Sunday, August 24, 2014
Think While You Watch
Often, when I go on a rant about why the latest movie was a steaming pile one of my friends will inevitably tell me that I just need to relax and turn my brain off during a movie, because it's just a movie after all. When did this become an acceptable way of thinking?
Monday, August 11, 2014
Posting like a Postmaster.
2014 Chattanooga Tweet-up is a gathering at Burns Tobacconist shop in Chattanooga Tennessee that started out as way for those in the social media sphere of the cigar world to meet up and eventually evolved into a major event open to all. Sponsored and attended by several cigar manufactures, there were no lack of people in the industry to talk to. I went with my friend Nick, and G and Ryan from Dissident Cigars, a cigar company out of Wichita, were one of the sponsors, so I was guaranteed to know some people. Turns out the place was packed with familiar faces and everybody else was friendly, so that wasn't really an issue anyway. If you like cigars and hanging out with people from the industry in a nice environment, this is the place for you.
The shop at Burns is one of the largest I've ever been to, and it's connected to a pool hall and bar that you're allowed to smoke in, which was awesome. Never having known the joy of being able to smoke in a bar while eating a sandwich, I didn't know what I'd been missing. I don't know how to describe why it's such a great thing, but the freedom to relax and enjoy so many things at once with friends is something I will miss. The staff at Burns is excellent and accommodating. Their humidor is quite large and stocked with many familiar quality names. I found many of my favorites and would have no issue staying occupied if I was a regular. We got a bag of cigars (and a cool shirt, a neat lanyard, and some cedar spills from The Cigar Spill Guy) from the sponsors with the ticket, so finding something to smoke was not a problem.
Finding a place to smoke wasn't a problem either. Out front there are chairs and a big deck that I never found my way to for some reason, probably because it was muggy and raining for a good portion of my time there, but it looked like a nice place to be. Inside, there are three big rooms that are usually for rent and an area across from the humidor with barber chairs and a television. The big room downstairs is a multipurpose type room with a stage, sound system, bar, and room for several tables. This is where they had the VIP dinner, raffles, panel discussion, auction, tasting, and after-party. The upstairs, is accessible by keypad has two separate lounge areas. I love the keypad, made me feel like some sort of big shot or secret agent every time I used it. The larger of the lounges is in the process of becoming a Room 101 lounge and seeing as how it's already a pretty nice place to be, I imagine when it's done it will be really spiffy. Comfy wicker chairs, a couple of leather chairs, televisions and a sound system fill the room. Spent a good portion of my time there talking with other guests and vendors or chilling out by myself when I wanted to sneak away. When I went up there by myself, I was never sure if I was supposed to be there, but I found it nice to be able to smoke in peace for a few minutes if I felt like it. Across from the future Davidoff lounge is a smaller room with a big table and a home theater setup with a fine leather couch. I imagine it's a great place to watch a movie, sporting event. or regular television. Didn't check, but I bet it would be a great place for a gaming console if the members were into that kind of thing. Overall, as a place to hang out with friends and smoke, the facilities are top notch. If I had one complaint, and it is a small one, is the lack of paper towels in the bathrooms. I noticed that in several places we stopped they only had air dryers. I wonder if they've banned paper towels in parts of the country and I've just never heard about it.
As for the Tweet-up itself, there was a full schedule with plenty of time in-between things to smoke and socialize. They had arranged a good deal with one of the nearby hotels and it was within walking distance so we didn't have to do any driving once we got there, except for the kickball game.
Yes, there was a kickball tournament, of sorts. Since this was a cigar event there was an addition to the usual rules. As long as you were on the field, offense or defense, you had to have a lit cigar. There were supposed to be four teams, but two of them couldn't recruit enough players so they were combined into one. I happened to be on the winning team, which was nice, although I had little to do with our victory.
Since I didn't have a VIP ticket I didn't go to the VIP dinner on Friday and we missed the barbecue on Thursday, but I heard both were very good. Didn't go to the ladies brunch, as I'm not a lady, but reports assure me it was tasty. We were given a drink ticket that was good for two (maybe three?) drinks during the event and you could buy drinks as the bars, so nobody went thirsty. They had a pretty good $10 breakfast buffet available in the morning at the pool-hall/bar and no lack of restaurants in the area, including the excellent one at the bar, so nobody starved either. There was also a tasting which paired an excellent smooth whiskey from Belle Meade Bourbon with a well matched cigar from Asylum Cigars.
