

I find it appalling that our American society has taken a “Magic Eraser” of sorts to the truths about our great nation, so I’m asking this of all my friends and followers this year whether you believe in Christianity or have faith in anything, offer up prayers of true thanksgiving intent this year. Stop and do inventory of your own lives, family and what you have right before you. You’ll see a cloudy veil ripped away from your eyes as you see the world around in a new light. Pray in earnest, and please don’t say, “Dear Lord thank you for this here food we are about to eat.” Say it the way it was meant, “Thank you for your bounty of blessings on my family’s life, your Holy divine hand leading our steps and for ultimately giving the greatest sacrifice of Thanksgiving so we could have a hope beyond our human measure.”

Enjoy your family, enjoy the amazing food that follows and more importantly enjoy the fact of knowing, you too, like the pilgrims have the same religious freedom they once sought out in 1620. God has an amazing purpose for all of us, sometimes we have to stop and get reacquainted with things before we can see the beauty and wonder of life as He so intended it.

Blessings from our house to yours,
Joe & Alexandra Burke

The Long Walk Home (AK27 Remix) by rotcav

A short update about things in m hectic and crazy life including an upcoming house purchase, moving, new album release, autobiography and travel dates for the Blue Man Group Insiders to Viva Las Vegas in 2012! I also briefly discuss what exactly our ghost hunting team Spirit Seekers is all about, and why we like doing it! All this and more, so check it out.

Pastor Paul and congregation celebrated the entire service in praise and worship and then had free snacks outside for the whole church. Smiles, cheers and praises filled the air as CCO demonstrated the love, power and wonder of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Fans Gathered in Times Square for a group photo.

The fan meet began outside of John Pizzeria in the middle of Times Square around 3:30PM. Fans were walking up and introducing themselves, old friends were reunited, and new friends were made with open arms. I kept thinking to myself, “Is this really happening? Are all of these great people of which I’ve talked to for years online and have met previously here right now?” I had to pinch myself to make sure this all wasn’t a dream. To say my brain circuitry was on overload is an understatement. We all just couldn’t stop smiling. It was like time stood still for these few hours, and the focus wasn’t on ourselves, but everyone and everything around us. It was an awesome intense feeling of euphoria and bliss.

Fans at John's Pizzeria enjoying a delicious dinner and connecting with others.

During the dinner, fans indulged on some delicious Italian cuisine of NYC style pizza. I paused many moments, stopped and looked around at all the smiling faces as they were carrying on their own table conversations and breaking the ice with new fans. It was an pretty powerful thing to see everyone from all walks of life focus on one thing that we all have a passion for in life, Blue Man Group.

The show itself, wow, what more can I say that already hasn’t been noted online? I am so blessed to have been there and have been a part of this momentous occasion. As the show began, I had another one of those moments where I stopped, looked around at all the fans, and as they looked back at me with smiles bigger than their faces, I realized that something truly remarkable was about to happen on stage.

Blue Man Group founders bald and blue for the fans one final time.

The culmination of ten years have for me as a fan and Insider come down to this, I finally get to see the iconic three original founding Blue Men, get bald and blue one final time for us the fans. I can tell you, emotions were bubbling within me I hadn’t felt in years. I felt a exuberance of life burst through me, and I was instantly reminded of the glory days of fan meets between 2002-2007 in Chicago and beyond. I had “the feeling” all over again. And then, just when I didn’t expect it, during gumballs and marshmallows, the lights came on, and standing before us was the founding members Chris, Matt and Phil. I’m sure by now you’ve seen the video Part 3 to the NYC series, as the whole theater erupts with cheers of joy and accomplishment. It was at that moment, I Joe Burke, an almost 32 year old man, teared up.

Founders playing PVC IV.

I was immediately catapulted back to my old days of running the Blue Man Library, and doing my best to capture Blue Man Group on television for the fans. Finally, after watching old video clips dozens of times, and seeing them only in 2 dimensional space of a computer monitor, there they were standing before us, bald and blue, and completely in character. There is no word in the English dictionary to remotely describe that feeling at that moment, but I’m sure it was palpable by everyone in that theater.

