The Perfect BBQ Chicken and Miller High-Life

For those of you who just load your chicken up with BBQ Sauce and throw it on the grill, YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG! Don't argue with me about it. It's a fact. You're wrong. Deal with your failure and get on with your life.

The problem with doing chicken that way is the fact it never cooks right. It never cooks all the way through and you end up with this rubbery/blubbery taste to both the meat and the skin. It's gross. No matter how much hot sauce and BBQ sauce you load that bugger up with. It tastes gross.

The secret is boiling the chicken first. What you say? I said you boil the chicken first. No lie!! Having it boiled before you throw it on the grill I've found actually makes it really tender. Because what you're pretty much doing is just browning it up on the grill to give it that BBQ flavor.

Here's another trick to help give it a great flavor. Add either the BBQ or hot sauce to the water and boil in the sauce/water mix. I've been doing this almost the entire Summer and the result is probably the best grilled chicken I've ever had.

After you've boiled it you can still add a layer of BBQ or hot sauce to the bird before you throw it on the grill.

And here's a fun drink combination you might want to try before the Summer ends. I had gotten the idea from an artist friend of mine Derek Ring. Mix Miller High-Life with Country Time Lemonade.

Don't make that face while you read this!! I mean think about it. People drink Bud Lime (for some reason) they put lime in Corona and they put a lemon on the edge of the glass when they serve a Hefeweizen at the restaurants. So, adding Lemonade to High-Life is really no different.

And the results are really great!!

I don't think it would work as well with a beer like Narragansett, Schlitz or Sam Adams. I think it might have something to do with the fact that High-Life is a Pilsner style beer. But I'm not sure if it would work with any other Pilsner beer.

If you happen to drink another brand of Pilsner and would like to try it, write me at this blog and let me know if it works!

The Valley of Fear

I confess I haven't read The Valley of Fear from cover to cover as of yet. I listened to a really great radio adaptation of it starring Clive Merrison a while back. But I have not read the book as of yet myself.

So, I dug out my old dusty copy of it (as seen above) and started reading it a couple days back. I also have the book in a Bantam collection but I much prefer reading it separately. I don't know. Unless it's the short stories collected, I have a hard time reading the full Sherlock Holmes novels in the collected editions. Yeah, I know. Yet another strange hang up.

This novel is the only other story where Professor Moriarty is mentioned apart from The Final Problem and The Empty House. It's funny to think much like Irene "The Woman" Adler, he only really appeared in one story. Yet, think about all the movies written that have used the character as Sherlock Holmes's chief nemesis.

Of course, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is famous for muddling his own continuity in this book. Since in The Final Problem Watson has no idea who Moriarty is yet in this story Watson knows about Moriarty.

I suppose this all stems from the fact that this particular story was written 22 years after The Final Problem was printed. Famously, Doyle has become tired of his creation by when he printed The Final Problem. So, it's possible he just didn't feel like going over the old manuscripts to check certain story elements.

Or he knew and he really just didn't care.

Of course nowadays if a writer were to do that, can you imagine how many fans would complain about this on message boards, blogs, websites, Facebook, Myspace, Twitter or anything else they can find?

I still find it really odd how few film and television adaptations there are of this particular story. There are only two films I know about. The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes starring Arthur Wonter and Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace starring Christopher Lee. But both are only loosely based on the novel. Arthur Wontner closely resembled Sidney Paget's artwork in a way that was eerie. But the films starring him are so slow and boring. Sorry, it's a fact. The Christopher Lee film is not bad in the sense that it's directed by the great Hammer director Terence Fisher and physically Christopher Lee is the best choice for Sherlock Holmes. It's also filmed in German. And this could have been a very enjoyable movie to watch but the travesty of the film is the fact that when they dubbed it in English they DID NOT get Christopher Lee to dub his own lines. Instead they got some truly terrible American actor to do it. And that just ruins watching the film for me. Especially since Christopher Lee has the most amazing voice this side of Tom Baker. There is one animation starring Peter O'Toole that is a direct adaptation. I haven't seen it and I heard apart from Peter O'Toole's performance the acting and the animation really terrible.