There was a raffle on both Friday and Saturday which we got two free entries for with the purchase of our ticket. If you bought a certain amount of stuff, you got more tickets. We got a discount already, so the raffle tickets were a nice bonus. They had a lot of stuff to give away. I didn't win anything, but my buddy Nick won a nice glass with some cigars in it. After the second raffle, there was a charity auction for some pretty nice swag. I was surprised that some of the items didn't go for more, so it seems like the winners got a good deal.
The guys from Dissident brought in a DJ from Wichita to to power the after party, and it seemed to go well, although I didn't stick around because I needed sleep for the drive home the next day. I imagine, that right after I left it took off and became a party of epic proportions, as I imagine happens any time I leave early. I've been told this wasn't the case, but I don't believe them.
Overall the event was a blast and well worth the 700+ mile drive. The cigar world is full of great people, fans and creators alike. I didn't mention many names of the people there or many of the vendors for fear of leaving somebody out. I would suggest checking out the website to get a look at all the vendors and looking up the hashtag #CHATtweetup to see all the related tweets and pics. From now on I'm going to be taking pictures and such, but didn't this time because I hadn't decided to resurrect the blog yet. I'm sure they'll do it all again next year, and I plan on being there.
The shop at Burns is one of the largest I've ever been to, and it's connected to a pool hall and bar that you're allowed to smoke in, which was awesome. Never having known the joy of being able to smoke in a bar while eating a sandwich, I didn't know what I'd been missing. I don't know how to describe why it's such a great thing, but the freedom to relax and enjoy so many things at once with friends is something I will miss. The staff at Burns is excellent and accommodating. Their humidor is quite large and stocked with many familiar quality names. I found many of my favorites and would have no issue staying occupied if I was a regular. We got a bag of cigars (and a cool shirt, a neat lanyard, and some cedar spills from The Cigar Spill Guy) from the sponsors with the ticket, so finding something to smoke was not a problem.
Finding a place to smoke wasn't a problem either. Out front there are chairs and a big deck that I never found my way to for some reason, probably because it was muggy and raining for a good portion of my time there, but it looked like a nice place to be. Inside, there are three big rooms that are usually for rent and an area across from the humidor with barber chairs and a television. The big room downstairs is a multipurpose type room with a stage, sound system, bar, and room for several tables. This is where they had the VIP dinner, raffles, panel discussion, auction, tasting, and after-party. The upstairs, is accessible by keypad has two separate lounge areas. I love the keypad, made me feel like some sort of big shot or secret agent every time I used it. The larger of the lounges is in the process of becoming a Room 101 lounge and seeing as how it's already a pretty nice place to be, I imagine when it's done it will be really spiffy. Comfy wicker chairs, a couple of leather chairs, televisions and a sound system fill the room. Spent a good portion of my time there talking with other guests and vendors or chilling out by myself when I wanted to sneak away. When I went up there by myself, I was never sure if I was supposed to be there, but I found it nice to be able to smoke in peace for a few minutes if I felt like it. Across from the future Davidoff lounge is a smaller room with a big table and a home theater setup with a fine leather couch. I imagine it's a great place to watch a movie, sporting event. or regular television. Didn't check, but I bet it would be a great place for a gaming console if the members were into that kind of thing. Overall, as a place to hang out with friends and smoke, the facilities are top notch. If I had one complaint, and it is a small one, is the lack of paper towels in the bathrooms. I noticed that in several places we stopped they only had air dryers. I wonder if they've banned paper towels in parts of the country and I've just never heard about it.
As for the Tweet-up itself, there was a full schedule with plenty of time in-between things to smoke and socialize. They had arranged a good deal with one of the nearby hotels and it was within walking distance so we didn't have to do any driving once we got there, except for the kickball game.
Yes, there was a kickball tournament, of sorts. Since this was a cigar event there was an addition to the usual rules. As long as you were on the field, offense or defense, you had to have a lit cigar. There were supposed to be four teams, but two of them couldn't recruit enough players so they were combined into one. I happened to be on the winning team, which was nice, although I had little to do with our victory.
