RedPlum?s Savings Style Quiz Matches Great Deals With Your Personality

Posted on January 15, 2012 by admin

RedPlum’s Savings Style Quiz Matches Great Deals With Your Personality

Livonia, MI (Vocus) March 18, 2010

RedPlum, a leading provider of deals and savings on brands consumers want most, announced today the launch of a Savings Personality Quiz on its lifestyle and savings Web site http://www.redplum.com. With interest in coupons and savings at an all-time high, visitors can take the short six-question quiz to learn what kind of saver they are and where they can find deals to best match their lifestyle on http://www.redplum.com.

To take the quiz and enter the sweepstakes, savvy savers can visit http://www.redplum.com/mysavingsstyle by May 31 for a chance to win movie tickets for the year (24 adult admissions with an ARV $ 12 each ticket). Pass it on! Registrants also have the opportunity to refer friends and post results to Facebook. It’s fun to see what kind of savers your friends and family are. Visitors must have Internet access to register.

Answer fun questions like how you feel when you get a good deal and what you could purchase with the money you save by using coupons – a few grapes, a glass of wine or a fine bottle of champagne. At the end, you’ll find out what kind of saver you are – from loving the thrill to going to great lengths.

In addition, get links for grocery coupons; information on how to sign up for redplum.com newsletters for hot deals right in your inbox; articles with savings tips and tricks to enhance your lifestyle; and information on Diva Toolbox: Viva La Value, our online radio show hosted by Lisa Reynolds, RedPlum’s Mom-Saver-In-Chief.

About RedPlum

RedPlum brings consumers relevant offers and good deals on the brands they want most to best stretch their budgets. We deliver deals on a weekly basis to over 100 million shoppers in the mailbox, in the newspaper, in-store and online. At redplum.com, you will find one of the largest collections of printable coupons, coupon codes and savings tips along with the best deals and the sweetest coupons plus trends, tips and inside information on what to wear, buy and do right now. RedPlum is the consumer brand of Valassis, a Michigan-based company that has been delivering savings and value for 40 years. Building upon our wish to help American families, we empower the public to take part in the effort to help safely recover missing children through our America’s Looking For Its Missing Children® program, which appears on our RedPlum products. For more information, visit http://www.redplum.com. To learn about advertising opportunities with RedPlum, please call 1-800-437-0479.

Media Contact:

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Mardi Gras In Mobile

Posted on January 11, 2012 by admin

Overview of events

The Mobile Mardi Gras season starts in November with exclusive parties held by some secret mystic societies, then New Year’s Eve balls. It has become closely entwined with the social debutante season for certain families. Other mystic societies begin their events at Twelfth Night (January 6), with parades, balls (some of them masquerade balls), and king cake parties.

During the last two weeks before Mardi Gras, at least one major parade takes place each day in the city. The largest and most elaborate parades take place the last few days of the season. In the final week of Mardi Gras, many events large and small occur throughout Mobile and the surrounding communities (see event schedule).

The parades in Mobile are organized mainly by Carnival krewes or orders. Krewe float riders toss throws to the crowds. The most common throws are strings of colorful plastic beads, doubloons (aluminium or wooden dollar-sized coins usually impressed with a krewe logo), wrapped candy/snacks/MoonPies, decorated plastic throw cups, stuffed animals, and other small inexpensive toys. Major krewes follow the same parade schedule and route each year.

To Mobilians, “Mardi Gras” refers to the entire festival season, also known as Carnival. Local schools have multiple “Mardi Gras Holidays” (which can include Ash Wednesday), with the final Tuesday called “Fat Tuesday” or “Mardi Gras Day”. Mobile’s culture has become diverse, and the Mardi Gras season has been extended. The area’s traditions draw from all its history, including Spanish, British, African, Creole,American and even Swedish influences.

History

A type of Mardi Gras festival was brought to Mobile by the founding French Catholic settlers of French Louisiana, as the celebration of Mardi Gras was part of preparation for Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. The first record of the holiday being marked in America is on March 3, 1699, at a camp site along the Mississippi River delta. After the construction of Fort Louis de la Mobile (17001702), the settlers celebrated Mardi Gras in Mobile in 1703, beginning an annual tradition, only occasionally canceled because of war.

Mobile was the capital of La Louisiane in 1702, but became British in 1763. Mobile later became part of Spanish West Florida (17801812). The Carnivale (Carneval) began on Twelfth Night (January 6) with torch-lit processions.

Mardi Gras has evolved over centuries in the Mobile area, combining tradition and culture with new ideas. French Mardi Gras arrived in North America with the founding French settlers, the Le Moyne brothers, Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville and Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville: in the late 17th century, King Louis XIV sent the pair to defend France’s claim on the territory of La Louisiane, which included what are now the U.S. states of Alabama and Louisiana.

The two explorers, coming through Dauphin Island (Alabama), navigated the mouth of the Mississippi River (charted by Cavelier de La Salle, 1682), sailed upstream, and on March 3, 1699, celebrated, naming the spot Pointe du Mardi Gras (French: “Mardi Gras Point”) 60 miles downriver from the wilderness that would become New Orleans 20 years later. Meanwhile, between 17001702, the 21-year-old Bienville founded the settlement of Mobile (Alabama), as the first capital of French Louisiana, and in 1703, the American Mardi Gras tradition began with French annual celebrations in Mobile. The feasting and revelry on Mardi Gras in Mobile was called Boeuf Gras (Fatted Ox). The masked ball, Masque de la Mobile, began in 1704, and the first known parade was in 1711, when Mobile’s “Boeuf Gras Society” (“fat beef society”) paraded on Mardi Gras, with 16 men pushing a cart carrying a large papier-mch cow’s head.

Mobile shifted to Mississippi Territory in 1812, Alabama Territory in 1817, and Alabama state in 1819

By 1720, Biloxi became the second capital of Louisiana, and also celebrated French customs. Due to fear of tides and hurricanes, in 1723, the capital was moved to the inland port founded 1718 and called “Nouvelle-Orlans” (New Orleans). That city also started a Mardi Gras celebration.

In 1763, Mobile came under British control. Its restrictions on free blacks and racial segregation caused many Creoles to leave Mobile and move west towards New Orleans. In 1780, Spain took control of the Mobile area in the aftermath of the American Revolution. The Carnival celebration incorporated the Spanish custom of torch-lit parades on Twelfth Night (January 6, also known as Epiphany.) In 1813, Mobile became a United States city, included in the Mississippi Territory. In 1817 it was part of the Alabama Territory. In the Anglican and Episcopal traditions, the day before Ash Wednesday was celebrated as Shrove Tuesday, marked by consumption of rich foods before the fasting practices of Lent.

Cow bell (hung on collar) as in name: Cowbellion de Rakin Society

About 11 years after Alabama became a state (1819), a group of revelers, led by Michael Krafft, who was likely influenced by his Pennsylvania Swedish traditions of celebrating the New Year, stayed awake all New Year’s Eve, started a dawn parade on January 1, 1831, making noise with cowbells, hoes, and rakes. The group became the first parading mystic society (or “krewe”), calling themselves the Cowbellion de Rakin Society, in a parody of French. They had annual parades each New Year’s Eve. Nearly 125 years after Mobile’s first parade of 1711, the new mystic society from Mobile, the Cowbellion de Rakin Society (1830), took their parade into New Orleans, circa 1835. In 1838, people in New Orleans adopted the “European custom of celebrating the last day of the Carnival by a procession of masqued figures through the streets.”

