Finally.

Kerry had it right when she said that it's been a busy week.  I recently purchased Todd Rohal's The Guatemalan Handshake, and blah blah blah it was great and I recommend it.  Whatever.  Anyway, the second disk featured some pretty great short films by various crew members, and here is a link to one of my favorites.  It's called 50 States.  I hope you enjoy it.  

Breakin' 2: Electric SHABBA DOO

It's been a busy week, but Alex wants blog posts (he's a slavedriver) so here you go. This will pretty much finish up our retrospective of Films We Watched Over Christmas Break (unless you want us to go into the Peter Graves movie, and you probably don't). It's Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo. Alex bought it for me for Christmas, and it was worth whatever he paid. B2:EB stars Soandso "Shabba Doo" Soandso, Soandso "Boogaloo Shrimp" Soandso, and a white girl. Some evil corporate guy is going to tear down their beloved, rainbow colored community center/breakdance studio/American Apparel warehouse, so they are forced to do the only thing they can: dance to raise money! Of course it works. How could it not?
I tried to dig up some of the best clips. Of course our favorite clip isn't online (I didn't check. I'm just assuming), but here are some other goodies.
First off, this video is called "Crazy Bitch in Breakin' 2 Electric Boogaloo."


And THIS is a PSA done by Shabba Doo, who was apparently forced to do this because of a DUI. So if you were thinking about doing a little boozing but wanted to know what someone with a ridiculous name thought about your choice, go ahead and watch this.


And this. Well, I didn't even watch all of this. But it's called "Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo Funnys" so how could it be bad?

This is scary.

I was almost afraid to post this, because we had the perfect number of post before (in case you don't know, this will be post number 70).  Anyway, this clip is super weird.

Let's just get this out of the way.  Chris Jericho is a huge douche.  I'm almost afraid to comment on anything anymore.  What's real and what's fake?  It's a crazy messed up world we live in.  Mark Wahlberg doesn't really hate Andy Samberg, and Joaquin Phoenix isn't seriously pursuing a career in hip hop.  This could be a stunt put on by that wacky professional wrestling federation, or maybe Chris Jericho is a jerk and Mickey Rourke is surprisingly mellow.  

(Via /Film)

More of the same

This video combines my love of godtube with my love of farts.

The best part is how he tries to admit that he goofed, but the fact of the matter is he said, "Satan, it's all your fart," and it was funny.  

Sorry guys.

Here at The Talented Winfrey Family, we generally don't ask you for too much.  We're not pushing our causes on you or asking for your input.  Tonight, I want to ask just one thing of you.  Imagine what life is like for this guy.  Thank you.

What?

How'd this picture of Chase get on the internet?

This is a long one.

Since Alex is being so earnest and talking about things he actually likes, I thought I'd share something I really like: the Rock of Love Bus with Bret Michaels.
It is almost exactly like this:

Except imagine that one of those characters is wearing a bandana/hair extension combo, and the other two are former strippers with completely ridiculous fake breasts.
Here is what happens in every episode of Rock of Love:
One of the girls is like, "Oh, hey, I used to be a stripper and also I have completely ridiculous fake breasts."

And then Bret says something like "Yowza," or makes some motion with his finger that implies a boner or makes this gross orgasm face:

But then one of the girls tries to talk to him...

And Bret gets bored.

But don't worry, there are more boobs:

So then Bret feels better. And then this happens. A lot.

And then at the end of the episode, either the most boring or the most unattractively crazy chick is voted off. Now here's something I really want to show you. This young lady was, for some reason, voted off in the first episode. Maybe it's because she looks like a Muppet?

