11.1.2007 | 1:35 pm | Cigars, Nanny Nation
The Great American Smokeout is November 16th, and we’re making plans to participate. I’ll be getting together with several cigar smoking buddies and we’ll smoke…out. We’ll start with a round of cigars, filling the air with thick tobacco smoke and light conversation. Then we’ll all have a very nice, very unhealthy dinner, followed by even more cigars.
All smokers should make a point to smoke publicly and obviously on this day. If you’re a non-smoking freedom lover you can still make a statement. Buy a big cigar and pretend. (And try lighting it up – you might find you like it.) Use this as an opportunity to make a statement about the whiney, sniveling, pussified, wimpy, nanny, lipidleggin society we’ve become.
Use caution, though, when participating in similar events for the first time. A few years ago I misinterpreted the intention of the Great American Meat Out and really embarrassed myself.
Comments (6)
09.27.2007 | 6:23 pm | Cigars
This is such a simple way to improve your cigars enjoyment I’m surprised more herfers aren’t aware of it.
When you clip your cigar, remove less of the cap than you usually do. Then, when the stogie is somewhere between 1/2 and 2/3s finished, clip it again, taking off an 1/8 of an inch or so.
The second cut removes the tars that the tobacco has been filtering out, and you’ll find the flavor opens up and the thing just tastes better.
This works really well with a punch. A lot of us don’t like punches because some cigars get skankey about half way down, but the second cut trick takes care of that.
Try this on your next cigar and you’ll be surprised at how much difference it makes.
Comments (5)
07.19.2007 | 1:06 pm | Cigars, Politics
No, that is not a misprint. Congress is trying to implement a tax increase that will be 20,000% in some cases.
State, federal, and even city governments have been screwing cigarette smokers for decades. In some cases those taxes are over 800%. (The Boston Tea Party was a protest against a 4% tax.) Cigar smokers get screwed by states who typically charge a 35-75% tax, but federal taxes have been about a nickel a cigar for quite a while.
That could change very soon. The Democrat controlled congress wants an extra $35-billion to $50-billion for the state children’s health insurance program. The program distributes payments to the states to help buy coverage for kids not poor enough for Medicaid. In other words, they want to expand socialized medicine. They plan to raise the money by adding a 53% tax on cigars with a cap of $10 per cigar. A $100 box of cigars will now cost $153, and that’s before the states slap their taxes on.
Cigarette smokers, don’t feel left out. You’re going to get screwed too, as the federal tax rate goes from thirty-nine cents a pack to a buck.
And it gets worse. The tax will apply to existing inventory, so tobacco store owners will be hit with a huge tax bill. This is the same trick Rob Reiner pulled when he helped pass the meathead tax on tobacco on California a few years back. It put hundreds of small cigar shops out of business. The tax was earmarked for some children’s cause, a government organization that told parents how to raise their kids, but there’s some question if any of it ever made it there.
When you call your congress weasels to tell them to vote against this bill, suggest another law to them: The Taxhole Act.
The Taxhole Act
- A member of the House or Senate, or any other federal government official or government representative propose who votes for any tax increase that has been advertised as “for the children” shall be considered a Taxhole.
- Public figures, including state and local politicians, celebrities, wanna be celebrities and washed up former celebrities that some people may vaguely remember, who advocate tax increases while using the phrase “for the children” or any similar phrase, shall also be considered Taxholes.
- Any Taxhole who advocates for two or more tax increases shall be deemed a Double Taxhole.
- Any American Citizen or lawful legal resident shall have the right, once per year, to kick any Taxhole in the testicles. In the rare event that the Taxhole does not have testicles, the citizen shall be able to kick them anywhere they like. It is suggested the citizen kick them in the head. If the citizen is not limber/tall enough to apply a boot to the head, they are encouraged to kick them in the taxhole.
- Steel toed boots are not required, but they are encouraged.
- In the case of Double Taxholes, Citizens are allowed to use a baseball bat instead of their feet.
Comments (5)
07.4.2007 | 10:44 pm | Cigars, Nanny Nation
There is something almost magical about the social aspects of Cigars and Pipes. The simple act of lighting one changes your demeanor, relaxes you, and makes you more willing, hell, more able, to consider other points of view. Conversations among cigar and pipe smokers are different and better then most smoke free conversations.
As the Nicotine Nazis continue their relentless mission to stamp out all things fun, this simple pleasure is becoming more and more difficult to enjoy in the presence of friends.