In 1843, some men who had been refused membership by the Cowbellions, formed the Mobile “Strikers Independent Society” with their own New Year’s parade. However, other men from Mobile formed the New Orleans Cowbellions in 1850, and in 1857, that Cowbellion society, renamed the Mistick Krewe of Comus, held its first parade on Mardi Gras in New Orleans. The Boeuf Gras Society (17111861) held their last procession on Shrove Tuesday in 1861, before the American Civil War, and then dissolved.

Joe Cain as Slacabamorinico

In 1867, after the War Between the States, Joe Cain revived the parades in Mobile on Mardi Gras, riding in a decorated charcoal wagon, along with six fellow veterans. That event is celebrated annually with Joe Cain Day (since 1966) and a parade on the Sunday before Ash Wednesday. The event’s founder, artist and historian Julian Lee “Judy” Rayford, portrayed the “Chief” and in 1970 handed the features to the third “Old Slac”, fireman J. B. “Red” Foster. Foster prtrayed the “Chief” until passing the features in 1985 to historian, public relations professional and pastor, Bennett Wayne Dean Sr. Dean, as Old Slac IV “hisself”, celebrated his 25th year under the feathers on Joe Cain Day in 2010.

War, economic, political, and weather conditions sometimes led to cancellation of some or all major parades, especially during the Civil War and World War II. The city has traditionally always observed some celebration of Mardi Gras.

Today, many mystic societies operate under a business structure; membership is basically open to anyone who pays dues to have a place on a parade float. In contrast, the traditional mystic societies were social clubs with secret membership lists. Divulging one’s membership in a society can be grounds for dismissal. Some of the newer mystic societies actively recruit prospective members. Some of the older societies have restricted membership, with waiting lists numbering in the hundreds; others restrict members to alumni of particular schools, or other conventions.

The oldest parading society in Mobile is the Order of Myths, founded in 1868. Its Emblem consists of Folly chasing Death around the broken pillar of life, a symbol of Mardi Gras in Mobile. Other notable mystic societies include Knights of Revelry with its Folly dancing on the rim of a huge Champagne Glass, Comic Cowboys, Infant Mystics, Mystics of Time, Crewe of Columbus, Mystic Stripers Society, Order of Inca and Conde Cavaliers. Ladies’ Societies include the Order of Polka Dots (OOP), oldest and largest of the Mobile ladies, the Maids of Mirth (MOMs), their friendly mystic rivals who hit the streets just one day following the OOP in 1950. Other women’s mystic societies who have made a name for themselves include the society with the grammatically incorrect name, Order of LaShe’s (sic.), Order of Athena which kicks off the parades on Mardi Gras Day and Neptune’s Daughters. Each of these societies have contributed something to the fabric of Mobile’s Mardi Gras tradition.

Traditional colors

Traditional colors, with metallic shine.

Meaning of Colors

Justice (purple)

Faith (green)

Power (gold)

The traditional colors of Mardi Gras in Mobile are purple and gold. Purple has been related to royal monarchies in Europe, and is the liturgical color used during Lent in Christianity. Many people in Mobile have incorporated a third color of green, perhaps from New Orleans’ traditional colors of purple, green, and gold, from the Russian House of Romanov in 1872, when Grand Duke Alexis Romanoff Alexandrovitch, brother of the heir apparent to the throne of Russia, had accepted New Orlean’s invitation to attend Mardi Gras, with festivities in his honor.

After Hurricane Katrina

Mobile, Alabama: Downtown flood waters came several feet up the Federal Courthouse steps during Hurricane Katrina, 4 months before Mardi Gras 2006.

Like so much of the Gulf Coast, many parts of Mobile were flooded due to the intense storm surge caused by Hurricane Katrina in summer of 2005. Downtown Mobile was flooded several feet deep, including the downtown parade routes. Despite these difficulties, enough of the routes were cleared to continue Mardi Gras celebrations and Mobile had the largest Mardi Gras in its history following the storm. Mardi Gras in Mobile continues to be a popular local and tourist tradition with strong turn outs. The recent 2007 Mardi Gras season in Mobile was attended by nearly 0.9 million people, with police estimating the overall attendance at 878,000 and a crowd of 105,600 along the streets for the Fat Tuesday finale.

Contemporary Mardi Gras

Each year, the Mardi Gras (or Carnival) season starts with three major events: the November parties of the International Carnival Ball and the Camellia Ball, New Year’s Eve and January 6, also known as “Twelfth Night” or the Feast of the Epiphany. In Mobile, the parade season generally starts three weekends before Mardi Gras Day with the Conde Cavaliers parade.

Starting two Fridays before Mardi Gras, there is usually at least one parade every night. The Wednesday before Mardi Gras is reserved as a “rain out” day in case one or more of the earlier parades are affected by weather.

Mardi Gras in Mobile: the Order of Myths 2007 catepillar float.

The weekend before Mardi Gras

Multiple parades lead up to Mardi Gras day. On Sunday (before Fat Tuesday), Joe Cain Day celebrations are held. In recent years these have included a joggers run and the Joe Cain Procession, also known as the “People’s Parade”, as originally, joining the parade did not require membership in a mystic society. It is always led by Chief Slacabamorinico “hisself” personified today by only the fourth person in the city’s long-Carnival history to wear the features of the “Chief”. He is surrounded by the Mistresses of Joe Cain mourning in red and followed by Cain’s Merry Widows wailing in black.

Lundi Gras

The Monday before Ash Wednesday is known as “Lundi Gras” (“Fat Monday”), after the French tradition of eating good foods this day as well as Tuesday, in preparation for dietary restrictions during Lent. In Mobile, Lundi Gras is traditionally a family day. Schools are closed both Lundi and Mardi Gras. At noon, the Mobile Carnival Association’s Floral Parade is held, with area parochial and public schools providing floats and young riders. The Optimist Club hosts a family-oriented midway near Fort Conde, complete with carnival rides, food, games and activities. Lundi Gras is also a day for king cake parties and other family get-togethers in Mobile.

As a tradition, after other parades, the Infant Mystics society has held its parade annually after 6 p.m. on this Monday night in downtown Mobile.

Annual events are shown in the Lundi Gras event schedule of Mardi Gras 2009:

Events on Monday, February 23 (2009):

11:00 am Arrival of King Felix III (name of Mobile’s carnival king) on Government St.

12:00 Noon Felix III Parade and Floral Parade

3:00 pm MLK Business and Civic Organization Parade (rolls on Route D)

3:30 pm MLK Monday Mystics Parade (rolls on Route D)

4:00 pm Northside Merchants Parade (rolls on Route D)

6:30 pm Infant Mystics Parade

Mardi Gras Day

Celebrations begin early on Mardi Gras day. Downtown, the long parade organized by the Order of Athena rolls first, followed by the Comic Cowboys, founded in 1884. The evening ends with a spectacular night parade of illuminated floats decorated to a theme chosen by the Order of Myths. Each parade follows a defined route so that viewers can plan attendance along particular streets or balconies.

