A House with a Library...

---

Original Page: http://the-zeitgeist-movement.tumblr.com/post/16781632419

Students Discover Millisecond Pulsar, Help in the Search for Gravitational Waves

Using an array of millisecond pulsars, astronomers can detect tiny changes in the pulse arrival times in order to detect the influence of gravitational waves. Credit: NRAO

A special project to search for pulsars has bagged the first student discovery of a millisecond pulsar – a super-fast spinning star, and this one rotates about 324 times per second. The Pulsar Search Collaboratory (PSC) has students analyzing real data from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory's (NRAO) Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope (GBT) to find pulsars. Astronomers involved with the project said the discovery could help detect elusive ripples in spacetime known as gravitational waves.

"Gravitational waves are ripples in the fabric of spacetime predicted by Einstein's theory of General Relativity," said Dr. Maura McLaughlin, from Western Virginia University. "We have very good proof for their existence but, despite Einstein's prediction back in the early 1900s, they have never been detected."
(...)
Read the rest of Students Discover Millisecond Pulsar, Help in the Search for Gravitational Waves (743 words)

K-NACK Reunion, Night 1 - Music Blog - The Austin Chronicle

I can't recall if I listened to K-NACK when it was on in the early 1990s. I must have. Any station playing Sugar and the Replacements was my kinda airwaves, and main jock "Raydog" Seggern's support of local music is still tops. That period, however, coincided with my disgust of commercial radio, so I may have tuned it out alongside KGSR, KLBJ, etc.

I avoided lamestream commercial radio as well after the last independent, local station in my neck of the world after what would become Clear Channel consumed thrat frequency. 

Thus it was less the K-NACK connection that attracted me to the ND on Friday and Saturday nights for what was billed as a 20th anniversary reunion than it was the lineup of local talent. The number of folks at the club with K-NACK badges made it feel like crashing a convention, but the reunited Austin acts booked for the weekend basically summed up my listening from those bad ol' days.

First up was the long-defunct Seed, or half of them, at least. Stripped of both rhythm section and alt.radio-friendly production, singer/songwriters Chad Salls and Gabriel Ordonez revealed a fondness for Jellyfish that had been previously buried, all flower-power melody and lyrics. Ling standards "Doe" and "Kids... This is Fabulon" sounded a lot less bombastic in this context. Seed never got much respect, either at home or elsewhere, but a good pop tune is a good pop tune, and with "Rapture" Salls and Ordonez have one of those. Don't carry a torch for further gigs, though – Ordonez constantly mentioned playing the songs "one last time."

Bo Bud Greene was up next. I remember seeing the name a lot back in Ye Olden Thymes, but I don't remember ever actually hearing their music. Given how generic the group's noisy alt.rock was, I might have heard the material a million times and nothing stuck. No loss to these ears. The crowd sure seemed to dig 'em, though.

I saw Sincola many times in the 1990s, and faithfully bought their CDs and singles. I missed reunion gigs last year, so this was a real treat for me. The old interpersonal tension was still there, if more of a running gag than an actual problem, and the band's spiky post-punk pop is still as weird as it is catchy. The quintet seemed like they might fall apart any second, but that's not to say they were sloppy. Even if they had been, it was still a thrill to hear "Hey Artemis" and "Bitch" exploding off a stage again.

Night one closed out with Sixteen Deluxe, who've been doing sporadic gigs since releasing the demos/live collection Year One last spring. It showed in the quartet's tight performance – they sounded like they'd never stopped. I bought 16D's albums when they came out, but as their set unfolded I realized I hadn't seen them live during their first life. God knows why. Sometimes laziness overcame my good sense back then.

Which is why I'm grateful for the opportunity to see them now. This kind of psychedelic shoegazer squall is nearly always better on stage than on an album, and Friday was no exception. Accompanied by a shifting, filmed backdrop, 16D built up wave upon wave of distorted melody, letting it crash against the crowd with maximum impact.

Frenchie Smith used his Jazzmaster more as a pedal controller than as an instrument, even throwing in a few unselfconscious guitar hero moves. Carrie Clark was the eye of the storm, her steady voice matter-of-factly cutting through the fuzz despite being a moderate instrument. Kudos to whoever was mixing. It was pretty spectacular.

http://www.austinchronicle.com/blogs/music/2012-01-30/k-nack-reunion-night-1/

I can still remember the first trip I too to Austin, heading back to hillbilly hell with a K-NACK sticker proudly on my bumper, hoping for a day when I'd be staying in Austin. 

