I really don't have much to say about her. I watched Dark Angel because in my hormone ravaged teens, shitty SciFi was okay if there was a hot girl in it. Also she was good in Sin City. Overall she really isnt a very good actress, but who cares?
TomC
5" X 50, Corojo 99 Wrapper (Nicaraguan Puro)
Appearance: This cigar was quite inviting looking. Dark and toothy, and oily. It was odd I had heard people talk about cigars as oily, and thought I knew what they meant. But this time was different. This cigar had an obvious sheen to it. Interesting. Overall a very promising looking stogie.
PreLight: Clipped easy, and produced a forgiving draw. Pre-Light notes were rich and woody. Again, promising.
Burn/Draw: The burn was a tad uneven but nothing to worry about personally. On the bright side it was long and slow and languid and cool. The draw was forgiving and produced a ton of smoke, that was big in the mouth and smooth and rich.
Taste: A subtle cigar this is not. From the very beginning this cigar is in your face, with notes of spice (black pepper), wood, leather and tobacco. All of the notes bold, but never harsh. Its a full bodied smoke, and as it burned it also seemed to develop notes of coffee and bittersweet chocolate. I found that "Cuban Classic" was an apt title for this cigar, because it seemed to share notes with some of the stronger Cuban cigars I have had. Not anything that I can describe specifically, but it just feels like some I have had in the past. All in all though, this is one good powerhouse of a stogie.
This is one tasty cigar, and from a little research it looks like a fairly reasonably priced one. I can heartily recommend it to anyone who can get one. One other little tidbit, evidently all the sizes of this line have a year attached to them. Well the Robusto I had today was the "1979" which is cool cause that's my year of birth. Heh.
TomC
I am sure I will write more about Richard D. James (alias: Aphex Twin, AFX, Polygon Window, Blue Calx, Caustic Window, etc.), and in more depth with time, as he is an artist I have followed as best I can since High School (when I discovered the CDs ". . .I Care Because You Do", and "Selected Ambient Works Volume 2" at my old favorite record store, Newbury Comics).
I would rather talk more in depth about the material I have been listening to tonight. The Analord Series.
"Analord" is a series of 12" vinyl recordings by UK-based electronic music artist Richard D. James. The first installment, Analord 10, went on sale through the Rephlex Records website on December 15, 2004, and was packaged in a faux-leather binder with sleeves for housing the rest of the series. It was later rereleased as a picture disc. Both pressings of Analord 10 were marketed under James' primary alias Aphex Twin, although other Analord recordings were released under the AFX pseudonym.
I was not lucky enough to acquire the vinyl recordings (that would have been AWESOME), but through a bit of research I am in possession of digital versions of all 11 parts of the series. Analord marks a bit of a return for James to the analog synthesizers he used earlier in his career. Instruments on Analord include drum machines such as the Roland TR-606, TR-808, and TR-909; sequencers such as the Roland MC-4; and various synthesizers and polysynths, including the Roland SH-101 and Roland TB-303, a Fenix Modular Synth (seen on the B-side of Analord 02), and countless others he has collected over the years or borrowed from colleagues. For those already aware of Aphex Twin, you will notice that Analord also that tracks are similar in atmosphere and melody to James' early acid and ambient techno recordings, yet are still marked by the fast, choppy, multi-layered drum sequencing he has perfected from the Richard D. James Album, providing a quite pleasant synthesis of his old and newer works.
Personally I enjoy this series very much. I have always been a bit biased toward James' softer earlier works. I find them to be more atmospheric and soothing. While the intense skittering beats of some of his more recent work are interesting and have their place, they can on occasion be jarring to the point of disturbing one's enjoyment of his talents. There are skittering breakbeats scattered through these songs, but often muted and buried in the mix to a positive result. In general I would humbly suggest that if you can find a copy of this series, give it a listen. It is a quite worthwhile venture.
TomC
( My Yahoo Sports NCAA Bracket)
The NCAA released the 65 team field for its 2007 Championship Tournament tonight. The field includes both the teams I follow. Ohio State is one of the four #2 seeds (along with Florida, Kansas, and North Carolina) and plays a 16 seed, Central Connecticut State, in the first round:
The Boston College Eagles, who aren't quite as accomplished as said Buckeyes, are a #7 seed. the get to play the Red Raiders of Texas Tech in the first round of the tournament, in what should be a much more hotly contested game than the OSU one:
The tournament fun starts on Thursday. Unfortunately I will miss a lot of the first weekend because I am going to Massachusetts for the weekend. I will try to keep updated, and post here as often as possible. Hopefully both teams will survive the first weekend!
And yes, I am in four separate bracket pools, each with slightly different brackets filled out, hopefully one will do well.
TomC
To wrap up the Conference Tournament stuff:
led by Michael Conley Jr (18pts) and Greg Oden (17pts) the #1 ranked Buckeyes defeated the #3 ranked Wisconsin Badgers rather handily, by the score of 66-49. With this victory they sealed up a #1 seed in the NCAA tourney, more info on that next post.
TomC
6" X 52, Natural
Unfortunately this cigar does not add up to a full bore fancy pants review. Please don't get me wrong, this cigar is not BAD. Its decent. It looked okay, prelight draw was good. Had some decent prelight notes. Tang and Leather. The burn was good, though the draw wasn't as forgiving as I would like, but not horrible. The smoke tasted of more of that tang and leather of the prelight (actually quite a LOT of that tang, to distraction, and to the detriment of the stick), and a little bit of spice but not much. Also the cigar did not develop at all. Bummer.