Order of Myths 2007 parade, emblem float

Some parades are long and circular so that viewers can walk to a second viewing spot and catch more throws, as the floats circle back. It allows more time to see performances as well.

The Fat Tuesday event schedule for Mardi Gras 2009 is as follows:

Events on Tuesday, February 24, 2009:

FAT TUESDAY! (always the day before Ash Wednesday)

10:30 am Order of Athena Parade

12:30 pm Knights of Revelry Parade

1:00 pm King Felix III Parade

1:30 pm Comic Cowboys Parade

2:00 pm Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association (rolls on Route B)

6:30 pm Order of Myths Parade (rolls on Route C)

Numerous smaller parades and walking clubs also parade around the city.

The end of Mardi Gras

Promptly at the stroke of midnight at the end of Fat Tuesday, all festivities related to Mardi Gras cease, as it is the start of Lent. The city quickly cleans the streets for the next day. Local traditions frown on wearing Mardi Gras beads during Lent. Both Catholics and other Christians often observe Lenten rituals, such as giving up certain foods or taking on charitable obligations during the season of repentance.

Costumes and masks

OOM catepillar float.

Folly: Order of Myths 2007

On the days before Fat Tuesday (other than at parties), people who do not belong to a mystic society seldom wear costumes and masks publicly. Sometimes the general public may wear costumes or masks on Mardi Gras Day. Most people simply dress to be attractive, enjoying the open air and the chance to socialize with other people.

Mystic society members wear elaborate costumes that reflect the theme of their parade, ball or float. Costumes include custom-made hats or feather headdresses, though some societies do not require this. Most of the traditional krewes require riders to wear a mask that is sufficient to conceal the rider’s identity. Excessive cutting of the mask or removing the mask at anytime during the parade is grounds for dismissal from some societies. Some mystic societies also require that members wear masks during the society’s ball (typically held the same night of its parade).

Since 1957, the general public has been allowed to wear masks only on Mardi Gras day from 9am – 9pm, or if they are members of mystic societies. The restriction related to problems with masked bandits and also associations with the damage done by the Ku Klux Klan. (See below: Legal restrictions.)

Mardi Gras mask

Commercialization

There is virtually no commercial advertising during the Mobile parades, as it was prohibited by law in 1935. The various floats in a parade have been designed as independent creations, although some mystic societies have entertained the idea of corporate sponsors.

Floats

Mardi Gras in Mobile: the Order of Myths 2007 catepillar float

Order of Myths, 2007: Folly chasing Death

The design, construction and decoration of Mardi Gras floats is a year-round business in Mobile. Several companies along the Gulf Coast do no other work than building floats. The larger floats in Mobile’s parades are designed to hold about 15 or 16 adult men and their throws. City regulations stipulate length, width and height of floats, to ensure that the floats can safely navigate the narrow streets and tight turns of Downtown Mobile.

The floats are typically multi-level, with a lower level, an upper level, and one or two mezzanine stations (typically near the back of the float). The Float “captain” typically rides on the upper level, which lets him or her see everyone on the float. For floats in night-time parades, the structures are wired for lighting, and a portable generator is towed behind the float to provide power. Each float also contains some type of portable restroom facilities. Although from the street, a Mardi Gras float might look like a dainty, flimsy contraption, the reality is that they are quite sturdily built and are capable of withstanding a good rocking by the riders.

Some of Mobile’s most famous floats include:

Order of Myths Emblem: Folly chasing Death around the broken pillar of life (see image).

Infant Mystics’ black, hissing cat, humping his back atop a cotton bale.

Knights of Revelry Emblem: Folly dancing in the goblet of life.

Infant Mystics Emblem: A black cat atop a cotton bale (the pillar of Mobile’s antebellum wealth)

Mystics of Time’s Vernadean, Verna & Dean: Giant, rolling fire and smoke-breathing dragon floats

Mystic Stripers Society’s two large 40-foot long emblem floats, one a ferocious and “strong” Tiger, the another a sleek and “fast” Zebra.

Crewe of Columbus’ Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria: Three floats built to resemble Columbus’ famed ships.

Order of Polka Dots’ famed emblem featuring three winged sons of Pegasus bearing the Golden Chariot of the Gypsy Queen through rainbow enveloped clouds

Order of Inca Messengers and Sun Worshippers: Some of Mobile’s largest moving structures.

Conde Cavaliers Emblem: Swashbuckler points his sword right at Mobile.

The throws

Tossing throw beads as gifts

For many of the Mardi Gras parades in Mobile, members of societies on floats toss gifts to the general public, as so-called throws, including plastic beads, doubloon coins, decorated plastic cups, candy, wrapped cakes/snacks, stuffed animals, and small toys, footballs, frisbees, or whistles.

Mardi Gras throws have themselves evolved over the years. As little as 20 years ago, the beads thrown by Mobile maskers were small, cheap plastic pieces, and few maskers gave much thought to them. Today, the beads can be the most expensive items on a masker’s throw list. In 1956, the first Moon Pies were thrown by children on the Queen’s float in the Comic Cowboys parade. Moon Pies have since become a staple of Mardi Gras in Mobile. Other items that have come and gone through Mobile’s Mardi Gras history include Cracker Jacks (outlawed in 1972), confetti and unbagged candy. Maskers throwing candy today typically throw small bags of bubble gum, kisses and other sweet treats. A recent fad, attributed to members of the Order of Inca, has been to throw Ramen Noodle packs to crowds. The noodle packs are easy to throw, and cost about the same or less than Moon Pies.

Beads

Plastic beads with metallic finish

Mystic society members have thrown inexpensive strings of beads from floats to parade-goers since at least the late 19th century. Until the 1960s, the most common forms were custom-colored necklaces of smaller glass beads made in Czechoslovakia. These were replaced by inexpensive, durable, standardized plastic beads, first from Hong Kong, then from Taiwan, and more recently from China. Lower-cost beads allow riders to purchase greater quantities, hence throws have become more numerous and common. However, the mass-produced items have limited variety, and many bead necklaces are of one single color, bagged in bulk from the factory. This might lead to multiple necklaces of the same color being thrown at the same time, rather than a multi-color variety.

In the 1990s, many people lost interest in small, common beads, often leaving them where they had landed on the ground. Larger, more elaborate, multi-colored bead necklaces and strands with figures of animals, people, or other objects have become the sought-after throws. Nevertheless, citing the increasing cost of throws, maskers continue to buy and throw the smaller diameter beads to the masses and save the more expensive, elaborate creations for friends along the route.

Doubloons

One of the many Mardi Gras throws, doubloons are large coins, either plastic or metal, that are usually in the Mardi Gras colors. These coins portray the mystic society’s emblem, name, and founding date on one side, and the theme and year of the parade and ball on the other side. The Infant Mystics were the first Mobile mystic to toss doubloons in the mid-1960s.