WTFriday

I'm going to be spending my weekend wondering why this is a real thing.

Think you can explain it? Tell us in the comments.

Want to extend your weekend? Check out previous WTFridays!

---

Original Page: http://tosh.comedycentral.com/blog/2012/01/20/wtfriday-111/

Congressman Lamar Smith, Author Of SOPA, Breaks Copyright Law On Campaign Website

By Jeromie Williams

On the same day that Wikipedia turned off their lights for 24 hours to protest the proposed "Stop Online Piracy Act" or SOPA as it is better known, the very politician who wrote the bill was called out by the 9GAG website for being caught redhanded breaking copyright law on his official campaign website.

Lamar Smith, the politician in question that has been pushing the bill that has even the tech Gurus over at Mashable screaming foul over SOPA's extreme overreach and censorship capabilities, has allegedly used a photograph for the background of his campaign website without giving credit to the photographer or paying for its use.  That's right, the guy who wants to stop online piracy is apparently an Internet pirate himself – Arrrrrrr

Image from 9gag.com:

Read Jeromie's original article at; http://jeromiewilliams.com/2012/01/18/lamar-smith-the-author-of-sopa-breaks-copyright-law-on-campaign-website-and-becomes-a-pirate-himself/

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/01/18/congressman-lamar-smith-author-of-sopa-breaks-copyright-law-on-campaign-website-image/

Chromeo on Yo Gabba Gabba! - "Nice N Clean"

You really never know what to expect from this show.

CHROMEO - "Nice N Clean" - Yo Gabba Gabba - YouTube:

Leave it to our good friends Chromeo to remind us that you gotta wash your hands, especially before playing the synthesizer! http://www.chromeo.net/

extremely awesome visual weavings by the magical Joel Fox.

For more Yo Gabba Gabba! visit http://www.yogabbagabba.com and get Yo Gabba Gabba! toys and merchandise at http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=143362&u=303637&m=12990

I Must Demand Satisfaction

I love it! Ladd Everitt is such a bottomfeeder that he has no sense of honor. He is no gentleman. 

Some most excellent gentlemen have directed me to a scoundrelish attack to my honor. Political opposition can never absolve gentlemen from the necessity of a rigid adherence to the laws of honor and the rules of decorum. The common sense of mankind affixes to the epithet adopted by the good Mr. Everitt, the very idea of dishonor. As a proper gentleman, I must demand satisfaction to this offense against my honor and reputation. If the gentlemen Mr. Everitt does not see to my satisfaction, I trust that a representative will be nominated in order to choose a proper field of honor. While the challenged party has the prerogative of choosing the weapon, I might suggest:

I am aware of the deadliness of such a dangerous weapon, but as a matter of honor, I think it suitable. As the offended party, in the interest of civility, and out of humane sense, the duel will be to the "first sauce," as I believe this will be adequate for the purposes of my satisfaction. I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, and await your prompt reply.

Sebastian

http://www.pagunblog.com/2012/01/17/i-must-demand-satisfaction/

Convicts Escape Quantum Physics in Alcatraz, J.J. Abrams' Latest Wormhole Ride

"Is anyone else's head exploding right now?" That's the question posed by Jorge Garcia's character midway through the premiere episode of Alacatraz, the latest TV series to spring from the mind of J.J. Abrams.

http://feeds.wired.com/~r/wired/index/~3/6kH-6e7To4w/

Bunraku (film)

Josh Hartnett stars in weird yet entertaining samurai, western, puppet mash-up.

Bunraku is one of the strangest films you’re likely to see. The movie is a weird amalgam of comic book sensibilities, kung fu melodrama, western trappings pushed into the visual pedigree of Bunraku (the Japanese tradition of puppet theater).

Guy Moshe wrote and directed this futuristic tale of revenge. Set in a world that has long outlawed guns, order is now carried out by the point of a sword. Ruling above all is Nicola the Woodcutter (Ron Pearlman), a murderous crime lord and the most powerful man east of the Atlantic.

Enforcing his rule are a team of assassins and their mob of henchmen, the Red Gang. Killer # 2 (Kevin McKidd) is Nicola’s right-hand man and potentially the most dangerous man alive. Smooth as a snake and with a dapper sense of style, Killer # 2’s dangerous as he is stylish. McKidd is amazing in the role. He dresses like a White Stripes band member and dances like Fred Astaire but don’t be fooled: he’s also really deadly with a sword and might just be mentally unstable.