Since I didn't have a VIP ticket I didn't go to the VIP dinner on Friday and we missed the barbecue on Thursday, but I heard both were very good. Didn't go to the ladies brunch, as I'm not a lady, but reports assure me it was tasty. We were given a drink ticket that was good for two (maybe three?) drinks during the event and you could buy drinks as the bars, so nobody went thirsty. They had a pretty good $10 breakfast buffet available in the morning at the pool-hall/bar and no lack of restaurants in the area, including the excellent one at the bar, so nobody starved either. There was also a tasting which paired an excellent smooth whiskey from Belle Meade Bourbon with a well matched cigar from Asylum Cigars.
There was a raffle on both Friday and Saturday which we got two free entries for with the purchase of our ticket. If you bought a certain amount of stuff, you got more tickets. We got a discount already, so the raffle tickets were a nice bonus. They had a lot of stuff to give away. I didn't win anything, but my buddy Nick won a nice glass with some cigars in it. After the second raffle, there was a charity auction for some pretty nice swag. I was surprised that some of the items didn't go for more, so it seems like the winners got a good deal.
The guys from Dissident brought in a DJ from Wichita to to power the after party, and it seemed to go well, although I didn't stick around because I needed sleep for the drive home the next day. I imagine, that right after I left it took off and became a party of epic proportions, as I imagine happens any time I leave early. I've been told this wasn't the case, but I don't believe them.
Overall the event was a blast and well worth the 700+ mile drive. The cigar world is full of great people, fans and creators alike. I didn't mention many names of the people there or many of the vendors for fear of leaving somebody out. I would suggest checking out the website to get a look at all the vendors and looking up the hashtag #CHATtweetup to see all the related tweets and pics. From now on I'm going to be taking pictures and such, but didn't this time because I hadn't decided to resurrect the blog yet. I'm sure they'll do it all again next year, and I plan on being there.
They're coming for you too, eventually.
I smoke cigars. I find it to be a relaxing and enjoyable pastime. I enjoy smoking cigars with fellow enthusiasts in my local cigar shop, at home, and outdoors as long there is no one around I'm going to offend by doing so. Yes, I am aware of the potential risks associated with smoking, and so are my fellow smokers. Most, if not all of us have weighed to pros and cons, read the literature, and made an informed decision. What motivates that decision is not addiction. I have never felt a craving for a cigar. If I don't get my cigar it's not going to have an adverse effect on my day. I can go long periods without smoking. I have never "needed" cigar the way a cigarette smoker does.
Compared to cigarettes, cigars are a whole different animal. If you know what you are doing, you don't inhale a cigar into the lungs the way you do a cigarette. Cigars typically contain one ingredient, tobacco. Occasionally, cigar wrappers are dyed for uniform color, but beyond that there are no additives or other ingredients in a cigar. Cigarettes, on the other hand, are wrapped in chemical coated paper, filled with chemical soaked shredded tobacco, and tipped with filters made from cellulose acetate, a chemical used as a film base in photography. Most cigar shops that I've been to do not allow the smoking of cigarettes due to the differences in smell and quality of smoke. I myself will have an immediate allergic reaction around cigarettes, with little to no problems around cigars.
There is even a difference between the premium cigars sold at cigar shops and the mass produced cigars typically found at gas stations and grocery stores. One of the main differences is that the gas station variety are commonly made with additives, flavorings, and preservatives that put them in a closer relationship with cigarettes than premium cigars. Also, gas station cigars are machine made from much lower quality tobacco that has been shredded versus the high quality long-fill (whole leaf pieces) that hand made premium cigars are crafted with.
What I'm saying is, cigars are different. And while it might not matter to the average person, it should make a difference when it comes to regulation. The FDA is poised to impose crippling regulations on the cigar industry by expanding its reach beyond the tobacco products it currently regulates. The details of how they are going to do it are inconsequential for the purposes of this blog, just know that if put into place these rules will effectively kill the cigar industry and the culture that surrounds it.