Mardi Gras doubloons are round like old Spanish doubloons (pictured)

The doubloons thrown during the parade are inexpensive, stamped anodized aluminum. However, a thriving cottage industry has developed for the production and collection of limited edition doubloons. As a means of fundraising, many societies now offer limited edition doubloons struck from bronze, silver, gold and platinum. Other offerings include cloisonn and hand-painted varieties. Rather than being stamped, these pieces are struck like legal tender coins. The Resurrected Cowbellion de Rakin Society struck what has become the most unusual coins in Mobile Carnival history – the Belldallion – doubloons struck in the shape of a cowbell.

Plastic cups

In recent years, plastic cups have been thrown. The Order of Inca was the first krewe to throw plastic cups emblazoned with their emblem and the theme of the parade and ball. Now, every mystic society in the city throws themed cups from their floats. Also thrown are generic Mardi Gras cups, often with the dates of future Mardi Gras seasons printed on them.

Snacks

The snacks are typically wrapped, individual portions of food, such as a brownie cookie, snack cake, bag of peanuts, or a Moon Pie, a chocolate, banana, or orange frosted marshmallow cake. The tossed snacks have also included various bags of pork rinds crackers. Other snacks include Ramen Noodles (a recent trend), dried fruits and whole bags of candy and gum.

Toys/frisbees/footballs

A large variety of soft plastic toys have become throws, such as hollow plastic water pistols, or ribbed tube-straw whistles. The plastic toy Frisbees are typically small-sized frisbees, with the round disc less than 8 inches (41 cm) in diameter. Small footballs of soft plastic, or foam rubber, have been thrown from floats, often aimed to spin when thrown like a full-sized football. Many of these are emblazoned with the Society’s emblem or initials.

Prohibited throws

A number of objects are prohibited as parade throws in Mobile, based on safety or sexual restrictions, as defined in Section 49 of the Mobile City Code (from 10 February 2004):

“It shall be unlawful for any person to throw the following items from Mardi Gras floats or during Mardi Gras parades: Rubber balls, hard balls such as baseballs, wooden handled objects, condoms or similar items, dolls of any construction with explicit sexual organs, candy apples, ice cream or food products requiring freezing or refrigeration, any food stuff in cans, whole boxes of any food, trinkets, etc. All Moon Pies, trinkets and other throws shall be thrown individually or in small numbers.”

All boxes are prohibited as throws (also since February 2004), including “crushed or empty” boxes.

King Cake: coffee cake, re-frosted with dyed sugar.

Other Mardi Gras traditions

The King cake

The first week of January starts the King Cake season. The traditional King Cake was associated with Epiphany, January 6, also known as Twelfth Night, when English and Europeans celebrated Christmas for twelve days up to this night. The current version is a coffee cake, and is oblong and braided. The cake is iced with a simple icing and covered with purple, green and gold sugar. Each cake contains a hidden one-inch baby doll. According to custom, whoever finds the doll must either buy the next King Cake or throw the next King Cake party. In Mobile, people throw hundreds of King Cake parties every year, and thousands of cakes are made, bought and eaten.

Flame torches: 2007 OOM parade

Flambeaux carriers

The flambeaux (flame-torch) was originally a beacon for parade-goers to better enjoy the spectacle of night festivities. In Mobile, night parades were formerly cross-lit by torches topped by signal flares (as might be placed in the street at a night traffic wreck).

By the end of the 20th century, most burning flares were replaced by generator-powered electric lights on the floats. The Order of Myths parade (at night on the final Tuesday) still uses people carrying flambeaux.

Mardi Gras icons

Several common images or phrases appear during the Mardi Gras season:

Traditional colors: purple/green/gold.

Mobile flag.

official Mardi Gras flags: flags with a special emblem in Mardi Gras colors;

signs or items using traditional colors: purple, green, and gold;

the faces of Comedy and Tragedy: the smiling and frowning theater faces;

feathered masks: with fluffy feathers attached at the edges;

Fleur de Lis: the French symbol from the time Mobile was the capital of the French colony;

“Let the good times roll!” (French: Laissez les bons temps rouler!);

“Throw me something, Mister!”: shouted by a parade viewer.

the Moon Pie chant, heard along the parade routes as crowds chant “Moon Pie! Moon Pie!”

Mystic societies

Main article: Mystic society

A type of mystic society began in Mobile in 1704, with the Societ de Saint Louise founded by French soldiers at Fort St. Louis de la Mobile. The annual Masque de la Mobile was started in the same year. In 1830, a group celebrating with an early morning parade, later became the Cowbellion de Rakin Society as the first parade krewe, with annual organized parades, rather than just spontaneous processions, as had been the custom. The Cowbellions dissolved in 1912, but saw a revival of sorts in 1990 as the Resurrected Cowbellion de Rakin Society although it claimed no direct connection with its great-greatgranddaddy.

Dozens of mystic societies have come and gone over the past three centuries in Mobile. Membership has been formed by affiliated groups such as co-workers, bachelors, women, blacks, black women, Jews, married women, married couples, or open membership, including visitors.

There are more than 40 mystic societies in Mobile. Because many are run as secret societies, their impact on Mobile politics, business affairs, and Carnival activities is difficult to determine, but they have been another avenue of social and political influence. Current notable mystic societies are listed in parade and event schedules, described below (see: Recent mystic parades and events).

Development of mystic societies

Carnival celebrations in Mobile, of which Mardi Gras Day is the final day, begin in November and end promptly at the stroke of midnight of Mardi Gras Day, with the beginning of Lent. Society balls are held throughout the season, first in November, next on New Year’s Eve. Mobile’s mystic societies build colorful Carnival floats and parade throughout downtown during the Mardi Gras season, with masked society members tossing small gifts, known as throws, to the parade spectators.

Mobile first celebrated Carnival in 1703 when French settlers began the festivities at the Old Mobile Site. A form of mystic society began in Mobile in 1704, with the Societ de Saint Louise, founded by French soldiers at Fort St. Louis de la Mobile, and later became another Mobile Carnival society in 1711 as the Boeuf Gras Society (Fatted Ox Society, 17111861). Mobile’s Cowbellion de Rakin Society was the first formally organized and masked mystic society in the United States to celebrate with a parade, in 1830: the Cowbellions got their start when a cotton broker from Pennsylvania, Michael Krafft, began a parade with rakes, hoes, and cowbells. The Cowbellions introduced horse-drawn floats to the parades in 1840 with a parade titled Heathen Gods and Goddesses. The Strikers Independent Society was formed in 1843 and is the oldest remaining mystic society in the United States.

Carnival celebrations in Mobile were cancelled during the American Civil War; however, Mardi Gras parades were revived by Joe Cain in 1866 when he paraded through the streets in a wagon on Fat Tuesday, while costumed as a fictional Chickasaw chief named Slacabamorinico, irreverently celebrating the day in front of the occupying Union Army troops. The Order of Myths, Mobile’s oldest mystic society which continues to parade, was founded in 1867 and held its first parade on Mardi Gras night in 1868. The Infant Mystics also began to parade on Mardi Gras night in 1868, but later moved their parade to Lundi Gras (Fat Monday). The Mobile De Leon Carnival Association was formed in 1871 to coordinate the events of Mardi Gras, so in 1872 the first Royal Court was held with the first king of Carnival, Emperor Felix I. The Comic Cowboys of Wragg Swamp were established in 1884, along with their mission of satire and free expression. The Continental Mystic Crew mystic society was founded in 1890, it was Mobile’s first Jewish mystic society. The Order of Doves mystic society was founded in 1894 and held its first Mardi Gras ball. It was the first organized African American mystic society in Mobile.