Josh Hartnett stars as The Drifter, a cowboy in a world without guns. Rolling into town in search of Nicola and the vengeance he plans to wrought upon the crime lord, The Drifter quickly befriends a group of fellow heroes in wait including Yoshi (Japanese popstar Gackt), a samurai warrior who has refused to take lives, and The Bartender (Woody Harrelson), a source of drink, information and all-around pop-up book enthusiast. There’s a great scene in which The Bartender shows off his latest pop-up book creation — a weirdly translated-through-the-ages tale of Spider-Man.

The real star of the movie, though, is the film’s unique visual style. Produced in much the same way Sin City or Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow were filmed, Bunraku creates an almost entirely artificial world around its characters. Instead of hyper-realistic computer animation, though, the world of Bunraku is made-up of towering paper landscapes and origami buildings. Bunraku is a film that continuously breaks the fourth-wall — wearing its influence (the Japanese theater style where the puppeteers would be on stage alongside their show) on its sleeve. Strings will drop down into a frame showing captions or infographics. Weird transitions bring to mind Michel Gondry’s Björk music videos. Much like the bunraku style of puppet theater, Bunraku utilizes the wry, over-the-top narration of an unseen commentator (Faith No More’s Mike Patton).

Inside Pulse | Fantastic Fest ’10 – Bunraku Review

Epicness level: ASIAN

        

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/9gag/~3/4HEJwsYuPHY/1819081

ArcAttack! vs the Sorcerer's Apprentice

I was watching Disney's Sorcerer's Apprentice recently, but when I got to the Tesla Coil music scene I was caught off guard. It sounded just like listening to Austin, Texas's own ArcAttack!. I had to do some digging to find out if the two were related, or if Disney simply ripped off another local artists, or if DiPrima and Greaves worked with the media giant to bring their art to the masses. I don't see either name in the credits, so I'm assuming they were discounted in the production.

Here is ArcAttack! doing one of my favorites, the Imperial March.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice | Disney

LLOYD KAUFMAN is coming to the Alamo!

Prepare ye: The infamous Lloyd Kaufman will grace the Alamo with his Tromatic presence next week at locations in Austin, Houston, and San Antonio!

Kaufman co-founded Troma Entertainment in 1974 and has inspired legions of admirers all over the world to get out there and make their own damn movies.  His lowbrow and low-budget mantra inspired and aided the early works of Trey Parker of South Park fame, and James Gunn who went on to make the DAWN OF THE DEAD remake. And lest we forget where Toxie would be if not for the hard work of Mr. Kaufman.  Few have done more to champion independent cinema as much as Kaufman, and for this we are excited to welcome him to our theaters once again to host the Texas theatrical debuts of the latest Troma films! 

Don't miss this opportunity to see the genius of schlock in person, as well as a chance to watch the latest bloody offerings from deep within Tromaville city limits. There will be plenty of sweet Troma gear for sale and Lloyd will also happily sign any of your existing Troma paraphernalia.  I, for one, need to find a copy of CRANK 2: HIGH VOLTAGE to get him to sign because of his amazing cameo!!

Lloyd is one of the funniest and interesting people out there and the chance to see him introduce these films and to participate in Q&As is a special thing.  Take note, Texas:

January 18th Austin – Alamo Drafthouse Lake Creek
Lloyd Kaufman LIVE presenting a double feature of FATHER'S DAY and MR. BRICKS! 
Two bloody, badass movies on one rad ticket!  Click HERE for more info and TICKETS! 

January 19th San Antonio- Alamo Drafthouse Westlakes
Lloyd Kaufman LIVE presenting a special screening of FATHER'S DAY!  
Don't miss all the hustlers, priests, premarital sex and paternal murder on the big screen!! Click HERE for more info and TICKETS!

January 21st Houston-  Alamo Drafthouse Mason Park 
Lloyd Kaufman LIVE presenting a double feature of FATHER'S DAY and MR. BRICKS! 
In addition to being on hand for the Texas premiere of "Toxic Avenger: The Musical" across town, Lloyd will be hanging out at the Alamo for an intimate double feature that is not to be missed!  Click HERE for more info and TICKETS! 

TROMA! 

http://rss.drafthouse.com/~r/drafthouseblog/~3/_vbZ1OGlIlI/lloyd_kaufman_is_coming_to_the_alamo

Did this Supernova Leave Nothing Behind?

"Nothing leads the scientist so astray as a premature truth." -Jean Rostand

One of the most awesome events, literally, that happens in this Universe is when stars -- giant nuclear furnaces like our Sun -- die in the most energetic way possible: a supernova.