None of these things were horrible on their own, but add it all together and you get a thoroughly mediocre cigar. Meh.
TomC
Okay updates on the NCAA basketball topic I started yesterday. Both Boston College and Ohio State played in tournament Semi Final Games today. The result are as follows:
Led again by their beast of a big man (17pts, 19 rebounds) #1 Ohio State won again today, beating Purdue 63-52. this increases their season record to 29-3 and pretty much guarantees them a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They will play Wisconsin (who beat Illinois 53-41 in their semifinal) tomorrow of the Big Ten Championship.
In the ACC Tournament Semifinals, Boston College did not fair so well. Despite the best efforts of the ACC Men's Basketball Player of the Year, BC senior Jared Dudley (20 pts, 6 assists), the Eagles fell to the North Carolina Tarheels 71-56. UNC goes on to play NC State tomorrow for the ACC Championship. While BC (20-11), the fourth ranked team in a conference strong enough to have 8 tournament teams, should be in the field of 65 for the national title, it will be interesting to see where, and how high they are seeded.
And thats our Bball fix for the day!
TomC
Now I can picture blog from wherever I want! Neato! Here is a picture of a test run, a Partgas Spanish Rosado I was enjoying at La Casa de la Habana in Toledo, Ohio!
TomC
If you want indepth season long college basketball coverage, the I am sure there are better blogs for you to be reading. I am a casual College Basketball fan. I will watch a game if there is nothing better on television, or during the Conference and NCAA tourneys. It seems to me the pressure of punch out games makes the matchups more interesting. For the most part, the teams I follow are the team I watched as a kid (Boston College) and the school I went to (Ohio State). So, that said, this is how those teams did in their respective Tournament Quarterfinals. First, the Big Ten Tournament and Ohio State:
The #1 Ranked Buckeyes won rather handily today in their first game in the Big Ten Tourney. Led by gigantic freshman phenom Greg Oden's 22pts and 8 rebounds, they beat the useless bastards from the University of Michigan, 72-62. While I may actually be okay with them half-assing a game and savign strength for the tourney, on they continue. A big Ten Tourney Title, to go with the regular season one, would be a great capper on a good season, even if they don't win the NCAA Tournament.
Now in the ACC Tourney Quarterfinals, a slightly different story:
The #32 Ranked Boston College Eagles survived a plucky Miami team who had no business beating Maryland yesterday, to win 74-71 in overtime. They survived a slow start, thanks in most part to Tyrese Rices's career high 32pts (including a game tying free as regulation ran out), to hold off the Hurricanes. For all that hard work, it earned them a game against UNC in the Semifinals tomorrow.
So there it is, my second basketball post this year, but probably not the last this month. Enjoy.
TomC
Some Backround Info:
Christina Maria Aguilera (born December 18, 1980) is a four-time Grammy Award and Latin Grammy Award-winning American pop singer-songwriter. She was signed to RCA Records after recording "Reflection" for the film Mulan. She came to prominence following her debut album Christina Aguilera (1999), which was a critical and commercial success. A Latin Pop album Mi Reflejo, and a Christmas album, My Kind of Christmas, followed during this period and also sold strongly.
Aguilera took creative control over her second studio album Stripped (2002), which received mixed reviews and substantial sales. During the album's promotion, her overtly sexual image became the subject of intense criticism and ridicule. Her third studio album Back to Basics (2006) included elements of soul, jazz and blues music. It was released to good sales and positive critical reception. Aguilera's works have earned her five Grammy Awards amongst sixteen nominations, and over 30 million album sales worldwide. As of March 2007, Aguilera has sold a total of 56 million records worldwide (albums and singles).
5" X 52, Habano 2000 & Corojo Hybrid
Construction: This was one pretty looking little box-pressed robusto. Pretty smooth with only one little vein noticeable. It also had this very pretty reddish hue to it. Overall, quite pleasant looking.
Pre-Light: Clipped nicely revealing a forgiving pre light draw. Pre light notes were tangy.
Burn/Draw: Both were right where they should be, burned almost straight never needing a touch up, and the draw was forgiving as I like it, producing a good amount of smoke.
Taste: This was a pleasant, if straightforward cigar, the smoke was rich and smooth, and I would place this cigar solidly in the medium/medium category. Tastes of worn leather and tobacco, tangy, with a tad bit of spice creeping in at the end. I liked it.
Overall I very nice pleasant uncomplicated cigar I can heartily recommend.
TomC
7 1/2" X 50, Cameroon
Appearance: Dark and oily and toothy. Rich Looking.
Pre-Light: Clipped easy and produced a nice smooth draw with tangy notes of tobacco and spice.
Burn/Draw: Burned pretty well, only needed one touch up, ash held for about 3'4s an inch or so. Draw was just right and produced a wonderful billows of fragrant smoke. I had quite the experience listening to some Tool and watching the smoke billow to the ceiling. It was meditative.
Flavors: A very tasty smoke. Started smooth with a little of that African tobacco tang, as well as fragrant burning wood. It gathered a little spice at about the halfway point, a little black pepper and cinnamon. It evened out over the last third but retained some of the yummy notes from every part of the cigar. Yum.
I gotta say this is a good cigar from a label (Don Lino) I had not heard much good things about previously. But this cigar surprised me, and it seems to me that this stogie is quite a deal, heartily suggested.
TomC