The Infant Mystics (1868), the second oldest society that continues to parade, introduced the first electric floats to Mobile in 1929. The Mobile Colored Carnival Association was founded and had its first parade in 1939 (later renamed the Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association or MAMGA), then installed the first African American Mardi Gras court in 1940, with the coronation of King Elexis I and his queen. The Conde Cavaliers were founded in 1977 (parade 1978), and hold the first parade of the season, since parades stopped on New Year’s Eve. Following the lead of the little known and now-defunct Krewe of Pan and Apostles of Apollo societies composed of the city’s gay and/or lesbian community, the Order of Osiris held its first ball in 1980. It is now one of the Carnival season’s most anticipated balls and sought-after invitation. Another gay society, the Krewe of Adonis, held its first ball on New Year’s Eve of 1991, but is now gone from the social scene. The Mobile International Carnival Ball was first held in 1993 with every known Mobile mystic society in attendance. The year 2002 saw Mobile’s Tricentennial celebrated with parades that represented all of Mobile’s mystic societies.

Recent mystic parades and events

The schedule of mystic parades and events, included below, reveals some aspects of the notability of various krewes within the Mobile Carnival season.

2009 Mardi Gras schedule:

Saturday, January 24

1:00 pm Krewe De La Dauphine Parade (Dauphin Island)

Saturday, January 31

1:00 pm Island Mystics Parade (Dauphin Island)

Friday, February 6

6:30 pm Conde Cavaliers Parade

Saturday, February 7

2:30 pm Bayport Parading Society

6:30 pm Pharaohs Parade (www.thepharaohs.org)

7:00 pm Conde Explorers Parade

Thursday, February 12

6:30 pm Order of Polka Dots Parade

Friday, February 13

6:30 pm Order of Inca Parade (www.orderofinca.com)

Saturday, February 14

2:00 pm Mobile Mystics Parade (www.mobilemystics.com)

6:30 pm Maids of Mirth Parade

7:00 pm Order of Butterfly Maidens Parade

7:30 pm Krewe of Marry Mates

Sunday, February 15

6:30 pm Neptune’s Daughters Parade

Monday, February 16

6:30 pm Mobile Mystical Ladies Parade

7:00 pm Order of Venus Parade

Tuesday, February 17

6:30 pm Order of LaShe’s (sic.) Parade

Thursday, February 19 (Wednesday is rain-out day)

6:30 pm Mystic Stripers Society Parade

Friday, February 20

6:30 pm Crewe of Columbus Parade

Saturday, February 21

12:00 noon Floral Parade

12:30 pm Knights of Mobile Parade

1:00 pm Order of Angels Parade

6:00 pm Mystics of Time Parade

6:30 pm Coronation of Queen to King Felix III (Mobile Convention Center)

Sunday, February 22

1:00 pm Arrival of King Elexis I (at foot of Government Street)

2:30 pm Joe Cain Procession

5:00 pm Le Krewe de Bienville Parade

5:30 pm Les Femmes Cassettes Parade

8:15 pm Coronation of King Elexis (Mobile Civic Center)

Monday, February 23

11:00 am Arrival of King Felix III (name of Mobile’s carnival king) on Government St.

12:00 Noon Parade of Felix and Floral Parade

3:00 pm MLK Business and Civic Organization Parade (rolls on Route D)

3:30 pm MLK Monday Mystics Parade (rolls on Route D)

4:00 pm Northside Merchants Parade (rolls on Route D)

6:30 pm Infant Mystics Parade

Tuesday, February 24

(Mardi Gras Day or Fat Tuesday, always the day before Ash Wednesday)

10:30 am Order of Athena Parade

12:30 pm Knights of Revelry Parade

1:00 pm King Felix III Parade

1:30 pm Comic Cowboys Parade

2:00 pm Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association (rolls on Route B)

6:30 pm Order of Myths Parade (rolls on Route C)

So, the final parade is held by the Order of Myths (OOM), Mobile’s oldest Tuesday-parade mystic society (founded in 1867).

Legal restrictions

Over the past centuries, laws have been established in Mobile to limit certain types of behavior during the Carnival season. Laws in Mobile have regulated activities based on race, immorality, noise, face masks, gloves, parading, fireworks, and objects thrown. In 1826, people of color were required to obtain licenses for assemblies or dances; in 1845, balls were banned at homes of free blacks or slaves (but not Creoles); and in 1866, laws restricted noise or any party where “immoral or disorderly persons” might gather:

1826: According to Section 7 of City of Mobile Ordinance 4 titled “An Ordinance to establish a City Watch and to regulate the duties of Watchmen,” no ball, dance, or assembly of people of color would be permitted within the City unless they first obtain a license from the Mayor or the Alderman, with no license granted passed 1 a.m. in the morning;

1845: A Mobile city Ordinance prohibits free blacks or slaves from holding balls at their place of residence; the restriction does not include the Creoles in Mobile, who held a distinct status in American society as written in the 1803 Treaty of Paris (Louisiana Purchase), with Thomas Jefferson; Alabama had become a state in 1819, giving American protection to citizens after Mobile had been a colony of Spain, 17801812.

After 1902 the use of masks were largely limited to mystic societies or children under 12. In 1918, public masking was forbidden in Mobile during World War I (repealed in 1920); by 1947, masks were limited to mystic societies only, plus a masked individual was forbidden to “wear gloves or have his hands concealed” or covered. After 1957, the general public were allowed to wear masks, but only on Mardi Gras day from 9am – 9pm, or as members of mystic societies.

Because of safety issues, in 1987 fireworks were prohibited during Mardi Gras. The city also restricted pets in parade areas, skateboards and scooters, prohibited firearms, and the public throwing any object into the parade.

While many visiting tourists might think of Mardi Gras as an “adult” holiday, local residents view it as a time of family traditions; indeed, many view the parades mainly as sources of enjoyment for children. Many families with young children gather along the parade routes in downtown. The city discourages nudity, public drunkenness and other lewd behavior, which can lead to quick arrest.

Short glossary

The Mobile Mardi Gras season uses several terms which have specific meanings for the events:

Carnival: the festival season (term used in Spanish period of Mobile, 17801812), generally from January 6, Twelfth Night, to Mardi Gras, the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday;

Lundi Gras: (“Fat Monday”) the Monday before Lent;

Mardi Gras: (“Fat Tuesday”) the Tuesday before Lent, also refers to the general several weeks of Carnival festival;

King Felix III: the contemporary king of the Mobile Mardi Gras;

mystic society: secret society formed for any annual Carnival events;

parade krewe: a society that has annual, organized parades;

tableau: a pageant event; and

throw: any gift thrown from a float to the spectators.

All About The Cigar

Posted on November 6, 2011 by admin

The cigar is the result of artists and then there is the art of cigar smoking.