And then, the moment that really clinched my heart, was when the founders graced the stage one more time for PVC IV, one of their most noted pieces of the show. I was instantly taken back to that cold brisk November night in 1999, my old bedroom in Kentucky watching the “Tonight Show with Jay Leno” and experiencing Blue Man Group for the very first time. And who was it that performed on Leno? The founders of course. All of this was rushing through my head, and then I felt something cold run down my cheek, and I then realized I had tears of joy. My experience as a Blue Man Group fan had finally come full circle, and the efforts we put forth in planning this meet had all payed off.

Another highlight was the merging of fan groups. We’re delighted and overjoyed at the fact that we’re now working more closely than ever with our European fans and their site BMGFans.com. As I write this almost with misty eyes, it gives me such a wonderful accomplished feeling to see Hans, Marco and Brett carrying the fan base torch not only for Europe, but for the world Internationally. I gave up BML because I could not afford the server costs and expenses. They stepped up in a time I could not, and for doing that, BMGFans.com, I’ll always be indebted to you. As all the leaders of the fan communities embraced in a hug, and opened our hearts, we all began to realize the bigger picture.

The Insiders Joe and Alex with Marco, Hans and Brett of BMGFans.com

Blue Man Group is what led us here, and Blue Man Group is the driving force behind ultimately what we do. We follow our bliss, and we as “family” gather not only to see shows, but to reconnect and be in familiar company. This has been the past ten years of my life. It’s what I know, it’s what we do, it’s who we are. We are fans, always have, always will be.

The Insiders,
Joe & Alex Burke

Question: How can I get Facebook to display the correct post link image from my site or blog?

Usually when someone posts a URL into facebook, there is a script that automatically scans the pending URL for all possible images for you to post. Sometimes, you’re given multiple image options, other times you’re only given one and it’s an image you don’t want to use for your facebook cross-linking initiative. It’s important to social media enthusiasts to be able to get our voice “out there” in some shape or form, but often times we’re caught up in social media woes and limited by the software and scripts that run them.

Let’s take a look at Internet giant Amazon.com, and how their site would be linked via facebook. Notice that their image list doesn’t have a specific Amazon logo, rather facebook searches their site for the items most prominent on the home page. This is good for Amazon, since they can promote the latest sales and new items in the online store. But what about the lowly musician, blogger, writer, photography who wants to use one static logo as a cross branding platform across all forms of social media? Here’s a screen capture via facebook of Amazon.com and how it would look.

Notice the highlighted area, 12 images to choose from, but not a single one containing their branded logo. How do we as web designers cross promote our own media without our site(s) showing multiple images thus none of them our own logo for branding purposes?

There is a solution, and it all starts with META Tags. What are META Tags and how do we use them to our advantage? META Tags are elements used to provide structured metadata about a Web page; title, description, keywords, site coding, copyright etc. Let’s take a look at some META Tags currently in place on this web site JosephBurke.com in the header.php file of my WordPress theme.

<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />
<meta http-equiv="content-language" content="en-us" />
<meta name="author" content="JosephBurke.com" />
<meta name="contact" content="joe@josephburke.com" />
<meta name="copyright" content="Copyright (c)2010-2011 JosephBurke.com. All Rights Reserved." />
<meta name="description" content="A ongoing blog about my life, world and events around me." />
<meta name="Description" content="To document my thoughts for all to see, this blog represents all that I am in the world, join me and my walk through life." />
<meta name="Keywords" content="Joseph Burke, Joe Burke, Alexandra Burke, Alex Irick, Neon Kentucky, Jenkins Kentucky, Summit City Lounge, Whitesburg Kentucky, Appalshop, Cane Creek Calls, Haymond Kentucky, Burkes, The Singing Burkes, gospel music, Kentucky radio disc jockey, Orlando Florida web designer, Orlando Florida Graphic Designer" />
<title>JosephBurke.com - My Life, My Story, My World</title>
<meta name="robots" content="index,follow" />
<meta name="GOOGLEBOT" content="INDEX, FOLLOW" />