Ever since I wrapped up working on Alice Faulkner I have been putting a great deal of thought into doing another Sherlock Holmes story. This time I had wanted to do something from the canon as opposed to doing another pastiche. I think what continues to draw me back to The Valley of Fear is the fact that it has not been done a great deal.

So, we'll see.

Dracula by Andy Fish

For those of you who prefer your vampires NOT glittering in the sunlight, I highly recommend you check out Andy Fish's long awaited and highly anticipated adaptation of Bram Stoker's classic novel Dracula!! I just received my personally signed copy of Book One in the series and does not disappoint.

Much like the classic Tod Browning adaptation starring Bela Lugosi, Andy's version takes place in 1931 rather than 1897. Which he explains his reasons for the switch at the end of the first book. He touches upon many of the changes happening at that time such as the Nazi's coming to power.

While keeping many of the elements of Gothic Horror which the story of Dracula is known for, Andy has also infused elements of film noir, action adventure as well as a touch of humor.

Not too much to make the story too jokey or a parody. But enough so the story isn't too, too dark. As someone who enjoys and writes humor, I think it's a very important thing. And also something very difficult to write.

Now we come to Andy's interpretation of Dracula. And I like it. Just from the cover you can tell his appreciation for both the look of Dracula (or Orlok) in the silent film Nosferatu with the overall rat-like appearance and bald head. But in the face, he's maintain that strong sense of nobility and dignity Bela Lugosi gave the character.

The combination of the two gives us a version of Dracula I don't think I've ever seen. And it works really well. He's ancient and diseased with his pointed ears and broken claws. Yet there's strength and dignity in his face.

This is what makes it different from either Max Schreck or Klaus Kinski's plague-ridden Count.

For me, it's more like if Bela Lugosi or Christopher Lee were to do that look for Dracula. But portray them the way they do in their films.

Another thing that shines about the book is Andy's art. His admiration for Jack Kirby shines through in this project. Not in his art style, mind you. But in the way he subscribes to Kirby's approach to art where he's not afraid to try something new as far as projects and styles are concerned.

His artwork in this book is vastly different from the style of work that he did in books like The Tragic Death of Turkey Boy and Fly. The characters in this book for the most part are very photographic looking. His talents as a painter take center stage in this project. But he mixes that with many comic book styles and techniques.

The result is this very satisfyingly brilliant mixed media feel that varies from page to page. It becomes a very exciting action adventure story rather than just a straight horror story.

I highly recommend you order your copy online by clicking the picture above. You will not be disappointed.

Restaurant Recommendation: Asmara's in Cambridge MA

I love trying new places. I suppose that all started for me back when I ate Indian food for the first time several years ago. It definitely got my feet wet and made me (slowly) opened to trying food that was outside of my comfort zone. And I think seeing shows like No Reservation, Bizarre Foods and even Man Vs. Food has made me more opened to trying cuisine's I'm unfamiliar with.

Granted, I have no intention of eating eyeballs, brains, scrotum's, maggots or anything else that might be on the menu in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. But I'm a lot less close minded about those things than I was in my 20's.

A couple days ago Sydney asked me if I wanted to go to Boston for the day with her. She was from that area and went to college there. So, she wanted to show me around some of the places she liked going to when she's out that way.

One of which was Asmara Restaurant in Cambridge. Which serves Ethiopian cuisine.

I've never had Ethiopian food before. I don't know if there are any places that serve Ethiopian food in Worcester. There are a lot of Chinese Restaurants. Several Thai Restaurants. A few Japanese Restaurants. Three Lebanese Restaurants (two of the same places but in different locations). And a few Vietnamese places.

But no Ethiopian restaurants.

