Bizarre Suicides / LJ / Myspace / 99 Rooms / Harley Davidson Café Harley Hog Sandwich

This is postdated in case I fall asleep before midnight or slightly later. Right now, it is 10:48 PM PST.

Today's Bizarre Yet Truly Morbid Fact!

Hours after the bizarre death of the City of Phoenix's chief financial officer, city officials blamed a brain parasite contracted in Mexico for his bizarre demise. However, nine months of extensive testing eliminated the possibility that such a parasite caused Kevin Keogh, 55, to crawl out the window of his moving Mercedes-Benz SL 500 and onto its roof before jumping off the passenger side and hitting a tree. The lack of evidence of a brain parasite combined with police reports and other city records point to a pressure-cooker work environment in the upper echelons of Phoenix City Hall as the far more likely catalyst in Keogh's suicide.

The bizarre incident occurred on Wednesday afternoon, December 8, 2004, when the CFO's car was traveling east on Camelback Road at about 45 MPH. Witnesses told Scottsdale police that Keogh, after crawling onto the roof of the Benz, extended his arms outward for a second or two and then leaped off. He hit the tree, and his body rolled along the edge of the thoroughfare. His driverless car continued down the road until it collided with another vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Miraculously, nobody else was injured.

Culled from: Phoenix New Times
Generously submitted by: Paradox

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Hey, I always say, if you're going to kill yourself, do it with STYLE! Well done!

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Blah Blah Blahg

You'll never believe it, but The Comtesse has a MySpace page now. It's not *much* of a My Space page because, as I've discovered, MySpace is an awful pain in the arse to update. In fact, it's so much of a pain in the arse that, after spending an hour fighting with various errors while trying to post a blog update, I have decided to start up a blog on my own website and will only use the MySpace page for occasional announcements.

So, if you'd like to be my friend on MySpace, please come by and see me sometime.

And if you'd like to check out my latest ramblings - including a travelogue-of-sorts regarding my latest trip back to Catatonia - please visit my new home blahg, Grim Tidings. I'm planning on using the blahg for posting reviews, stories, random thoughts, and other snippets that don't quite fit anywhere else on The Asylum. Hopefully, you'll find it entertaining at least *some* of the time.

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Ghastly!

Here's the none-too-pretty result of a bicycle vs. truck duel. Can you guess who won?

Thanks to Desmodus for the link.

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Morbid Art Du Jour!

99 Rooms is an amazingly beautiful interactive website that combines urban exploration photographs from East Germany, creepy artwork, and interactive flash animation. Brilliant.

Thanks to bettieinstereo for the link.


Harley Davidson Café Harley Hog Sandwich

In late September 1997, the Harley Davidson Café celebrated its grand opening in Las Vegas. This is the second Harley Davidson Café, with the first one located in New York City, just a short walk from the first Planet Hollywood. Both locations serve up some delicious "road food" amongst the awesome collection of vintage Harleys and Harley Davidson paraphernalia. I think this sandwich is one of their best, and this recipe comes right from the source. The Pork Producers Council got the recipe from the café's chef, and featured it in a promotional pull-out that ran in a restaurant trade magazine in 1995. Now the secret can be shared with you.

6 to 8 lb. boneless pork butt, tied

Rub
1 cup Kosher salt
1 cup course ground black pepper
1 cup paprika (sweet Hungarian is best)
2 cups hickory wood chips
1 cup apple wood chips

Hog Sauce
2 large onions, chopped
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
5 1/4 cups (42 ounces) canned tomatoes, with juice
3 cups cider vinegar
1 3/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup brown mustard
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon coarse black pepper

12 large round rolls

1. Combine all of the rub ingredients. Coat the pork butt evenly with mixture, shaking off any excess.
2. Soak wood chips in water for 30 minutes. Place pork butt in a smoker on the rack at 220 degrees for 8 hours, with smoke going for 2 hours. Let it cool slightly. Break the meat apart with your hands.
3. Sauté onions in oil in heavy saucepan until translucent. Add the remaining ingredients and cook until mixture is thick and coats the back of a spoon. Puree the sauce and let it cool. (Sauce can be made 2 to 3 days in advance and refrigerated.)
4. Combine the pork and the sauce (to taste) in a heavy saucepan. Cook until it is heated through.
5. To serve: Pile the pork on the rolls. Serve with French fries and coleslaw if desired. Yields 12 servings.

Todd's Tidbits
You can also smoke your pork in a charcoal barbecue, such as a round Weber Grill. Just arrange the charcoal around the edge of the inside of the grill. When the coals are hot, place the soaked wood chips on them, and then place the pork on the center of the rack above the coals. Cover. Cook the meat for 2-4 hours, or until the internal temperature comes to 150°-165°.