• The first two lines are obvious, all pages/blogs start with a standardized <html> and <head> tag. But examine the next few lines.
• The third line <meta http-equiv=”Content-Type” content=”text/html; charset=UTF-8″ /> shows us the coding language format of the web site itself. 
• <meta http-equiv=”content-language” content=”en-us” /> informs browsers that the page they’re viewing is in the English language.
• The author comment <meta name=”author” content=”JosephBurke.com” /> tells designers, coders and search engines who the originating content author is.
• The next is contact <meta name=”contact” content=”joe@josephburke.com” /> which provides search engines proper contact methods for your web site, in this case indicating my email address.
• The seventh line <meta name=”copyright” content=”Copyright (c)2010-2011 JosephBurke.com. All Rights Reserved.” /> gives my copyright information, and let’s others know I hold all the rights to my own content listed within this domain.
• The next line <meta name=”description” content=”A ongoing blog about my life, world and events around me.” /> Provides a simple one line description of the web site. Keep is short, simple and to the point. Don’t worry about an extended description, that’s coming up in line 9 of the META Header code.
• Line nine of the code is the extended web site description: <meta name=”Description” content=”To document my thoughts for all to see, this blog represents all that I am in the world, join me and my walk through life.” />. Be creative, and try to indicate the highlights within your web site using specific words/phrases that are unique to your site.
• Line 10, the key most important line of all your META code is the keyword element. <meta name=”Keywords” content=”Joseph Burke, Joe Burke, Alexandra Burke, Alex Irick, Neon Kentucky, Jenkins Kentucky, Summit City Lounge, Whitesburg Kentucky, Appalshop, Cane Creek Calls, Haymond Kentucky, Burkes, The Singing Burkes, gospel music, Kentucky radio disc jockey, Orlando Florida web designer, Orlando Florida Graphic Designer” />, notice how I used phrases that were specific to me, my life, accomplishments and relating phrases that people could search for you via the web. It’s imperative that your syntax, phrases and keywords (big or small), precisely and accurately describe your site, it’s purpose and possible keyword phrases that would lure specific traffic flow to your site.
• The next line is your page’s title <title>JosephBurke.com – My Life, My Story, My World</title>. Whatever browser you’re using, if you look at the top of your browser, each web site and page has a title, this is important to distinguish your site from all the others.
• The next two lines deal directly with search engines, and their ability so crawl and spider your web site accurately and efficiently. On line twelve and thirteen we have, <meta name=”robots” content=”index,follow” />, this simple tells the search robots and other archiving bots online that it’s safe to index and follow your site on the world wide web. Some people like the privacy of not allowing Google, Yahoo or Archive.org indexing their site for simple purpose of an added element of privacy. It doesn’t effect their site’s function nor META tags, but not allowing a search engine to crawl your site will obviously result in less traffic flow, and fewer people knowing about you or your craft.

MOVING FORWARD TO SOCIAL MEDIA

Now that we have the basics covered on META Tags, we’re now ready to get your site ready for the world of social networks. To do this, facebook put in place a developers toolkit that assists you in their indexing and updating the cache on your site. Yet again, it all comes back to META Tags. Facebook has derived a simple code called “Open Graph Tags” that act as a private indexing mechanism just for facebook. Open Graph tags are tags that you add to the of your website to describe the entity your page represents, whether it is a band, restaurant, blog, or something else. When you’re on facebook’s developer site, enter in your site’s information starting with Title. Then enter the type of category your site would be and then the full URL. Under image, this will be the static image facebook will use to cross-reference your site from this point forward. Type in the URL of the image you want facebook to recognize as your site’s default image. Then enter site name and your Admin code should already be entered. Now click get code. It will look something like this:

Now, all you have to do is copy and paste the code facebook gives you just below the META tags we discussed above, and before the closing tag of your page’s header. One final thing to do is internally refresh facebook’s existing cache of your web site. To do this, go to the Facebook URL Tinter Developer Site. Enter in your site’s URL and like magic, your site’s information is refreshed and you have a static logo for all your blog posts, cross links etc. If done correctly, your end result will look something like this.

