Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations - Techniques Special

Tonight, the Travel Channel is airing a special Techniques episode of No Reservations. No, this isn't another clip show, but rather a demonstration episode featuring some of the best chefs in the world. As Chef Bourdain explains it, "this show is a special in the true sense of the word. Meaning...this is an hour of instruction. It's about how to cook." Whether you are a novice cook or a seasoned chef, you will learn at least one new trick by watching No Reservations’ Techniques Special.


There will be nine key techniques featured in the episode, the first being “How to use a knife” demonstrated by the one and only Anthony Bourdain. Second is “How to pick out and cook a lobster” explained by Dave Pasternack (aka "The Pope of Fish"). Third is “How to cook an omelet” by Chef Jacques Pepin, and fourth is “How to grill a steak,” as demonstrated by Tony’s friend Carlos Llaguno (Executive Chef at Les Halles). The fifth technique explained in tonight’s episode is “How to roast a chicken” by world renowned chef Thomas Keller.



Next up is “How to make a hamburger” by French Chef Laurent Tourondel, who explains the key to cooking the perfect hamburger is to cook it on a flattop instead of a grill. The seventh technique is “How to make red sauce” as explained by Chef Scott Conant, who cooks pasta from memories of watching his grandmother make dishes like cavatelli and orecchiette. Then comes “How to make french fries” by Carlos Llaguno, who whips up a batch of the famous Les Halles french fries from scratch. And last but not least comes “How to make a classic Boeuf Bourguignon” by Tony, who talks about what kind of meat to use, how to season the dish, and which wine to use.

No Reservations also got permission from some of the featured chefs to post their recipes on TravelChannel.com, so you can try some of them on your own. All of these recipes are posted here.

Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations airs Monday nights at 10/9c on the Travel Channel.

Iron Man 2 Black Widow One Sheet Movie Poster

Yesterday, it was announced that Paramount would be releasing an exclusive Black Widow Iron Man 2 one sheet movie poster at WonderCon this weekend. How cool is that!?! If you’re in the San Francisco area, head down to WonderCon and pick The Blot up one of these awesome posters! I love the idea of Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, and this poster just reinforces that that feeling.


I don’t know how the Black Widow fits into the storyline of Iron Man 2, but I really hope her role is larger than Nick Fury’s was in the original Iron Man!

Iron Man 2 debuts in theaters on May 7, 2010.

Do It Yourself Blank 8 Inch BIC Buddy by Marka27

The Blot’s always had a fascination with blank do-it-yourself vinyl figures. Not only are they great for customizers, but they also look killer when displayed together. So I was pretty excited to learn BIC Plastics was already releasing an 8” DIY Blank BIC Buddy designed by Marka27. It’s too bad Kidrobot won’t follow BIC Plastics’ lead and release a DIY Blank 8” Dunny.


This blank DIY figure was designed strictly for creativity with clean large bold shapes and a surface ready to be customized. The Do It Yourself 8 inch BIC Buddy has a matte white finish and retails for just $25.

Obey Giant - These Parties Disgust Me Screen Print by Shepard Fairey

At first, The Blot dismissed “These Parties Disgust Me” as just another screen print in a long line of uninspired prints produced by the Obey Giant machine. But then I decided to reexamine “These Parties Disgust Me” and realized Shep might actually be trying to say something with this print. What that is I can’t exactly say, but I do love the ornate pattern in the print’s background featuring the Republican elephant mascot and the Democratic donkey mascot. I’ve also read that the woman featured in the print is Shepard’s wife Amanda, but I can neither confirm nor deny that allegation.


The Obey Giant screen print “These Parties Disgust Me,” designed by Shepard Fairey, measures 18”x24”, comes signed and numbered by the artist and has a edition size of 450 pieces. This print goes on sale today (Friday, April 2nd) at a random time, and can be purchased directly from Obey at its online store for $45.

DC Direct x Graphitti Designs WonderCon Exclusive Black Lantern Hal Jordan & White Lantern Sinestro Action Figures

The Blot was really excited to learn yesterday that DC Direct and Graphitti Designs would be teaming up again to produce two exclusive action figures for WonderCon 2010 based on the hit comic book mini-series Blackest Night…that is until I realized I had no chance of actually getting either of these awesome looking figures. After the huge success of the DC Direct x Graphitti Designs Blackest Night Hal Jordan Action Figure Rainbow Set from San Diego Comic Con 2009, comes the WonderCon exclusive Black Lantern Hal Jordan and White Lantern Sinesto action figures.



These WonderCon exclusives come packaged in similar packaging to the SDCC 09 exclusives, and each package also includes a wearable corresponding colored Lantern ring. There are some pretty convoluted rules as to how to purchase these figures at WonderCon, so if you’re attending WonderCon 2010 and want to purchase these figures I’d study up on the rules listed in the picture above.