Of course, I mean a Muppet with giant, unwieldy fake breasts. I kind of feel bad about talkin' smack, though, because of this comment from her on that picture:
nikkifromrockoflovebus (01.20.09 | 10:14 AM)KEEP MY NAME IN YOUR MOUTH!! LOL!! TALK ALL THE SHOT YOU WANT I WAS DRUNK BUT WHATEVER MAKES U FEEL GOOD ABOUT YOURSELVES!! I GUESS IM ON UR MIND OR U WOULDN'T BE SAYIN THIS CRAP! CHECK MY PAGE AND IF U REALLY WANNA SAY SUMTHIN SAY IT THERE!! I LOVE ALL THE ATTENTION !1 THANKS! LMFAO! IM THE ONLY GIRL THAT'S GONNA SAY **** CAUSE I DON'T GIVE A **** IM JUST BORED SO THOUGHT I'LL SAY SUMTHIN TO ALL 188 POSTS!1 YOU THINK U KNOW ME BUT I DONT KNOW **** ABOUT YOU SO KEEP IT COMIN IT'S ENTERTANING!! keepin it real and go check my site since ur all up here WWW.DJLADYTRIBE.COM DO YOUR HOMEWORK !I ADMIT I WAS ****** WASTED DRUNK BUT WHAT I LOOK LIKE IS NOT WHO I AM INSIDE SO HIDE BEHIND UR COMPUTERS AND DO WHAT U DO BEST SIPPIN ON THAT HATERADE .. MAYBE YOU'LL SEE SUMTHIN DIFFERENT BUT I DONT REALLY GIVE A RATS ASS FREE PUBLICITY ! MUAH!! BESOS XOXO LUV THE HATERS AND MY FANS! KEEP IT COMIN ! LUV IN IT!

Well, okay. I guess she is not a scary, hypersexualized Muppet on the INSIDE, and that's what counts.
In all honesty, any criticism of these ladies does feel a little too easy, because the vast majority of them are strippers who are, no doubt, looking for the gravy train to lift them up out of their lives. Bret Michaels, I appoint you Sir Gravy Train. But still, they are all straight up bitches who wear ridiculous clothing, so my sympathy can only go so far.
Who's willing to have sex with an aging, diabetic "rock star" in order to become "famous" for approximately two months?

That's what I thought. Keep up the good work, girls!

Awesome!

I love watching "action videos" on youtube.  These videos are generally made with After Effects and almost always involve gunfights or explosions.  They are usually unintentionally funny, but they are also really good.  Like, I would rather watch the work of Mr. Kit Mackenzie over Michael Bay any day.  If they just had a channel that ran user generated content from children legitimately trying to make big-budget-style action movies, it would be all I would watch.  I found this video today, which is great because it is very clearly made by just one guy.  

Gran Torino

Hey guys!  It's almost award season, and I've yet to see several of the big films this year.  I saw Milk yesterday (it was sooOooO gaay).  In the evening I watched a pirated version of Gran Torino, which I felt fine about, because I never intended to actually watch that movie until my roommate wanted to.  Despite the glowing review from my father and brother (Chase), it was not my favorite.  Was it badass?  Yes.  Parts of it were very badass.  Was it well made?  Not particularly.  The reason I even bothered mentioning this in a blog post (because we have such high standards here) is because I found this little gem during the credits.

That's right.  That is Clint Eastwood singing this song.  It sounds like a bizarro Muppets song.  Things quickly go down hill once Jamie Cullum starts to sing, but up to that point it is awesome.  Try to not sing, "Gentle now the tender breeze blows, whisper through my Gran Torino."  I'm not sure why this isn't more widely parodied.  It seems like it should be this years milkshake speech.

Digital filmmaking

I don't know who Jeff Lipsky is.  Actually, yes I do.  He's the Ebenezer Scrooge of the filmmaking community (he also directed some films apparently).  Anyway, I found this video where he explains why people who are poor should not be making films.  I tip my hat to you, Mr. Duplass.  Well spoken.

  

Dumblecore

Let's get this straight.  Mumblecore is stupid.  I hate that word, and I don't like the movies.  I kind of like the Duplass Bros.  I will admit this.  Also, there are some pretty ladies.  Without all of this though, it's not my favorite.  Last night I went to A Night of Second Year films, where I could see the clear influence of these films.  The only thing worse than mumblecore, or "Slackavetes" or some other dumb name, is a poor imitation of mumblecore.  So, of course I set out to find a target for all my rage.  Here he is guys.  Joe Swanberg.  Seems like a nice enough guy, but he makes so many movies, and web series, and other stuff.  Let's take a break, Joe.  Really I just posted this video because the interviewer sounds like he is getting a BJ.

All of our favorites in one video

Last night's 30 Rock got me thinking about my inappropriate (I don't know why, it just feels inappropriate) crush on Chris Parnell. Then I found this. All I can say is, why does Fred Armisen look like that? Also, Chester!