So now when I type my URL into Facebook, the script will automatically load the meta input that I designated for it and nothing else. No more random images messing with your important blog posts or important links to share with the world. Feel free to use my META header code, replacing my content with yours. Good luck!

I’ve had several of these instances in my life. Some lasted just a few months, one has lasted over ten years. There’s things in my life that when they were present, were the pinnacle of my world. Take for instance my former disc jockey role at WMMT 88.7 FM and BounceRadio.net. For that 8 year time period, I devoted myself to the cause and diligently tried to improve myself and keep raising the bar. Even though I left on a respectable terms, and it was hard to give up, at the time I had no choice. I had to drop the bags and move on to the next terminal of life.

I used to be a noted podcaster for several years from 2006-2009. The podcast was syndicated on iTunes worldwide, and for a period of months, we were ranked in the top 20 always under the Performing Arts category of podcasts. The show was called Switchback, and during the 3 year run, I interviewed hundreds of Blue Man Group fans, noted rock musicians ranging from Todd Rundgren, Tom Shipley, Jason Isbell, Mark Knight and even the founding members of Blue Man Group. But like everything else in my life, it got stale. The shows became a burden instead a labor of love. I had to drop of this bag at the terminal as well.

I was once a gospel singer, musician and traveled with my mother and father all over the tri-state Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee area singing the good news of the Lord. I met some amazing saints of God along the way, saw some awesome churches and ate some killer food (southern women know how to cook at church homecomings.) I done this from 1993-2009, and the run ended when I moved to Florida. Even though I don’t regret my life’s choice to move and relocate, I felt bad for my family that I left behind to be on their own again. I will admit, I didn’t like the fact of getting up at 5:30 AM on a Sunday morning, to bath and be fully clothed in church attire and out the door by 6:30 AM to drive 2-3 hours in a mini-van loaded with sound equipment, instruments and merchandise. That got old, fast. I missed out on hanging out with friends on Saturday nights, because I had to be in bed by 9PM to be up on time the next morning. Not all singing appointments were like this though. Some were local, and some were a blast. I still love to sing and praise my God for what all he’s done for me, and I enjoy playing my piano and composing/recording melodies. But like the rest of my life, this bag too had to be dropped off at the terminal gates.

I was once a MC at a local coffee shop in downtown Whitesburg, KY called Summit City Lounge. It is a happening little place on Main Street and they have a delicious menu. The owners, a husband and wife team, approached me about doing a weekly event at night called “Open Mic.” I would run it, organize the list of performers and engage the crowd with some silly antics. I even gone as far as being the sound guy for all the performers on stage. Now this was a cool little gig. It even blossomed into a pay job, as I started branching out booking bands for the very busy weekends. It was one of the funnest times of my life, and l met some of the most talented individuals that could stand behind a microphone. But, with life, and a new found interest in the state of Florida, I had to resign my role as MC of over a year. I never will forget Joel and Amelia and all the done for me. This bag sadly had to be escorted with tears and a long face at the terminal.

Did you know I once worked at a place that all the employees were reputable rock musicians? DrummerConnection.com was such a place, and for a period of 5 months it became a new passion for me in 2009. I love the people, I loved the fact I could use my musical skills in the piano and I loved my boss and his work environment. I got to meet some pretty stellar people in the drum circle world, and make connections that to this day I still keep. But, things happened in my life personally that I could not control, and again, I got that all too familiar stale feeling. Needless to say, this case was left at the terminal door to.