(Video credit: Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie (Ors Hunor Detre, Oliver Krause), via YouTube.)

Every star that ever lived gets two chances to end their lives in this most spectacular of fashions. The hottest, bluest, most massive stars that are born burn through their nuclear fuel incredibly rapidly, accumulating a core of heavy metals just one million years after they're first born.

(Image credit: NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration.)

When that core gets massive enough and nuclear fusion can no longer provide enough outward pressure to counteract the tremendous gravitational force trying to collapse the core, we get a supernova explosion! In the end, there's a degenerate neutron star or black hole where the core once was, and the outer layers get blown off in that supernova.

But what about the stars that don't get there? This is the vast majority of stars; they are the 99%, and so are we!

[...]

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/scienceblogs/ScienceblogsSelect/~3/scy0aaiibi8/did_this_supernova_leave_nothi.php

Burglars Steal Porn and Sex Toys, Leave Cash Untouched

Pornographic toys, magazines and videos were stolen from a Linda sex shop, but the store's owner is surprised by what wasn't taken.

Kevin Couch owns Fantasy Factory across the street from a strip club, and Monday night someone broke into his adult store. But the culprits never touched the cash register.

"They just took the toys and left," he said. "They didn't take the money or anything so I was lost. The sheriff's department was lost. When he saw all the stuff in here and he goes 'that's all they took?' and I was like 'yeah.'"

So Kevin thinks it was kids just trying to make a little mischief in forbidden territory.

"They see the adult store here, they can't come in here they can't purchase this stuff so they are bored and they break in and come in and take it at night when no one is here," he said.

So far, there are no suspects, just a suspected age range: boys probably about 13 to 17 years old.

"If I was to do it I'd probably go for cash, not adult toys," Linda resident Rodney Foster said. "I don't really understand why somebody would take that, that's kind of gross and weird."

The thieves busted in by using a chunk of asphalt to crash through the door. It will cost Kevin about $800 to fix the door and he's out about $150 worth of merchandise.

It's the second time his store has been broken into in a year.

Source: CBS Sacramento. Video at link.

*Note.. that is not a picture of the store front, it's just funny.

http://theswash.com/strange-stuff/burglars-steal-porn-and-sex-toys-leave-cash-untouched

If this isn't a sign of the times, I don't know what is...

I've Got that Double Dutch Dinosaur Duplex in Dubai

Simian Mobile Disco - Audacity of Huge

This Week's TV: Fringe returns, Katee Sackhoff joins Clone Wars

Oh happy day! Good sci-fi returns, but sadly not to SyFy...

close

defaults

 

– A A +               G T H V     

 

In this week's television, Fringe is back — and kicking its universe-spanning storylines into high gear. This week also sees the return of a few of our other favorite shows. Plus the premiere of two brand new shows (to Americans, anyway), including a brand new look at a classic Marvel character.

Meanwhile, Fringe's Kirk Acevedo is trying to save the world from a collision with Mercury. Robot Chicken celebrates its 100th episode in style. Portlandia deals with the perils of Battlestar Galactica addiction. The Simpsons does a Social Network parody. And watch a totally beautiful clip from the next Clone Wars — featuring Katee Sackhoff as a female Mandalorian!

Wednesday:

At 9 PM in most markets, PBS has a new episode of Nova, "Bombing Hitler's Dams."

Thursday:

Also at 8 PM, there's the return of The Big Bang Theory on CBS, with "The Shiny Trinket Maneuver."

Friday:

And at 7:45 PM, Disney has a new Phineas and Ferb, "Tri-Stone Area."

But that's not all! Also at 8 PM, there's a new episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars on the Cartoon Network, "A Friend in Need." This one's directed by show creator Dave Filoni, so expect big things. Here's the synopsis:

Ahsoka is ensnared in Lux Bonteri's dangerous crusade to find justice for his mother's death.

And Battlestar Galactica's Katie Sackhoff plays a female Mandalorian, Bo-Katan. Check out a beautiful clip at left.

At 9 PM, Fox has the midseason premiere of Fringe, "Back to Where You've Never Been."

In an effort to find a way home, Peter journeys to the Other Side to confront Walternate. His venture proves more dangerous than expected. Meanwhile, Olivia receives a dire premonition from an Observer.

Also at 9 PM, there's a special time-traveling episode of Supernatural, on The CW, "Time After Time After Time."

Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) tangle with the God of Time (guest star Jason Dohring), who sends Dean back to 1944, where he is immediately arrested by none other than the one and only Eliot Ness (guest star Nicholas Lea). While trying to figure out how to retrieve his brother, Sam is surprised by the reappearance of an old friend.

Saturday:

And at 7:45 PM, Disney has yet another new Phineas & Ferb.

Also, because Syfy loves you and wants you to have a beautiful Saturday night, they're showing a brand new original movie at 9 PM, Collision Earth. Starring Fringe's Kirk Acevedo!

In Collision Earth, premiering Saturday, January 14 at 9PM (ET/PT), a solar flare knocks Mercury out of its orbit and onto a collision course with Earth. With global devastation quickly approaching, the secret military initiative, "Project 7," must be activated to save the world from disaster.

Sunday:

Disney has yet another new Phineas & Ferb at 7:30 PM.

Fox brings back its Sunday night animation bloc, starting at 8 PM with a new Simpsons, followed by Napoleon Dynamite, Family Guy and another Napoleon Dynamite. Oh, and the Simpsons' parody of The Social Network, "The D'Oh-cial Network," might actually be… funny?

As the mastermind and creator of the online social networking phenomenon SpringFace, Lisa is called to trial when Springfield's obsession with the site becomes chaotic and dysfunctional. Lisa recounts her story and explains that she created the site after realizing she had no real friends. But as SpringFace expands and Springfield's fixation with the site causes mass hysteria, Lisa begins to realize that adding thousands of friends online did not compare to having real friendships. Later, Patty and Selma compete against the Winklevoss Twins (guest star Armie Hammer) in the rowing event at the 2012 Olympic Games.

And finally, at 11:30 PM on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, there's the 100th episode of Robot Chicken, which is also the season finale. So expect an extra dose of insanity in "Fight Club Paradise." When we interviewed co-creator Matt Senreich ages ago, he promised this episode would explore the show's robot chicken and scientist characters — and the photo at left, tweeted by Seth Green, seems to back that up.

View full page: io9.com/5874199/this-weeks-tv-fringe-returns-katee-sackhoff-joins-clone-wars-and-2-shows-de...

The Year in Beer: the Top 5 Stories of 2011

Here is the conclusion of the top 30 stories of the year. If you are just catching up, here is 26-30, 21-25, 16-20, 11-15 and 6-10.

Without further ado, your top five stories of the year in beer. Agree or disagree with the list?

5. Anthony Bourdain claims that Discovery Channel pulled the plug on Brew Masters due to "Big Beer"

In March, No Reservations (television show) host, Anthony Bourdain, lit a match and dropped it into a pool of gasoline.

The Discovery Channel released a statement saying that the company did not cancel the show but only chose not to renew it. Those will turn out to be empty words until the sixth episode, which was filmed in New York and Italy, airs here in the United States. It aired in Italy last month.

From discussions I've had with a couple parties and the few ratings I recall at the time, there wasn't enough national interest in the program to bring it back for another season. It is quite likely that we won't see another craft beer series on national television anytime soon.

The Dogfish Head crew is said to be investigating the possibility of an online video series now. Keep an eye on that in 2012.

4. Dogfish Head brews two more music collaboration beers for Pearl Jam, Robert Johnson

First, in March, Dogfish Head announced its collaboration on a beer for Robert Johnson…

Robert Johnson may not exactly be a household name like Miles Davis, the subject of Sony Legacy and Dogfish Head's Bitches Brew collaboration beer, but he influenced a number of musicians who grew to stardom.

Then in October, the Pearl Jam beer…

Faithfull Ale is a celebration of Pearl Jam's 20th anniversary and their seminal album Ten – In recognition of these milestones this Belgian-style golden ale is delicately hopped to 20 IBUs and fruit-forward from 10 incremental additions of black currants over the course of the one hour boil. 7% ABV.

3. Founders Brewing releases Canadian Breakfast Stout in bottles, all-out frenzy ensues

Founders Brewing Co. Vice President/Director of Marketing Dave Engbers announced today that the highly anticipated Canadian Breakfast Stout (CBS) will be the second release in the company's 750mL "Backstage Series". It will be released to the market on October 3, 2011, with a taproom release party on October 1.

There has been a great deal of anticipation and speculation regarding the upcoming release after the success of Blushing Monk, the series' debut, earlier this year. Canadian Breakfast Stout is the epitome of why Founders launched the Backstage Series: it brings some of the brewery's most sought-after beers, which have been available primarily at the taproom or at a few select events, to a much larger audience.