Will Forte is looking pretty smokin' in this. I'm just saying what Alex was thinking.

Do NOT try to steal that cat's KitKat bar.

I've mentioned the smooth rock radio at work before. It's in the nature of smooth rock radio that you're going to hear a lot of repeated songs--after all, there are only so many inoffensive jams in the world. Something that I hear a lot is the song "Bad Boy" by Miami Sound Machine. When I first heard this, my first thought was, "I need to tell Alex about this song." It is (and this is the nicest way I can put this) a really, really gay sounding song. So then I did us all the favor of looking up the video.

As if a song called "Bad Boy" that sounds like that isn't bad enough, the video is some kind of Cats ripoff. Now we know why Gloria Estefan went solo. Imagine if this video were made today. Just kidding, don't do that, your head will explode. At least this video is sufficiently racy--I'm talking about the cat tail/erection, the copy of Playcat, and of course the implication that all of these cats are alcoholic hobos.
P.S.- This is what my life has come to. Watching videos of Gloria Estefan dancing with cats. My God.

Look Sharp!

A big interest of mine (and, obviously, of Alex's as well) is Youtube slideshows. Or montages. Whatever you want to call them. I'm talking, of course, about when people take a lot of pictures of something they're interested in (say, Pam and Jim from the Office) and pair those up with a song they feel matches the emotional quality of the pictures in some way (say, something by Avril Lavigne). I'm so interested in these because the image and sound always seem to be juxtaposed so awkwardly and I'm always left thinking, "What person loved THESE TWO THINGS so much that they felt the need to combine them?" But also, I feel like there isn't much separating me from those Youtube-slideshow makers. I mean, is it really that big a leap between frantically googling David Lynch for, like, three weeks straight and making a Youtube video? Well, yeah, actually. But the point is I feel like the Youtubers and are kindred spirits.
This is all just a lead up to something I found that I knew Alex would appreciate. I was listening to Joe Jackson in my car this morning (like you do) when the song "Look Sharp!" came on. At first it isn't very good--like a cross between Joe Jackson's own "Is She Really Going Out With Him?" and lesser Elvis Costello. But the chorus is pretty amazing, so I wanted to find a video on Youtube to share. Instead I found this:

I want to listen to Joe Jackson, but something is missing. Could it be a crossdressing British comedian? Yes. That's exactly what it is. Thanks, Nickelpic324.

Aerial Pink's Haunted Graffiti

I'm thinking about buying an album by Aerial Pink's Haunted Graffiti.  Through my research I stumbled upon this glowing review, which sounds as if it were written by Aldous Snow.  In case you were wondering, it is in reference to his album, The Doldrums.

"A friend suggested that I pick up this CD, and after searching 5 record stores in NYC, I finally located the only copy at Virgin in X Square. So after a long day of work, I put this in and, on the first listen of the first track, I yelled "WTF WAS HE THINKING?!!?!".. but by the time I was finished with the second track, I think I 'got it'. I described it as the first time a girl ever sticks a finger up your arse when she is slopping away at a bj. You will be "WTF ARE YOU DOING?" but in just a few seconds you will be on a different plane of existance. And in a year, you will own an ASSortment of asstoys. This album is definitely an assfinger."

Um...?

There's something very wrong about this

.

Wow.  Changing the lyrics, "Me so horny," to, "Me so holy," just seems really weird to me.  Ladies, ladies, do you want to save people from Hades?  These Christian girls sound weird to me.  I heard that some pervert tried the chase, but he didn't make it past first base.  They're quick to resist temptation, and they love the new translation.  Wow.  

All of my criticisms aside, I really feel like my grandma would love this.

Are you getting sick of this?

I don't know what it is.  I think it might be the fact that as soon as I step foot in my dorm I can hear the horrible, "no formal training" strumming of acoustic guitars coming from at least 4 rooms.  What do I do?  I submerse myself even deeper.  Here's another video.  I'm not going to ask you to watch all of this.  This is her description of the video, and it's all you need to know:

" the outcome of listening to alot of animal collective and alanis morisette btw you can barely hear what im saying sometimes because the acoustic guitar very much empowers my voice :("

I think maybe a little more Alanis Morisette than Animal Collective.  Seriously though, it's really good.  

Steppin' Out

Here is a video Alex recorded of himself playing Steppin' Out.