Dr. Max Whisson sent this letter to The Weekend Australian Magazine in response to their article about the artist David Hockney. They haven’t printed it, if they ever do they’ll likely edit it, and it deserves to be published in it’s entirety.
English artist David Hockney is quoted as saying “passive smoking is nonsense” [“Master Class” June 30-July 1]. Such statements are rare in the media these days. Hockney is also reported as referring angrily to his “purloined rights”.
Having spent much of my professional life in some of the world’s leading cancer research institutes I cannot resist making a comment. Readers may be surprised to learn that until a few decades ago every laboratory had ash trays and almost all of the best scientists smoked cigarettes, pipes or cigars. In the 1980s, as a senior research worker, I lived through the introduction of bans on indoor smoking. Almost overnight I witnessed the destruction of the deep incisive discussions of both scientific and social questions, and, as the bans spread to pubs and restaurants, the break-up of social groups and the virtual extinction of the stories and jokes which were the lifeline of local cultures.
These negative social effects have received almost no publicity and, to my knowledge, no funding. Whilst billions of dollars have been spent trying to prove that passive smoking is dangerous, research laboratories capable of genuine research are starved of funds.
Many claims are made about the dangers of passive smoking but a close look at the scientific literature shows that artist Hockney is spot on. It is just nonsense. In my view it is a disgrace that some of my colleagues have gone along with this stuff, even with the best of intentions.
Yes, the passive smoking story has persuaded many to stop smoking but there has been a serious downside, including I believe an increase in the use of much more dangerous psycho-active drugs. Worse still, the objective in some well-funded quarters seems to me to be not public health but the fostering of a compliant easily manipulated population.. Certainly that was the main aim of the pioneers of the anti-smoking movement, the Nazis of the 1930s.
Dr. Max Whisson
Western Australia
Comments (2)
06.24.2007 | 8:46 pm | Cigars
It had been one of those days. I came home from work tired, wanting nothing more to flop down in my recliner and watch something mindless on the Tivo. Sammy, though, wouldn’t allow it. He had been alone all day and he demanded a walk. Right now, dammit! (Sammy is a hundred pounds of fur and gristle, half black lab, half retriever and half crazy.)
I knew exactly what I needed to perk me up. I grabbed a Comancho from the humidor, snapped the leash on Sammy, and headed out for our walk.
If a regular cigar is a cup of coffee, the Comancho is a triple shot of double espresso. Some cigars are well suited for relaxing; this is a better choice to Wake You Up, immediately.
My buddy Brent sent me a box to celebrate finding a decent job after too many years of being underemployed. I usually smoke medium to strong cigars - Punch/Hoyo, La Gloria, EDRM and the like. But when I need a real kick in the pants this cigar does the job.
Sitting in the box, they look plain, unassuming. Even the label is unpretentious - just a small brown band dwarfed by the fat double corona. But there’s an intense surprise hiding under that plain brown wrapper. When you fire it up your taste buds scream at your brain, “Hey, you are smoking a cigar, buddy.” The first few puffs are incredibly spicy, and the smoke is thick and rich. (As an added bonus, the draw is effortless.) You get a powerful blast of flavor that really makes you sit up and take notice. After the first half inch or so it calms down just a bit, but the flavor never fades.
Far too many strong cigars are bitter, unpleasant affairs that almost dare you to finish them. Some start out tasty but then turn nasty half way down. Not this one. It never gets harsh or bitter. I only smoke these when I’m going to have enough time to nub the thing. It would be a shame to waste any of a cigar this good.
Thanks, Brent. I’m really enjoying these.
Comments (0)
06.12.2007 | 11:20 pm | Cigars
Every well stocked humidor contains a few surprises - cigars bought on a whim, just waiting to be tried out. Sometimes you discover something great. More often you’ll find something that’s OK, but not as good as your favorites.
An Oliveros XL For Men corona had been sitting in my humidor long enough, so I poured a fresh cup of coffee, grabbed a magazine, and fired it up. The flavor was not “nutty” or “spicy” or “leathery.” It was . . .”skanky.”
Most cigar smokers have made the mistake of relighting a cigar that went out a few hours ago. No matter how good the cigar was, relighting results in a foul, nasty flavor that resembles chewing on newspaper ashes. That’s roughly the flavor of the Oliveros XL.
After the first inch or so it mellowed slightly, becoming slightly less skanky. Just slightly. I gave up on it a little less than half way through.
Given the choice between the Oliveros XL and a cheap White Owl, I’d have a piece of gum instead.
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