An Interesting Look at the Cuban Cigar
June 22, 2008
Even most non-cigar smokers have heard some of the lore surrounding the Cuban cigar. Long revered as the finest and best tasting brands in the world, they have traditionally been extremely difficult to procure. Consequently there exists a very profitable market for importing and distributing Cuban cigars to cigar-lovers worldwide. There are many brands of Cuban cigars available, but some of the most well known include Coronas Especiales (rumored to be one of Fidel Castro’s favorites) and Montecristos.
Many people assume that the distribution of Cuban cigars on U.S. soil is illegal. The truth of the matter is, although there are certain restrictions placed on the importing of cigars from Cuba, there is no outright law forbidding their presence. Recently the Department of Justice altered the original embargo on Cuban products, allowing limited amounts of cigars to be brought back from licensed trips to Cuba. That law has since been expanded to include personal quantities, up to two boxes, for personal use.
Although there is actually no law governing the importation of Cuban cigars for personal use, large business have been fined, at times, for the selling or distributing of large volumes of Cuban cigars to the pubic. Fines are a rare occurrence, however. Many private settings that sell Cuban cigars, such as hotels or casinos, have experienced little or no problems over the years.
New Year?s Resolution ? Why Not Resolve To Take Back Your Life?
June 21, 2008
It’s time once again for the dreaded New Year’s Resolutions. Most of us make them; few of us keep them for more than a few months. New Year’s resolutions range anywhere from loosing weight to being more organized to finishing your education and the list goes on. But, have you ever thought about resolving to get your life back? "What does this mean?" you ask.
Getting your life back means taking control of your life-Making deliberate choices about how you spend your time, so that you can have a balanced lifestyle. If you often feel stressed or hurried, this may be a good sign that you need some help with managing your lifestyle. A balanced lifestyle means having the time to choose doing the things you enjoy, rather than the things that you have to do! You may want your family and friends time to come before the errands and the cooking and the business project and the driving, but you just don’t know how to balance it all. If so, here are some tips that are easy to stick to and will help you get your life back.
Move Up to the World of the Digital SLR Camera
June 20, 2008
A digital SLR camera or a single lens reflex (SLR) camera is one of the most popular cameras amongst photographers today. These cameras not only provide high quality images but the photographer can also largely control how he wants the final product to look like. Hence, people who are extremely fond of clicking pictures have a great time while using a SLR camera. If you have a creative spark in you then you will want to consider one of these at some point. I am using a Canon Rebel right now but the Nikon F6 is next on my horizon of my purchases. These are moving into the 8 mp and up range now so the quality is quite good.
The SLR is not cheap at all. The price historically started at about $5,000 ? which is very steep. So, only those who are either professionals or wannabes purchased an SLR for themselves. Nowadays however, in order to make the SLR available to a larger number of photographers, companies such as Canon and Nikon have come up with SLRs falling in the price range of around $1000 without extra lenses.
Rubber Stamps ? For Teachers and Students
June 19, 2008
Once again we are reminded that summer is not long enough. It is the beginning of another back to school shopping season. New clothes, notebooks, pencils, and rubber stamps fill out the shopping list.
Teachers and students all have to prepare for another nine months of education. There is some fun involved every once in a while too. When the class has had their lessons for the day, it’s time to develop some crafting skills. Children young and old get that chance to use their creativity in making projects, greeting cards, and seasonal crafts.
Rubber stamps come in handy in the classroom more than just for grading papers. Students alike have access to use rubber stamps on their projects. Stamping is a way to dress things up and to add a little personality.
There are many types of stamps that can be fun for boys and girls:
- Animals. Everybody likes a caricature of jungle lions or giraffes.
- Cartoon characters. Spongebob, Powerpuff, and Disney round out the top choices.
- Sports. Baseball, basketball, and soccer to name a few.
- Alphabet stamps. Great for identifying with student’s names.
- Seasonal rubber stamps. From Halloween ghosts to snowflakes to turkeys.
Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Dog
June 18, 2008
Emlyn Williams Theatre, Mold, North Wales: 20th February 2003
Clwyd Theatr Cymru commemorated the 50th anniversary of the death of the Welsh poet, Dylan Thomas (1914-1953) with a superb run of performances by a small but accomplished cast of actors.
Described in the programme as "A theatrical journey through the prose writing of Dylan Thomas", the production was created by Tim Baker, an Associate of the Royal National Theatre, who won the Manchester Evening News Best Visiting Production award in 1992 for the highly acclaimed To Kill a Mockingbird.
Although Thomas is best known for his ‘play for voices’, Under Milk Wood, his evocative poems such as Fern Hill and Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night are rarely overlooked when anthologies celebrating 20th century poetry are put together. Indeed, this mesmerizing interpretation of Thomas’s short stories could well be described as a rich fusion of prose and poetry. For example, in a scene crossing a river he speaks of, "slipping stepping stones" and early on in the piece he describes his "love" of words thus:
Thats the Christmas Spirit
June 18, 2008
Last Christmas, Uncle Albert promised his neighbor, Wilson, to find a way to keep the Christmas spirit alive all year. You know, just like Wilson and everybody else wishes people each year.
