Click on the comic strip to enlarge.
ADAM & ANDY is set in the fictional New England town of Woodfield, CT. You can learn more about this strip by visiting, adamandandy.com.
Despite the cold and more than 14″ of fresh snow, Guerrilla Queer Bar (GQB) is hosting their takeover of The Estate tonight starting at 9PM. If you are looking for something fun to do, check out this overly social and very welcoming bunch.
In just a couple of weeks the Boston chapter of Gay4Good will be working with the Human Rights Campaign and BAGLY (Boston Alliance of Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Youth) to help package gifts on Martin Luther King Jr. Day – Monday, January 20, 2014 from 11am – 2pm. The donated contents need to be packaged so they may be distributed to local homeless LGBT youth.
WHEN: Monday, January 20, 2014 from 11am – 2pm
WHERE: BAGLY at 14 Beacon St, Suite 301 in Boston
If you want to do more or if you cannot join but would like to help you may access a gift registry on Amazon.com. After you visit the Amazon wish list and are ready to check out choose the gift registry shipping address for John Affuso.
MLK Day of Service Gift Registry Wish List
After volunteering, the group will grab a bite to eat. For more information about the drive link here.
Last week I referenced DNA Magazine’s article that said redheads were the best comeback trend of 2013. I was surprised by how many guys commented and shared my post so I thought I’d start the year off with a ginger themed Furry Friday.
Did you miss the post? You can read it here: Best ‘Comeback’ of 2013: Redheads.
UGH… winter is here. Who can say how accurate this forecast will be after all is said and done. I really don’t care. What I care about is getting myself to Brix (local wine shop) and stocking up on a few more bottles of red wine.
Despite the fact that there is a snow emergency, parking ban in effect most South End restaurants are open for business (at least for tonight). To entice you to come out some restaurants are offering social media “Blizzard Specials”. For example, Boston Chops is offering $1 Snow Storm oysters (at the bar only); The South End has the Buttery Blizzard Burger Special $10 (normally $17); and BoMA has a Snow Day Special where all draft beers are $5, burgers and flatbreads are $7.99.
To date the following South End restaurants and bars have let me know they are open tonight: Aquitaine The Beehive BoMA Restaurant + Bar Boston Chops Cinquecento Estelle’s Estragon The Gallows Gaslight Brasserie du Coin J.J. Foley’s Kitchen Boston Metropolis Cafe PICCO Red Lantern Tremont 647 / Sister Sorel South End Buttery Union Bar & Grille
Nearly every week I roast a couple of red bell peppers and garlic heads. I do this because roasting these veggies brings out the natural sweetness and flavors making meals far more satisfying and flavorful; relying less on salt, sugars, etc and thereby making it easier to prepare a healthier meal.
Last month I included a recipe for eggplant rolls that were stuffed with a ricotta, roasted red bell pepper and garlic spread (you can read the recipe here). A reader asked how to roast veggies so I wanted to share how easy it is.
Total time to roast these veggies (I do this simultaneously) takes ~30 minutes and it is far cheaper than buying roasted veggies although that is always an option if in a pinch.
STEP 1: The Prep and Roasting Preheat the oven to 400 Farenheit / 200 Celsius. Peel as much of the garlic clove as you can and chop off the top of the cloves. Put them in ramekins (or in coffee cups like I did) then drizzle olive oil and sprinkle some Italian seasoning on the top of the cloves. Wash the peppers and place them by the garlic on a tray with foil then put them in the oven. Every 9 minutes rotate the bell peppers (total cooking time 27 minutes). If the garlic browns faster, pull them out.
The garlic are perfect once you take them out of the oven and can be used so many ways. You know the garlic is perfectly roasted when it appears slightly browned (see above photo). The smell will be absolutely heavenly.
STEP 2: Resting and Peeling The peppers will require one more step. When you pull the peppers out of the oven, let them rest for 10-15 minutes because they are full of oil/liquid that is scalding. If properly roasted they will look like the photograph I’ve included and the skin will peel off very easily (see below). Peeling off the skin will leave a tender, sweet vegetable that you may use. Be sure to also remove the stem and seeds on the inside. I immediately put the roasted peppers in a container with the oily liquid that can be used when cooking or to drizzle on salads.