So, here I am, 2011… I’m wide eyed at the world around me, and examining my arms for baggage. There’s a part of my life that has been on the teeter totter for some time, and it all started in 1999 on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. I saw a group of 3 bald blue guys that captivated my heart and soul. It infused with me inspiration to create, and a passion to be artistic. That was in 1999-2000. In 2001, I founded Blue Man Group’s official first fan base web site called the Blue Man Library, (BML). It ran for a long time, all the way to Feb. 2010 when I finally pulled the plug on the site due to overwhelming costs of server space and bandwidth. I never will forget that day… I must have cried for weeks. It’s like nurturing a child for 10 years and then letting it die right before your eyes, and there’s nothing you can do about it. I was heart broken. But, it came with accurate timing, because of recent evens within the company and myself, I was able to merge with Blue Man Productions and become an Insider. Man, what a run. I’ve seen cities I could only dream about before. Skylines towering, street lights on every corner, the brisk cold Rocky Mountain air hitting your face in December, the sweet aroma of The Venetian in Las Vegas to the hustle of New York City. All because of one group, one company and one web site I made. Phenomenal it is.

In recent months, my attention has been lacking in the realm of the Blue. I’m not sure why to honest. I’m surely not jaded to the shows, company or being an Insider. It hurts most when no one seems to listen. It hurts most when something you’ve planned and conceived has been downsized to a mere former shell of itself. It hurts most when I scream, and no one listens. It hurts most when you’re on the inside looking back. It hurts most when you’re promised bells and whistles, and all you have in your pocket is lint. It hurts… This bag I’m holding with a light grasp of the fingertips. I’m standing at the terminal of my own life, watching the train go by and wondering if I should let go of this bag and move on down the line, or keep it. God grant me wisdom in this situation. Maybe this is my problem, I talk too much, I don’t know… Maybe I should mind my own business and just let it be what it is meant to be, “business.” I just don’t like pacified to get by.

This is a simply meditative music video put to one of our favorite songs by Mike Oldfield, “Let There Be Light.” The meaning behind this video is that the ocean purifies the mind and body, and it’s healing power rejuvenates our very essence.

Family is an important part of our lives, and we like to document all the fun we have together. This is just a sample of the fun and bliss we have with them. Beach shots are from Captiva Beach on Sanibel Island.

The answer is simple… Hope. Hope is the anticipation of positive outcome, in efforts to broaden and better our lives. By surrounding yourself with hope, one can achieve a level of thinking and spirituality that others can only dream, but it’s so simple to get there. Often times, some stroll throughout life and neglect the one simple thing that helps them find the inner peace within. Hope is something we all must have. A hope for a better day, a hope for a better doctor’s visit, a hope for a better job, a hope for a better life for yourself and your family. Whatever it is in your life, hope is the key to overcoming your deepest fears. Though you may not be able to conquer your fears at the first battle, keeping your mind and eyes set on hope and the ambition of something greater and better will help you cope with life’s struggles. A little faith and prayer with God won’t hurt either, trust me, prayer can change lives… I’ve seen it too many times to deny it’s true awesome power.

How does Joe cope with the life and woes of fear, doubt and my own little pity party? Something my wife Alexandra and I done tonight was the key. In a joyous, serious and heart to heart conversation, we both promised to hope for a brighter future, a better outcome and pray for the desires of our heart. The simple affectionate touch of your soul mate’s fingers caressing your face can offer so many wonderful new frontiers. Promise yourself to wake up each morning bright and new, glancing at your spouse or loved one and tell them how much you love them and how special they are. For you husband and wives out there, a simple ear to the chest to hear the Earth shattering sounds of your lover’s heartbeat can redirect your paths to new horizons in your search for things positive.

Hope can come in many different forms, but it’s always key to keep the positive in sight, and leave the negative behind. Surround yourself with white light, let the angels protect you and keep your chin up for the hope of a brighter tomorrow. God’s Kingdom is a powerful place, hoping to be there one day is sometimes all the hope you’ll ever need. Overcome, live, endure and persevere… Easier said than done, but once done easier by the day.

Blessings,
Joe