The cigar is to be analyzed from every point of view: technique of manufacture, preservation of the cigar with the afferent thermodynamics and hydrodynamics, cutting technique and lighting the cigar, the taste of the cigar and alliances. Briefly, you are about to get full information on the cigar and “good” advice.

We will try to answer these questions: “What tobacco should be used in a cigar?”, “The cigarette and nicotine”, “How is a cigar?”, “How to smoke a cigar?”, “How to prepare a cigar?”, “How to cut a cigar?”, “How to light a cigar?”, “How to enjoy a cigar?”, “What about cigarette smoking?”, “When should you smoke a cigar?”, “How to keep your cigars?”, “What alliances go with a cigar?”

But it all has one goal. You can assume and assert your tastes because the key is clean fun for all of us, based on our experiences and nobody should impose any rules on you. So… Smoke your cigars as you like and love the way you smoke!

Tobacco – Nicotiana Tabacum

Tobacco is a plant of the Solanaceae family and it appears like herb-like grass, shrubs or small trees. This family includes 66 genera with over 2500 species living in tropical and extra-tropical America, mainly in Central and South America. Some genera are not represented in Europe and Asia.

We distinguish three particular varieties in the Solanaceae family: ornamental plants, edible plants and medicinal plants.

Ornamental Solanaceae plants are Physalis (ground-cherry), also called the crown of Christ, datura, the apple of love and petunias. And yes, those common plants are cousins of tobacco. But more surprising still, the edible nightshade in our gardens, such as the potato, tomato, eggplant, pepper and chili, are all cousins of tobacco. And finally, there are the medicinal plants, tobacco being related to the mandrake, belladonna, henbane and jimson weed.

Tobacco was called “The poison of the queen” because it was used to cure the migraines of Catherine de Medici in 1560. It was sent by Jean Nicot, Lord of Villemain, then ambassador in Lisbon (Portugal) and therefore it was also called Nicot grass, Nicot being the one who will give the official name of the plant: Nicotiana. This plants was also called “The poison of all evils” because it serves as a remedy for various ailments (the ladies of the Second Empire used it against their constipation). First it was used for pleasure in England in the seventeenth century or then in a quid or a plug and then appeared the cigar. Last but not least, the nineteenth century brought tobacco in the form of cigarettes.

It is assumed that there are over sixty different species of Nicotiana, classified into three categories:

- Nicotiana Rustica – nine species, all originating from South America. These are strong herbs, sometimes shrubs, which the Indians were cultivating in Chile and Quebec.

- Nicotiana Tabacum – species that became famous on the island of Cuba – six species, also from South America and belonging to the Geminae sub-section. This species is the best spread tobacco grown and there are a lot of hybrids and selections from GMOs that are unknown in the wild.

- Nicotiana Petunioides – 45 species, far more heterogeneous and scattered on the planet.

Only Nicotiana rustica and Nicotiana Tabacum have an economic interest. This represents 90% of the world production. The diversity of this group is partly due to culture methods and treatment, but especially to the selections made by man. Nicotiana rustica is strong tobacco of lower quality, which comes mainly from Eastern Europe, North Africa and Italy.

Nicotine and men

Indeed, Nicotiana Tabacum (Solanaceae family) contains alkaloids which is mainly nicotine and it was identified by Vauquelin in 1809. Its concentration is 0.5 to 5% of the dry weight of the leaves.

So what are the benefits or harmful effects of nicotine on men?

In the case of cigarettes, the smoke has an acidity that does not allow nicotine to be absorbed by the oral mucosa. But if it is inhaled, nicotine enters through the lungs in an extremely rapid absorption which causes a real “shot” of nicotine to the brain within seconds and a rate that increases to a peak after about 10 minutes. This rapid absorption is responsible for physical dependence, which is powerful in cigarette smokers. With smoking cigars, the smoke is not inhaled, but it remains in the mouth. Now the air-dried tobacco (cigars and dark tobacco) have a basic, alkaline component, which is absorbed by the oral mucosa. Nicotine enters the body slowly. Due to the absence of “shoots” of nicotine, there is little risk of physical dependence, the cardiovascular toxicity is low and we can consider that nicotine is largely eliminated after 1-4 hours, depending on the individuals. Nevertheless, toxic chemicals in the smoke, like tar, can promote cancer risk premises: mouth, lips and oropharynx.

But nicotine does not have fewer beneficial effects, particularly as an analgesic. Its mode of action is used as an anti-pain treatment in certain dementias such as Alzheimer’s disease.

In the case of cigars, nicotine irrigates the brain after 10 to 15 minutes. A psychoactive substance, it has an “awakening”, antidepressant and uplifting effect and participates in the overall enjoyment of the smoker. Indeed, apart from our taste buds awakenings, the mouth will try to decipher a code when it is “rolling” smoke in the mouth and to identify flavors using a process similar to that of winemakers. The pleasure of smoking will be enhanced by the effects of nicotine.

Tobacco leaves

The tobacco plant, which is designed for cigars, is not a mature flower. Indeed, the “pinched” buds are barely visible, thereby blocking their development and allowing the leaves to have all the sap of the plant. The “Corojo” Salvador Carvajal Hoyo de Mena (Pinar del Rio) seed is raised covered with a glass veil, which filters the sunlight and over a quarter of the leaves serve as a cape. Other varieties of tobacco: the criollo for sheets of tripe.

The position of the leaf on the plant (the stalk) affects its use. The stalk on a tobacco plant differs from March to July. Harvesting is done in several stages, starting with the lower leaves to go to the highest. The strength of leaves grows as well. The lower leaves (volado) are small and serve primarily for the burning of the cigar. The low / medium leaves (seco) have more flavor and are still light and they will provide a largely aromatic range. The medium / high leaves (ligero) are fed by the plant and they have more sunlight, they have body and strength. Finally, the highest leaves (medio tiempo) are fatter and thicker and will give more strength. But the higher up the plant, the more the leaves require a long aging, from a minimum of 9 months for volado, 18 months for seco, 3 years for ligero and 3 to 5 years for medio tiempo. This period of time may vary depending on the final use of the leaves. Everything starts by drying (20 to 50 days) in sheds, where the leaves are sewn together in pairs hung upside down. The breakdown of the warehouse is so vital for the drying performance. Then the sheets are stacked by category and begin their fermentation also closely watched in terms of humidity and temperature. This fermentation can be carried out 2, 3 or 4 times. The tie is generally removed (the central vein is removed) after the first fermentation except for the wrapper leaves. This fermentation will allow the paper to concentrate its flavors promoting the volatilization of much of its nicotine and ammonia, but also albumin, chlorine, sugar, etc… Then comes the long ripening type of leaf and its destination.