Everyone's dream, and they don't even know it.

Whether you've actually thought about this before or not, it is a dream of yours.  

Uh oh

This is the first mash-up I have ever made.  Probably the last (because it's not good).  It's Magic Spells by Crystal Castles and Threat by Jay-Z.

We need to do something.

This is a call to action. Seriously guys, this needs to be stopped.  It's a great name for a group though.

Horrible cover

Kerry and I (mostly I) are huge fans of looking up really horrible covers on youtube. I was browsing today, and let me just tell you, there are some very horrible covers of good songs out there. Some times they're just bad because there is some kind of annoying girl (or two) singing it. Sometimes they're bad because they took a good song and made it sound like Jason Mraz. There's no getting around the fact that these are really horrible. Here you go!

Electric Feel by MGMT


For Reverend Green by Animal Collective

Inland Empire

I watched Inland Empire by myself a couple of weeks ago, mainly due to the fact that H. won't watch David Lynch with me and Alex gave up on the movie about thirty minutes in. Actually, when I texted him to say that I was watching it, he texted back with, "I straight up turned that garbage off."
So, Inland Empire. I love David Lynch as much as the next girl (okay, so I love David Lynch waaaay more than the next girl), but Inland Empire is weird. And not weird like the rest of his movies. Weird like, why did he use that camera? And why is it three hours long? (Alex's response: "He forgot to edit it.")I tried to find the weirdest/scariest part on youtube to show the world, but apparently no one has posted it (hint: it's the part with Laura Dern's distorted face superimposed on the face of that dude she shoots. Oops, spoiler!). So instead here is this part, which pretty much sums up what you are getting into:

There's some cool music throughout, and I liked all the actors, but for me it just didn't feel like a movie. Although, Alex, I don't know how far you actually got in the movie, but there are definitely tits. And a monkey at the end. So maybe you might want to give it a second chance?

Things We Actually Don't Like

Based on this trailer, how could Rhinestone NOT be our favorite movie?

Just based on that trailer, and the fact that we love Sylvester Stallone projects (see: my favorite movie, Staying Alive), this should have been a great film. There were some good parts, don't get me wrong, but overall there were just not enough laughably bad parts and too many boring parts.
But at least we'll always have this:

I hate this guy.

Okay, so I don't hate him, but man...the guy in the middle.  Whew.  However, the man on the right should be on At The Movies.  My favorite line, "Well, she knows you're not an Iron Man!"

Also, what the hell is this show?

Seriously you guys

Merriweather Post Pavilion-Animal Collective

This is really good.  I know that here at The Talented Winfrey Family there is a lot of joking around.  What can we say?  We're programmed that way.  Who doesn't love a good fart?  Anyway, this album has been the most anticipated album of the last year by about half of the staff here (me).  So go out and buy it.  Or, if you're Kerry, keep listening to Beyonce and The Boomtown Rats and never listen to this band.  Just get it now because everyone is going to be talking about it all year.  I really like Summertime Clothes, but every track is better than most things.  Check out this glowing review from the A.V. Club.  Then to make up for this post watch the following video.

At 2:35 he destroys a boombox with his hand.  

Things Will Never Be the Same Again

Classic MM. I hope that's his real apartment. When you're Michael McDonald, you must remember to use four focal points when decorating a room. Giant skyline mural, huge piano, weird fake tree, beard. He should host his own design show. Mom would watch it (she watches every design show).


PS: Alex told me he's going to change his screenname to BonerJuicer09. So...if you get an IM from BonerJuicer09, it's him.

Duh show

Yeah.  It was good.  Sweaty and pumpin'.  Now you know that's how I like them.  Here are some things that happened:  

1) I got called cute and a hot nerd.  I'll take what I can get.

2) I got my butt squeezed.  Twice.

3) I saw Scott and Tom shove a guy.

4) I got made out on.

5) A chick kind of accidently rubbed my wee wee.

6) I got really sweaty.

Here is a picture where you can see all of us except Kerry and H.  Weird, huh?  Where were they?  Oh yeah, they were in the granny seats.  We're in the lower left corner.  Enjoy!

Here are a couple pictures that I took myself.  They aren't the best quality, but they give you an idea of what it was like.  