Yesterday I was checking my calendar. “Holy smokes! It’s almost Christmas. I better check to see if Uncle Albert found a way to keep the Christmas spirit alive all year.”
So I put on my boots and buttoned up my jacket. I dashed out the door.
I came back into the house to put on a scarf. And some gloves. And a hat. And my long-johns. I filled up the thermos with hot chocolate and dug out a pair of ear muffs. “Yup. That’s the Christmas spirit,” I thought as I headed out once more, trying to keep my head above the snow.
When I reached Uncle Albert’s, I could tell something was different. I wasn’t sure quite what, but I suspect it had something to do with the large red and gold sleigh parked in his driveway.
“Say, Uncle Albert. What’s with the sleigh?”
“You like it, Happy Guy? That’s part of my Christmas spirit,” he enthused.
“It is?”
Do You Really Know What You?re Buying?
June 17, 2008
Recently, I had the opportunity to attend a popular gift show in my local area. My purpose in attending this gift show was to scope out my competition and the quality of their soy candles compared to what I offer. I was truly surprised with the results of how many candle exhibitors were present and was more so surprised with the results of how well they didn’t know their product.
Now my results are in no way to badger the company in anyway, but to open the eyes of our consumers, the results are:
Candle Exhibitor #1:
This exhibitor stated that they’re soy candles were handmade. I was told that their soy candles burned great had no soot or mushroom build up and had an awesome scent throw. Well, fortunately the exhibitor had several candles burning and I notice on their candles that the wick that was chosen had a lot of mushrooming and a little bit of soot build up and no scent throw unless your nose was directly above the flame. Speaking of flame, the flame on these candles was high and had a wild burn, which can be a fire hazard.
Candle Exhibitor #2:
Guerrilla Mythbusting: 5 Snappy Rules For Spotting and Exposing Popular Nonsense
June 16, 2008
College students tend to wax enthusiastic about the lessons they pick up in class. Curiously, this very admirable trait, a thirst for knowledge, has a downside to it. When one learns at a rate best described as “alarming,” which college students often must do, little time exists to sit and sift through all that new material carefully. And this burdensome task would mandate yet more study time, which luxury few students can afford.
This means that, for very practical reasons, they will tend to accept readily the sermons that echo from academic pulpits. Consumers of media information have nearly the same problem — a large flow of information thrust at them, and little time to sort through it. Election years only magnify this problem, and political candidates can grind axes with the best of them. When a scandal breaks out, the media blitz can sometimes blind even the more critical viewers. So we have done some of the extra homework for these groups to help them make the best of this unhappy situation. Here, we offer a clear-headed set of rules to disperse the fog quickly, adding daylight to the topic at hand.
A Look at Cloisonné Lapel Pins
June 15, 2008
Cloisonné lapel pins are the most traditional, if not the most collectible of the lapel pin types. Most of the older lapel pins are either die-cast metal or cloisonné. Cloisonné is from the French word for cell, which refers to the method that cloisonné is created. A metal structure, or cell, is formed with the outline of the design and filled with enamel and then baked to permanently set the design. The cloisonné technique dates all the way back to 13th century B.C. in ancient Japan, however the Chinese really made the art form their own, creating beautiful vases and other artifacts. A cloisonné lapel pin is a modern interpretation of this ancient and beautiful art.
Most true cloisonné lapel pins today are made on a copper base, with enamel colors individually mixed. Each pin is then fired one at a time in an enamel oven at temperatures over 1600 degrees Fahrenheit. This ensures that the colors are "baked on" and will not run. After the lapel pins cool, they are polished to remove any unwanted color bleeding and to make the pin shine. Cloisonné lapel pins are very durable and their colors remain vibrant for the life of the pin.
Stock Your Kit with Digital Camera Accessories
June 14, 2008
There are a large number of digital camera accessories available in the market today. Even though you might have invested a few hundred dollars in your digital camera (although they are getting cheaper by the day), you should buy yourself a few accessories as well so that you can enhance the photo quality of your pictures and be able to capture anything that comes along in your daily digital life.
Software that can help you to organize your images properly is one of the essential digital camera accessories that you need. Remember the time when you returned from a vacation with your friends and you had over 100 images to organize? This is when you realize the value of such software.
There are a large number of such software apps available today. These include image-editing programs such as Photoshop Element 3 by Adobe. This program is an improved version of the older Photoshop Album and consists of some great image organizing tools. Then, we also have the Digital Image Suite 10 by Microsoft that has some cool features that allow you to very easily arrange your images in a particular order.