Supah model / Tom Brady’s main squeeze, Gisele Bundchen, just posted this photograph of her stepping out from her Back Bay home to play in the snow along Boston’s Commonwealth Avenue Mall on her Instagram account. Even in a blizzard this woman is beautiful.
Posted in Back Bay, Pop Culture
Tagged Back Bay, BosGuy, Boston Guy, Photography, Pop Culture
Harrison Avenue Midnight 2-Jan-14
Harrison Avenue 12PM 2-Jan-14
Harrison Avenue Midnight 2-Jan-14
Harrison Avenue 12PM 2-Jan-14
Nationally, you can follow this snowstorm on Twitter using the hashtag #Hercules but Bostonians are using #BOSnow to track the impact locally. Above are photos of Harrison Avenue in the South End. The first series was taken at Midnight and the second at 12:00 PM Thursday.
Boston’s snow emergency / street parking ban has just gone into effect so the owners of those cars better move them quickly otherwise they’ll be ticketed and towed.
Boston and many of the surrounding towns have no shortage of fantastic Italian pastry shops with extremely loyal customers who all swear by their favorite. While the most famous Italian pastry shop in the area is Mikes on Hanover Street, I’ve always been partial to the Modern Pastry at 257 Hanover Street.
Last week I made a visit to the Modern and noticed that their neighbor Piccolo Venezia had closed and the Modern is expanding into the space, hooray. Modern Pastry has operated out of the same, tiny location for more than 80 years so I can hardly wait to see how their expansion will help accommodate them and their many loyal patrons of which I am a proud member.
My recent purchase of 18 mini cannolis filled with ricotta and two lobster tails
So it is official – 2013 is now history. As you may have guessed, I have a few lighthearted predictions for 2014 that I’ve included below in no particular order.
Twerking and the Harlem Shake will go the way of the Gangam Style, The Humpty Dance, and all those other annoying trendy dances that require no skill but somehow receive way more than their share of the public’s attention.
Homophobic conservatives like Hannity and Limbaugh suffer aneurysms when they realize the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, has more in common with their views on homosexuality than the majority of America.
Selfies, photobombing and even more vain, self-centered behavior will become more socially acceptable as people (not just Americans) become more obsessed with Individualism; common courtesy is renamed “uncommon courtesy”.
Britney Spears’ show at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas bombs despite the tiny theater and Ms. Spears career as a “singer” finally comes to a much needed end.
Michele Bachmann leaves the US Congress and the average I.Q. in the US House of Representatives jumps 10 points.
Do you have any predictions for 2014? Feel free to share.
Thanks to a lot of work on the part of the LGBT community and their allies it became a lot harder to pass or uphold homophobic legislation in 2013. The Human Rights Campaign has set up a rather inspiring page called Best of 2013.
I modified one HRC infographic and included it above because even though I am concerned about many issues that impact the LGBT community here in the US, marriage equality has been a rallying cry for our community ever since it was first made legal in Massachusetts in 2004. With the ten year anniversary of that landmark decision approaching this May and many other states contemplating legalizing same sex marriage no other LGBT issue will be more discussed this year.
When states like Utah start performing same sex marriages (as they did in December 2013), you know you’ve hit the tipping point. It should be interesting to see how other states with marriage bans fare in 2014 and what other strides and accomplishments will be made. I know I’m greatly encouraged by the progress, and I hope you are too. If this sort of thing is of interest to you, be certain to check out some of the other ‘accomplishments’ on the HRC page, Best of 2013.
Happy New Year
May your New Year’s Eve be less dramatic and more fun. I’ll be spending the evening with friends and I wish the same for you.
Much thanks to @TheCowlicker (a particularly sexy and funny guy I enjoy following on Twittah) for sharing the picture.
BosGuy 