While cigars would probably still be available, the culture would be destroyed. The culture is the part I would miss most. I've met most of my friends at my local shop. I've had the opportunity to travel the country and meet other smokers from all walks of life and backgrounds. I've met some really cool people who work in the industry, shop owners, company reps, the owners of the companies who produce the cigars, many of which are small business owners. The new potential regulations will raise the cost of cigars to the point where many smokers will be forced to quit. Many, if not most of the brick and mortar shops will go under, as will many of the smaller manufacturers. Something I love will be destroyed.
When someone is about to take something away from you that you love, one of the the things you might ask yourself is "Why?". Why are they going after us? What is boils down to is this, tobacco is bad, and they want to protect us from it. The cigarette companies lied about the dangers of, advertised to children, and purposely increased the addictiveness of their product among other things. It could be easily said that tobacco has earned its reputation, but as I mentioned earlier, I and many others believe cigars to be different. I am not saying that they are completely safe, but different, different enough that the FDA should leave us alone.
Even if you don't smoke, even if you hate it, this should concern you. we're not bothering anybody, we mostly keep to ourselves. If there is someone out there who is being rude about it, they don't represent the majority of smokers and I'm sorry we've made a bad impression on you. This should concern you because it just isn't about cigars. It's cigars today, tomorrow sugar, the day after that it's how much television you're allowed to watch. It's an ongoing process of encroachment and interference into our lives by people who don't trust us to be able to make decisions for ourselves.
It's about sin. Taxes on cigarettes, alcohol, and the other so called "vices" are frequently called sin taxes. We don't like these things, so we can treat them differently by adding exorbitant taxes to punish the people who make and purchase them. Are these things dangerous if abused? Can their abuse cause harm to innocent bystanders? The answer to both those questions is yes. If someone harms another with the use of any product they should be punished. That is what the law is for, to prevent with the threat of punishment, and to punish those who harm others. To punish all of the non-abusers of a legal product with taxes, regulations, and laws before any harm has been done goes beyond the scope of the law. Many of these laws and regulations exist solely because people disapprove of these activities on a moral or religious basis. While I personally believe that there are some things you should not do I also believe that as long as you aren't harming someone or imposing on someone else's freedom you should be free to choose to do what you wish. Should it be illegal to smoke around children? I'm not sure about that one. Should we be punished because we choose to smoke, with other smokers, in a place that was created for us to do so? No. I have never seen a smoke shop that allowed children or forced non-smokers to come in. Every smoke shop I've ever seen was clearly marked as such and only contained people who wanted to be there. It is already illegal to sell to anyone under the age of 18, so the law is already doing it's job to protect children. What else does it need to do?
I realize as I read over what I've wrote, that it is all a bit of a jumble that might require some editing in the future, but the gist of it is all here. If you want to know in detail I'm talking about I would suggest googling "FDA tobacco deeming regulations" and visiting the Cigar Rights of America website to see what the cigar industry is doing to protect itself. They have way more facts and probably state the whole argument better than I do anyway.
What they are proposing to do isn't going to make cigars illegal. What they are planning to do is crush the industry with regulation and destroy the culture in to process. They don't have to make it illegal if they succeed in making it so difficult that barely anyone can do it. If you don't smoke cigars, this might not seem important to you, but it should, because it is about freedom of choice and control of our own lives, and those things matter to all of us.
Compared to cigarettes, cigars are a whole different animal. If you know what you are doing, you don't inhale a cigar into the lungs the way you do a cigarette. Cigars typically contain one ingredient, tobacco. Occasionally, cigar wrappers are dyed for uniform color, but beyond that there are no additives or other ingredients in a cigar. Cigarettes, on the other hand, are wrapped in chemical coated paper, filled with chemical soaked shredded tobacco, and tipped with filters made from cellulose acetate, a chemical used as a film base in photography. Most cigar shops that I've been to do not allow the smoking of cigarettes due to the differences in smell and quality of smoke. I myself will have an immediate allergic reaction around cigarettes, with little to no problems around cigars.
There is even a difference between the premium cigars sold at cigar shops and the mass produced cigars typically found at gas stations and grocery stores. One of the main differences is that the gas station variety are commonly made with additives, flavorings, and preservatives that put them in a closer relationship with cigarettes than premium cigars. Also, gas station cigars are machine made from much lower quality tobacco that has been shredded versus the high quality long-fill (whole leaf pieces) that hand made premium cigars are crafted with.