Something Really Weird Happened...

which was that Alex and I missed SNL last night. I can't remember the last time that happened (which should tell you a little about my social life AND how much I like comedy, but really the former more than the latter). But it was worth it, because we went to see muthaeffin' Girl Talk.
Alex will have to give his own review of the concert, because his experience was a bit different from mine. This is mainly because H. and I were in the balcony, with all the oldies. Crowd surfing, stage diving---I'm too old for that shit. And after an unfortunate experience at a VHS or Beta show that resulted in me getting elbowed in the face AND having beer spilled in my eye, I have serious doubts about H.'s willingness/ability to keep me out of harm's way. Anyway, it was awesome, there was a lot of dancing, and definitely a lot of douchers. Alex took some pictures, so maybe he'll post them. Photoblog time!

Dey you go.

This is my first experiment into the video mashup.  Enjoy!

There are two things I want to show you.

Brace yourself...for Pieces.  As the trailer reminds us, you don't need to go to Texas to have a chainsaw massacre.  Kerry and I viewed this little gem over Christmas break, and now it's time to share two of our favorite parts.  

The First Part:

This begins at 5:17 and ends at 5:26.  Kerry does a spot on impression of this.

The Second part:

This begins at 7:24 and ends at 7:40.  Here's all the backstory you need: the character's name is Goggles, presumably because of his glasses.  

 

I am in no way saying to only watch these parts, because there is so much more to these clips.  Hopefully they will encourage you to watch Pieces in its blood and boob filled entirety (available on youtube).

You Don't Know Him, but Michael McDonald is Your Brother

A couple of years ago, I had an office job where I spent a lot of time in the copy room. The office across the hall was always blasting the same two songs on repeat: Takin' it to the Streets and another Doobie Brothers song. This definitely seemed super weird to me, because although I was a Doobie fan (aren't we all?), Takin' it to the Streets wasn't my favorite and listening to it all day seemed excessive.
Fast forward two years. I now have another office job where I have to (/get to) listen to Mix 106 all day. Mix 106 is our area's smooth rock station, and they play a lot of the Doobies. And a LOT of Takin' it to the Streets. And right now, I would like to apologize to the lady in that office, because now I Get It. I am officially on the street that Michael McDonald is takin' it to, and I'm ready to party as hard as these people:




Note Carly Simon and James Taylor, presumably in happier times. Also, if you are ever Youtube-ing the Doobies, don't watch their newer performances. Michael McDonald looks like someone from MadTV doing a Michael McDonald impression, ouch, sorry.

Winfrey Recipe: Hot Toddy

The hot toddy is kind of a cure-all around the Winfrey house, but basically just for me and Mom, since everyone else thinks they're gross. But here's the truth: they aren't gross, and they will heal you. Scientifically (or whatever) the fact that these ingredients make you feel better (at least temporarily) makes sense, but you are going to have to do a lot of psychological work as well. So the hot toddy is half placebo, half magic, but whatever. Once I drank two, fell asleep, and woke up feeling completely better, so my faith in the power of the toddy is unshakeable. Here's the recipe. Take two and call me in the morning (to say thanks).

You will need to get:
some hot water (either boiling, or almost boiling. Your pick!)
tea bag (optional! This recipe encourages creativity, so go ahead and make a few decisions)
lemon juice
honey (no, not sugar. I know I said the recipe was all loosey-goosey, but not on this part)
whiskey (or any other alcohol)

First, heat up a cup of water, probably in the microwave because you aren't the kind of person who uses the stovetop to make tea. Next, put in the tea bag (heehee) if you're using it and steep it for however long you feel like. Take that shit out of there before you put all the other ingredients in, otherwise this is going to get messy and sticky. Now add some honey--way more honey than you think you need. I mean, you're going to put in some and think, This looks like enough. It won't be enough. You just aren't going to get very many toddies out of this bottle of honey, face it. The honey is the most important part because it soothes your sore throat (is this medically true? Who knows! But sometimes cough drops are honey flavor, so I choose to believe that it works). Next, put in the lemon juice. This does something with your throat, I guess, but don't overdo it. Use less than you think you need. Trust me. Lastly, complain to your mother about how this can't be an authentically healing hot toddy because there isn't any whiskey, because she refuses to stock alcohol in the house. Muse for a moment on how this hot toddy would be so much different if you had enough money to move. Stir it, taste it, add whatever you want, then sing Foreigner's "Hot Blooded," but change the words to "Hot Toddy." The line "I've got a fever of 103" still works, because you are actually sick!
Go to bed and wake up feeling great.