The manufacture of cigars

The leaves come from the different roller / roll benders and they are sorted according to the vitola. The “Liga” (the mixture the cigars are made of is usually only known by very few people. The roller therefore knows the proportion of each sheet to put in the mixture. After ascertaining that no rib subsists, the assembly starts with the most powerful leaves (ligero), which are folded like an accordion. Then the leaves of flavor (seco) are wrapped around and finally, the combustion leaves (volado) are added, always at the periphery and still in the shape of an accordion. These sheets make up the guts and are maintained by two half-sheets placed diagonally from one another to form the doll. The binder is bonded with odorless and tasteless (natural) glue plant. This doll is then placed in a mold to be pressed for 30 minutes to 24 hours in the factory. The doll is turned ninety degrees to avoid being marked at the junction of the mold. A skillful roller can run 90 to 120 cigars a day without any significant difference in weight and diameter and in his achievements. A good weight is also the guarantee of a good draw. According to press reports, the dolls are dressed in the nice and silky wrapper, which must be flawless. Then, it is cut with the rounded knife and well stretched. The doll is then presented so that they are rolled gently. The most complex part is the cutting and the laying of the head (or cap), thus giving the perfect appearance of the cigar. Then, the foot is cut to the size of the module and the cigars are then sorted by the color of the cape, which should be identical in order to provide a consistent look in your cases. Also, the rings should have the same height. Around 300 human manipulations have been performed since the selection of the seed in your cigar box.

Cigar conservation

Today, cigars are frozen directly in manufacturing, which eliminates the problem of cigarette beetle larvae that could expand and become a feast for your valuable cigars. However, the cigars are preemptively frozen for a minimum of 72 hours, they are sealed in plastic so that they do not absorb odors from the freezer and they are then passed in the refrigerator (24 to 48 hours according to the volume of cigars) for slow thawing. If it is too late, there are lasioderms traps. Now, the main concern will be maintaining the humidity of the air surrounding the cigars at 70% relative humidity (RH). The temperature has almost no importance when it comes to conservation. The possible outbreak lasioderms is avoided if the temperature is below 20 ° C. The cigar, which continues its maturation, is slowed to below 20 ° C and maintained between 20 and 30 ° C. By cons, it takes more water to maintain the humidity level when the temperature is high. The cigars will be kept in a cellar whose characteristics differ depending on size. On small models, be sure to seal the lid. Take the fall, the enclosed air must break his fall gently without shock. Otherwise, the basement will dry up quickly. There is no sealing for large caves (> 300 cigars) and cabinets, the volume of air being sufficient to prevent the drying. The cellars need to be neutral inside, but in harmony with the cigar. This is the case of Spanish cedar (Latin America), the most commonly used material. If possible, keep the boxes of cigars that allow an easy identification of your cigars, but respond to any changes in humidity. Indeed, wood and cedar leaves absorb moisture and the air dries. You have many humidifiers on the market to moisten your cellar. Fill them with deionized water to avoid destroying the media (sponge, foam) or with a solution of propylene glycol, which has the ability to evaporate the water under 70% RH and create a sailing preventing evaporation above 70% RH. The second point is to properly monitor the homogenization of the air in your cellar o avoid too moist cigars near the source of moisture and too dry ones at the other end, usually at the top of the cellar. Therefore, regularly ventilate the air in the cellar, using small timed fans and professional systems that are fully functional.

Adorini Humidor, Sorrento Model – Deluxe

Capacity of 75 cigars, lacquering multiple decorative inlaid tobacco leaves on the cover. Felt bottom. Body of the cellar and lining made of Spain cedar. Wooden slats spaced inside for air circulation. Humidifier with adjustable ventilation for optimum moisture content.

Why 70% humidity? Cigars are natural hygroscopic products. Like many organic substances and especially plants, they become wet or dry by taking or giving moisture to the ambient atmosphere.

A cigar which is too dry will burn quickly. Its combustion temperature is too high, no longer tempered by the natural moisture of the cigar. The smoke is hot, pungent in the throat. The cigar is aggressive. A cigar which is too moist burns poorly. The draw is difficult and craters are formed at the point of combustion. The smoke is heavy and has a spicy taste.

To be good to smoke, a cigar should contain a quantity of water (moisture of the cigar) of 13 to 14% of its total weight. The combustion is steady and the draw should be easy. The smoke is light blue and the water vapor it contains has irritant effects. The aromatic qualities of tobacco then develop fully. This amount of 13 to 14% moisture in tobacco is in equilibrium with the atmosphere with around 70% RH. That is why the cigars should be stored in an environment with a RH level of 70%.

Why is it more difficult to maintain a constant humidity level at a higher temperature?

Relative humidity (RH) is the percentage of water vapor in a volume of air relative to the maximum possible amount for the same temperature. A saturation of moisture is therefore 100% RH, after the steam condenses into water droplets. Yet as we watch the psychrometric chart below, the relative humidity is different for the same amount of water (in grams) in weight of dry air (kg), depending on the temperature. Thus, a relative humidity level of 70% RH at 15 ° C will be more than 50% RH at 20 ° C, less than 40% RH at 25 ° C and less than 30% RH at 30 ° C! Therefore, you should put some water in your humidifiers more often in summer. On the other hand, in winter, you need to bring air to the cellar to bring down the rate of humidity, which will increase as the temperature goes down to the coldest (window, the bottom wall) and saturation (attainment of dew point), which leads to condensation of water drops, which is harmful if in contact with your cigars.

Can you recover a dry cigar, which was not kept at proper humidity?

No problem. Put it in your basement and let time do its work of reparation. Do not try to dampen it too fast because you’d break out the cape. Simply put it in the cellar at 70% RH, not too close to the humidifier and leave it between 15 days and 2 months, depending on the length and diameter of the module.

Your cigars are moldy with too much moisture, so can you do?

This is actually a mold that you see in the form of more or less dark brown spots or greenish ones. Again, do not panic. It is only superficial and it will not cross the cape (do not leave it too long anyway). Also, it does not waive the taste of the cigar. Take them out of the cellar when they are too damp and leave it open until they lose their excess moisture. Likewise, let the air circulate for a few days (depending on the humidity of the room where they dry) and remove the tasks by rubbing the cigar with a soft brush, a dry cloth or your fingers, but gently avoid damaging the wrapper. Then, put them in the cellar, this time with good humidity and the incident is closed!

You have doubts about the indication of your hygrometer. What to do?

You might have reasons to be in doubt. Mechanical spring (spiral) hygrometers are probably very cheap (less than 10 euro), but they have lousy accuracy of about 10 to 15% with a very poor stability in temperature and time. Of course you can calibrate them regularly, but you should buy a better quality device. If for aesthetic reasons (or others) you want to keep a needle display, buy a hair hygrometer (20 to over 100 euro and do not go for the first price). Although more precise, about 5%, they are also much more stable over time, even if they drift in temperature and they are fairly accurate in the range of 15 to 30 ° C. Some prefer digital display hygrometers, which are much more practical with a price range of 12 to over 80 euro. Again, the details vary from one system to another, from 2 to 8%. Read the specifications before you purchase it, especially for stability and for setting during calibration. In addition, they have almost all of the display of the temperature because it is necessary to ensure the accuracy of the humidity level.

Calibration

Whatever hygrometer you buy (except the very high end one), it is good to calibrate it before use and then 1-2 times a year.

There are several possibilities when it comes to this:

- 0% RH. There is dry air, which is the case just above a radiator in operation. Drawback: the hygrometer has a high temperature, which may distort the measurement depending on its quality.