2. Breckenridge Brewery mocks "Big Beer" in ad campaign

In May, Breckenridge came out with what may have been the most viral video campaign ever for a craft brewery. The Breckenridge Brewery's TV campaign in which it mocked traditional marketing jargon used by large beer manufacturers got over half a million hits on Youtube by my count. Later, I blogged about how it managed to be successful despite Breckenridge's ad agency dropping the ball on distribution of the videos.

In any case, here is a sample of what you missed.

1. Anheuser-Busch purchases Goose Island for $39 million

On March 27, 2011, Anheuser-Busch, Incorporated ("ABI"), a subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc., and Craft Brewers Alliance, Inc. ("CBA") entered into a binding term sheet by which ABI will purchase the 42% interest in Fulton Street Brewery, LLC ("FSB") owned by CBA (the "CBA Interest") for a purchase price of $16,300,000 in cash, reductions in the distribution fees to be paid by CBA to ABI under the existing distribution arrangements between the parties, amendments to the minority rights held by ABI and additional commercial considerations described below. FSB is a Chicago-based brewer of malt beverage products under the "Goose Island" brand.

This story was as big as it was because of one thing and one thing only. Anheuser-Busch. The largest beermaker in the country bought the Chicago icon back in the first half of the year. Longtime Beernews.org readers may remember that day which was filled with updates and server crashes from the traffic. The news made Twitter's trending topics list on a national level though I don't recall whether it ever trended worldwide.

Symphony IRI data from earlier in the year revealed that the sale had had no effect on Goose Island sales in the aggregate despite a vocal minority of people that boycotted the company due to the new AB affiliation.

Stay tuned for more thoughts as we settle into 2012.

Oh, and sound off in the comments on the list of 30 stories. What did I miss?

More at: http://beernews.org/2012/01/the-year-in-beer-the-top-5-stories-of-2011/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-year-in-beer-the-top-5-stories-of-2011

Lots of interesting news in the brewery world this past year. It looks like the microbrews are making inroads in America, much to the dismay of Big Brew. This is good news for fans of good beer, not so much for Coors, Budweiser, Miller, and other garbage disguised as beer. 

Celis Gran Cru and a Monetcristo

The best beer indeed is Belgian, with the Celis Gran Cru being no exception. Formerly from Celis in Austin, TX, the new owners have done its reputation well. 

Appearance: Hazy, light pale golden in color, with a large, dense white head, which retains superbly. The carbonation is slight and slow-rising; the lacing arrays itself on the glass walls in a superb Belgian pattern.

Aroma: Opens with a strong note of of spicy alcohol, coriander and orange peel. There is also an understated note of earthy hops.

Taste: Opens with coriander and orange peel, and sweet alcohol as well. There is a solid pale malt presence throughout the taste, and a mildly sweet undercurrent of candy sugar and some clove as well. Finishes with a lingering, mild earthy hop flavor, and a brief burst of sweet alcohol.

Mouth feel: Smooth, soft, and velvety, quite pleasant.

Drinkability/notes: Quite wonderful, very drinkable and pleasant. Would be excellent for a holiday dinner.

Presentation: Packaged in a twelve-ounce brown glass long neck bottle with a pop-off crown, served in a standard Pilsener glass.

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/565/9584

Even on a nearly chilly Texas winter afternoon, the Gran Cru goes well with a medium-bodied Montecristo. 

Appearance : 
Sleek-looking cigar; looks great with the white band. Montecristos are ALL about look, and this one was no exception.

Construction : 
Superb ash, nice and white. VERY even burn. All around, it's one of the best-constructed cigars I've ever had.
 
Flavor : 
It smells a bit like cedar, but when I inhaled it, my nostrils stung a bit. This cigar has a bit of a kick at first, but when it's lit, it's mild enough for smokers of any level. It has a toasty flavor and would make a wonderful breakfast cigar, paired up with a strong cup of coffee.

Value : 
For $10, you can get yourself a nice cigar. If you want a Connecticut-wrapped cigar with a bit of a punch, this could be it. At $10, I wouldn't — probably ever — make this my regular smoke. But it may be a good thing to have around for small celebrations, bar mitzvahs, Web 2.0 site launch parties, etc.

Overall Rating : 
Great cigar from a great brand.

http://www.cigarinspector.com/montecristo-dominican/montecristo-white-rothchilde

What a wonderful combination for a lazy afternoon out on the patio, listening to nature, watching the occasional bird of prey float by on the breeze.