DC Direct and Graphitti Designs have yet to announce the run size of their WonderCon exclusive Blackest Night Black Lantern Hal Jordan and White Lantern Sinestro figures, but they will retail for $21.90 each. WonderCon attendees are limited to purchase a maximum of two of each figure. Get them if you can!

Sneak Peek: Johnny Cupcakes Suitcase Tour Exclusive T-Shirts

The Johnny Cupcakes Suitcase Tour is about to officially start, and The Blot is excited to share a preview of the six limited edition tour exclusive t-shirts that will be available when JC visits your town! Accompanying these 6 tour t-shirts will be a skinny tie, 2 hats, a poster, a handful of pins and a keychain. All are limited edition tour exclusives, which means you can only get them on this tour directly from John and his suitcases.


Small batches of products are being set aside for each location, and best of all, the Johnny Cupcakes Suitcase Tour will be accepting credit & debit cards! All tour t-shirts will have the tour logo on the back and are sure to be highly sought after by Johnny Cupcakes collectors. Mark your calendars! You can find a full listing of the Johnny Cupcakes Suitcase Tour tour stops here.

Mono Dissected Companion Be@rbrick by Kaws

The Medicom x Kaws Dissected Companion Be@rbrick is back, and this time it’s being released in a pretty slick looking Mono colorway. Similar to the OG colorway, the Mono Dissected Be@rbrick is being released in three sizes, 100%, 400% and 1000%, with the 100% and 400% Be@rbricks only being sold together as a set.


It sounds like the Mono version of Kaws’ Dissected Be@rbrick is already sold out at most retailers, but if you can find them for retail, the 1000% Be@rbrick sells for $299.99 while the 100% and 400% Be@rbrick set retails for $124.99.

Lance Corporal Nibbles Custom Munny & the Can Opener by Huck Gee

After a year hiatus, Huck Gee returns to his series of hand painted custom UTCMC Dread Squad figures with the infamous (and adorable) Nrezatarian Lance Corporal "Nibbles," who comes wearing the Vlad Systems Mech Desecrator Close Quarters Reflexive Suit (a.k.a. "the Can Opener"). This armor was designed to allow the lone marine to slip within a mech's defensive perimeter and tear them apart in close combat.


Utilizing reflexive technology to increase the wearer's reflexes, strength and ability to leap, combined with the charged capacitive armor piercing claws, Nibbles is known to wreck pure havoc on the battlefield, and according to the rumors behind his nickname, and a long list of missing compatriots, off the battlefield too.


The hand painted Lance Corporal Nibbles custom Munny goes on sale this Friday, April 2nd, at noon PDT and can be purchased directly from Huck at his brand spanking new online store. Each figure is signed, numbered and comes with the accessories shown above. Only 10 Lance Corporal Nibbles figures have been created, and each figure will retail for $750.

The Losers Comic Book Inspired One Sheet Movie Poster

The Blot loves how many comic book based movies are being green lit by Hollywood nowadays. What’s even better is the quality of the movies being produced. One of the comic book movies I’m looking forward to the most is The Losers, directed by Sylvain White. I really enjoyed the Vertigo monthly series by Andy Diggle and Jock, and can’t wait to see how it’s translated to the silver screen.


One of the coolest parts of the ad campaign for The Losers live action movie adaptation is that they took the cover artwork to The Losers #12 and adapted it into the movie promo poster above. Then they took it one step further by reproducing the comic’s artwork with the film’s actual cast. It was a killer idea that was executed to perfection. I seriously can’t believe no comic book themed movie had ever done this before!


The Losers is scheduled to premiere in theaters on April 23, 2010, and stars Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Clay, Zoe Saldana as Aisha, Chris Evans as Jensen, Idris Elba as Roque, Columbus Short as Pooch, Óscar Jaenada as Cougar and Jason Patric as Max.

Hugo “Hurley” Reyes Mr. Cluck’s Lost Bobble Head

The sixth Lost bobble head from Bif Bang Pow! has been announced, and it features everyone’s favorite speaker to the dead, Hugo “Hurley” Reyes! I have mixed emotions about the Hugo Reyes Mr. Cluck’s Lost bobble head because while I love Hurley, I wish they had produced a generic Hurley bobble head first instead of an Australian outback Hurley (as he appeared in the Mr. Cluck’s Chicken Shack commercial).


While it’s not my favorite version of Hurley, I do love Bif Bang Pow!’s line of Lost bobble heads, and this is definitely another must get. The Hugo Reyes Mr. Cluck’s Lost bobble head stands on a base featuring Mr. Cluck’s Chicken Shack logo and comes holding a boomerang. The Hurley bobble head is made out of resin and stands 7" tall. While the bobble head won’t ship until August 2010, it is available for pre-order here from EntertainmentEarth.com right now for $12.99.