What I'm saying is, cigars are different. And while it might not matter to the average person, it should make a difference when it comes to regulation. The FDA is poised to impose crippling regulations on the cigar industry by expanding its reach beyond the tobacco products it currently regulates. The details of how they are going to do it are inconsequential for the purposes of this blog, just know that if put into place these rules will effectively kill the cigar industry and the culture that surrounds it.
While cigars would probably still be available, the culture would be destroyed. The culture is the part I would miss most. I've met most of my friends at my local shop. I've had the opportunity to travel the country and meet other smokers from all walks of life and backgrounds. I've met some really cool people who work in the industry, shop owners, company reps, the owners of the companies who produce the cigars, many of which are small business owners. The new potential regulations will raise the cost of cigars to the point where many smokers will be forced to quit. Many, if not most of the brick and mortar shops will go under, as will many of the smaller manufacturers. Something I love will be destroyed.
When someone is about to take something away from you that you love, one of the the things you might ask yourself is "Why?". Why are they going after us? What is boils down to is this, tobacco is bad, and they want to protect us from it. The cigarette companies lied about the dangers of, advertised to children, and purposely increased the addictiveness of their product among other things. It could be easily said that tobacco has earned its reputation, but as I mentioned earlier, I and many others believe cigars to be different. I am not saying that they are completely safe, but different, different enough that the FDA should leave us alone.
Even if you don't smoke, even if you hate it, this should concern you. we're not bothering anybody, we mostly keep to ourselves. If there is someone out there who is being rude about it, they don't represent the majority of smokers and I'm sorry we've made a bad impression on you. This should concern you because it just isn't about cigars. It's cigars today, tomorrow sugar, the day after that it's how much television you're allowed to watch. It's an ongoing process of encroachment and interference into our lives by people who don't trust us to be able to make decisions for ourselves.
It's about sin. Taxes on cigarettes, alcohol, and the other so called "vices" are frequently called sin taxes. We don't like these things, so we can treat them differently by adding exorbitant taxes to punish the people who make and purchase them. Are these things dangerous if abused? Can their abuse cause harm to innocent bystanders? The answer to both those questions is yes. If someone harms another with the use of any product they should be punished. That is what the law is for, to prevent with the threat of punishment, and to punish those who harm others. To punish all of the non-abusers of a legal product with taxes, regulations, and laws before any harm has been done goes beyond the scope of the law. Many of these laws and regulations exist solely because people disapprove of these activities on a moral or religious basis. While I personally believe that there are some things you should not do I also believe that as long as you aren't harming someone or imposing on someone else's freedom you should be free to choose to do what you wish. Should it be illegal to smoke around children? I'm not sure about that one. Should we be punished because we choose to smoke, with other smokers, in a place that was created for us to do so? No. I have never seen a smoke shop that allowed children or forced non-smokers to come in. Every smoke shop I've ever seen was clearly marked as such and only contained people who wanted to be there. It is already illegal to sell to anyone under the age of 18, so the law is already doing it's job to protect children. What else does it need to do?
I realize as I read over what I've wrote, that it is all a bit of a jumble that might require some editing in the future, but the gist of it is all here. If you want to know in detail I'm talking about I would suggest googling "FDA tobacco deeming regulations" and visiting the Cigar Rights of America website to see what the cigar industry is doing to protect itself. They have way more facts and probably state the whole argument better than I do anyway.
What they are proposing to do isn't going to make cigars illegal. What they are planning to do is crush the industry with regulation and destroy the culture in to process. They don't have to make it illegal if they succeed in making it so difficult that barely anyone can do it. If you don't smoke cigars, this might not seem important to you, but it should, because it is about freedom of choice and control of our own lives, and those things matter to all of us.
Every man for himself, and the devil take the hindmost.
Welcome. I'm glad your here. This here blog is about the things that interest and concern me. I am interested and concerned in many things. I hope I cover some of the things that interest and concern other people, maybe get some comments and get a discussion or two going. Lets get this show on the road.
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