A new movie.

As many of you know, I am currently at OU, which is the no friend zone.  Anywho, I'm having trouble making movies under these conditions, so I had to find an alternative.  I discovered this website, and now I'm back in the game!  Here's my first project.

This one's weird.

So, you can all guess how I found this clip.  It is one of the creepiest things I have ever seen.  It even makes me feel weird.  But seriously guys, this song....

Uploaded by RichJustin.  Apparently being Rich Justin will only get you so far, and it will not get you "the girl on T.V."

NSFW (Or mom)

This one's for Kerry.  Also, what a stupid question to ask David Lynch.  What kind of response did you expect?

Meet Werner.

There is no reason that he doesn't have his own show.  It wasn't until I saw this that I realized we settle for such mediocre reality television shows.  Imagine turning on the television and watching Werner Herzog dining with Val Kilmer.  In the evenings he would throw himself into cactuses or try to push a boat over a mountain.  We can always dream.

Oh man!

So this was our original vision for what we wanted to do here.  I guess someone beat us to it, so the blog is going to shut down forever.  Sorry.

Hey guys!

Well, Kerry sure has been doing a lot of reviews and such nonsense. So here's one for you. A review of going back to college. I actually have to do work now. The room smells like farts sometimes. It's been raining for a solid week. Awkward parties. Less delicious food. Access to everything I could possibly dream of (I'm primarily talking about ecstasy). Enough of this madness! Let's get a very old video up in here!

I could watch this all day.  Firstly, yeah, the original intro was almost perfect.  I guess it just needed more Baby Sinclair and hamburger penis.  Try not getting this song stuck in your head.  

Winfrey Review: David Lynch coffee

Let's get one thing straight: this is going to be an extremely biased Winfrey Review. I don't just LIKE David Lynch, I love him. And to be totally honest, I don't just love him, I am irrationally obsessed with him. I'm also irrationally obsessed with coffee, in the minimum-of-six-cups-per-day way, so I knew that I needed his coffee as soon as I found out it existed. H. bought it for me for Christmas and made my dreams come true.
I think this review is kind of a public service, since internet information about David Lynch's coffee is kind of scare. First off, I have the organic house roast, whole beans. I'm a big fan of whole beans, because I enjoy using the coffee grinder, but maybe you aren't, so I don't know. Don't get whole beans, then. Make up your own mind. You get the wonderful canister pictured above, which alone is worth the price you pay. When you open it, you'll see a bag full of coffee beans. I am too lazy to look up how big the bag is, but it's regular coffee bag size. And it smells really strong. So strong. But what about the coffee itself, you're asking. Well, Alex told me it would taste like, "What the fuck?" but it doesn't taste like anything trippy at all. It tastes like good coffee. Not too strong or weak, not bitter, just really smooth and perfect. It is some of the best coffee I've had, but you probably can't trust my opinion.


GRADE: A+!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles

Well, Alex pulled out of the driveway approximately 45 minutes ago, so I guess I can make a blog post now. I took a blog hiatus (blogatus?) for the duration of his stay, but rest assured, the Winfreys kept busy. There were donuts eaten, elaborate meals prepared, horror films watched, art exhibits visited, and, oh yeah, Alex and I participated in a craft show. We made candy, Alex printed out fancypants labels, and then we basked in the glow of the adoring public. It was a trippy experience, for sure. Actually, I think probably like 35 people in total showed up to that craft show, but we still made some coin, so it was worth it.
Here's the best recipe. It's from Paula Deen (natch) and, I am serious, it will greatly improve the quality of your life, if only you let it.


Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)
1 12 oz. bag semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening

Beat butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer at medium speed until creamy. Beat in milk and vanilla. Gradually add flour, mixing well. Add mini chocolate chips (and nuts, if desired). Shape into 1-inch balls. Place on wax paper and chill for 2 hours.

Melt chocolate with vegetable shortening according to package directions. Dip in cookie balls, covering completely. Place on wax paper and chill to set. Keep truffles refrigerated. Makes approximately 5 dozen.