Well, I was all up for that. So after a great late breakfast/early lunch sandwich at the Parrish Cafe (and by the way Elephant Walking on Eggs “Sandwich from the Mountain” is amazing!! Especially when you put your side veggies in the sandwich) we walked around Boston for several hours checking out many of her favorite shops and stores.

I had kind of a flashback when we went to the Garage in Cambridge. I haven't been to that shop since 1995. I didn't realize it until I was walking up the ramp. There used to be a great Science-Fiction bookstore that is no long there. But for a moment I felt like I went back in time.

Flash forward to 2010. At around 5pm we finally made our way to Asmara's. It wasn't too crowded when we got there. It was still early and the dinner crowd really didn't start arriving until we left. But Sydney warned me that you eat with your hands there.

They do have seating where you can sit at a table and eat with silverware. But we wanted the traditional experience so we ate at one of the tables as seen in the photo above.

Our server recommended us getting one of the samplers. Which gives us both an opportunity to have a small sample of each of the dishes. Sydney is a vegetarian so I decided to get the Ahimilti Bebaynetu Vegetable Combination which consists of Cabbage, yellow split peas, spinach, chick peas, lentils, and tomtato salad.

Even though I don't hide the fact I enjoy my burgers, chicken and steak (not at the same time, mind you) I was vegetarian for seven years until about 2004 when I fell of the wagon. However, I still happen to enjoy vegetarian food as well. You need to keep an opened mind about things or you can miss out on a lot.

And I'm glad I got this dish because I would have missed out!!

After having a really nice Ethiopian Light Lager, we were served the dinner. And it was excellent!! We both agreed the spinach was our favorite part of the dish. And I loved the bread they served with it. Both on the side and under the food itself.

Much like Indian Beer, the light lager I was served really complimented the spices. Definitely helped put out a little of the fire of the spicier food we were served.

Ironically, the label had a picture of St. George on it. Which was fitting because it certainly helped put out the fire of the spices ;-)

I definitely had some Anthony Bourdain moments while I was eating the food. Although, I'm not trotting the globe traveling from country to country like Mr. Bourdain. I'm just taking a train trip into Boston for the day.

And I didn't leave feeling empty. I don't think we finished it all but I left feeling very satisfied.

Well then!! If you happen to be in the Cambridge area, be sure to check out Asmara Restaurant. You can click on the link below to check out their menu and get driving directions:

Pinup Art at Dark World Gallery

A piece I just completed for a show at Dark World Gallery which features illustrations based on pinup art. When I asked what they were looking for they told me that they wanted pinup art in my style but they were actually looking for more male pinup art to give a little bit of a twist on the show.

And this was the result. It also gave me the opportunity to use some Winsor Newton Color Ink that I got a while back which I've been really wanting to use in more illustrations.

You have no idea how difficult it is to find a photo of a turn of the century style male swimming costume on the web ;-)

Doctor Who: Demon Quest promo

A promo I did for Paul Magrs upcoming follow up to his Doctor Who series Hornets Nest titled Demon Quest. Which once again stars Tom Baker as the Doctor!!

Alice Faulkner is officially SOLD OUT!!

If you're looking to purchase a signed copy of Sherlock Holmes: The Painful Predicament of Alice Faulkner, you're going to have to wait a while. Much like the first print run (which sold within a month of it's release), the second print run has officially SOLD OUT!! I sold my last copy from the second printing of the book along with original art to a customer on E-Bay a couple days back.

You're still able to purchase copies the book on Amazon.com as well as a few other online stores. But Alterna has officially sold out every single copy they have of the book. So once they're gone, they're gone!!

However!! If you happen to live in Worcester MA, there are still three signed copies available from the FIRST PRINT RUN at Borders Books and Music on Boston Turnpike Road in Shrewsbury MA!! I believe those three are the only three copies from the first print run available for purchase. And if you live in Spencer MA, I believe there are a few copies available at Cormier's on Main Street.

Get them while they last!!