- 75% RH. It is the liquefaction of the salt. Half fill a coffee cup with kitchen salt (coarse or fine). Pour 1 / 4 cup of tap water, stir for one minute until you get a pasty mixture. Put the hygrometer and the cup in a sealed bag (or Tupperware bag), close it, leave it at room temperature (away from drafts, sunlight, etc.) and check the display after 8 to 12 hours. It is the most accurate calibration. Disadvantage: pending 8 to 12 hours in a stable temperature.

- 95 – 99% RH. The easiest but least accurate hygrometer should be covered with a cloth (gloves) for half an hour and it should show 95 to 99% RH.

- 99 to 100% RH. Put your hygrometer over a saucepan of boiling water and it must display 99 to 100% RH. Drawback: high temperatures may distort the measurement depending on its quality.

If your hygrometer is adjustable, stick a label on it with the error found, being necessary to add or subtract to the indicated value.

How to choose a module?

Of course, the most complete freedom is left to one when they can smoke their cigar whenever they want to. Here are some pointers that may prove useful in order to fully appreciate a vitola. First, the cigar smoker can enjoy their pleasure if they know they will not be detrimental to anyone else. Thus, you will smoke a cigar in the good company of someone who willingly accepts it and you will refrain yourself when your smoke disturbs other tenants. Of course, you should also refrain yourself in the presence of children.

Then, some moments are more conducive than others when it comes to attacking a cigar: the end of a meal, especially in alliance with some convoluted beverages, a pause in the day, alone or with other cigar smoking friends. The place is also important, focusing on the outdoor and well ventilated areas. But what will prevail over all other considerations is your state of mind. You do not smoke a cigar like a cigarette. You have to enjoy a cigar. So be ready to “enjoy” a full module. This mood of the moment and the choice depends greatly on the vitola. But define the module before selecting your vitola. This will depend largely on how much time you have to devote to it. This module should also be used also as a function of your way of smoking and therefore your smoking speed.

The average times to smoke a cigar are (for the most common modules) from payable to:

Panatella (115 x 10.32 mm) 45 minutes to 1 hour

Robusto (124 x 19.84 mm) 1 h to 1 h 30 min

Corona (142 x 16.67 mm) 1 h 15 min to 1 h 45 min

Churchill (178 x 18.65 mm) / Piramides (156 x 20.64 mm) 1 h 30 min to 2 h

Double Corona (194 x 19.45 mm) 1h 45 min to 2 h 15 min

Short Robusto (101 x 19.5 mm) 45min to 1 h 15 min, Short Churchill (124 x 18.65 mm) 1h to 1 h 30 min.

These smoking times vary from one individual to another and, indeed, for the same individual.

Select a light and / or aromatic, full-bodied and more or less powerful vitola and so on, according to your mood. Please note that the biggest cigars are not necessarily the strongest cigars and that the finest cigars not necessarily the most aromatic cigars.

Cutting and lighting the cigar

Cutting the cigar. Again, your pleasure will be the sole judge of how you cut the head of the cigar. There is still some advice and there are some attitudes which should be avoided. The cut should be clean and free of burrs. Choose a good tool such as scissors or a double hung that has two rounded blades, bringing the cutting force over a large part of the cigar and cutting both sides. Guillotines can simply overwrite the cigar at the risk of tearing. Avoid V-cuts that create an accumulation of tar and nicotine on the edges. Similarly, introducing a match in the head to hold the cigar between your teeth can hinder the circulation and cause a node that accumulates tars and nicotine, making the final taste pungent and spicy.

The sensitivity of each cigar will also improve the cut. Some prefer to make a cut just below the top of the head (except for the shell where the distance is bigger), thus offering a slight soft and pleasant rounding of the lips compared to the edge of a section on the right side. In addition, part of the special head dressing remains in place. This operation can be advantageously and carefully carried out with a cutter (a practice that dates back to the times of cowboys, who used an empty cartridge to cut their cigars).

Any source of an odor that can permeate the cigar (wick lighter, candle, match or scented incense) is prohibited when lighting your cigar. Indeed, these odors will be absorbed immediately by the cigar at the risk of ruining it. Gas lighters or wooden matches will do nicely. You can also pour a few drops of alcohol in your hollow of the foot and flame it. You can light your cigar sucking as the scents released are those of the alliance to be enjoyed throughout the smoking process. Guaranteed effect.

Since no odor should be absorbed into the cigar, purists will clog up the head with the thumb to ensure that no vacuum will occur there. First of all, turn the foot of the cigar evenly towards the center until the entire surface is incandescent. You can then take your first puff. If ignition does not seem consistent, why not rekindle the same parties as the aspiring cigar is now filled with its own smoke?

Can we relight an unfinished cigar?

Yes, but with some precautions. If you want to put out a cigar, blow into it to expel all the smoke. When off, rub the ashes off, which will facilitate its reignition. Most importantly, do not store it in your basement because the smell of stale smoke and ash will permeate the other cigars. You can then finish it later.

Cigar tasting

Here it is, the big question is asked: “How to smoke, how to enjoy a cigar?”.

You’re the only one affected so smoke it as you like. There isn’t a way of smoking a cigar because everyone has their smoking style! The few tips for tasting the cigar will be of fairly common sense.

You should feel, touch and look at your cigar before smoking it. There are so many scents that bring memories and make promises of pleasure simultaneously. Then enjoy your cigar with your more or less dark, oily and shiny dress. And finally feel your cigar rolling in your fingers, soft and firm until they are dense enough, a fact which has been demonstrated by specialized rollers. It is also during this “manipulation” that you can detect the possible defects of the cigar: if the cigar has nodes, if it is too dry or too moist, if a manufacturing defect makes the cigar too tight and therefore hard to the touch which predicts a tough draw and so on.

Then comes the moment of “bareback” tasting, when the head is cut off, i.e. before lighting the cigar. The air drawn through the cigar will allow you to imagine things and individual flavors. These preliminary steps participate in the overall satisfaction given by the cigar, the solubilization of palatable substances and therefore the determination by your tastes buds.

Then, after lighting it, the cigar is usually “cut” into three parts (thirds) nicknamed as follows: hay for the first part (the first third from the foot) since the beginning of the cigar tends to be light and airy; the divine is the middle third, because the flavors have evolved and progressed, while the strength grows; the manure for the final third (to the head of the cigar) because the concentration of tar and nicotine can lead to a certain pungency or piquancy. Although restrictive, this can be cut into three parts often enough to define its current smoking vitola, although some cigars are very linear and only have a part, while some have two parts and others have many developments. The same names may come closer to the cartoonish feel of a cigar, although, fortunately, some cigars are “divine” from beginning to end and you might burn your fingers, not wanting to waste anything.

To fully appreciate the nuances present in the cigar, “roll” the smoke in the mouth in order to achieve the maximum taste, for the basic tastes are on the front of the tongue. Sweet is on each side, salty is on the sides, acid is at the rear of the tongue and bitter is at the base of the tongue. Try the retro-olfaction bringing smoke into the bottom groove (even swallow a little) and rejecting it with the nose. Try whenever possible to put names on the tastes and sensations that your cigar gives you and your interactions with other enthusiasts will be more accurate and there will be continuous learning. This way, your tasting will be easier. Unfortunately, your taste evolves, and if you notice your feelings on a vitola at some point, you’ll see that your approach will be quite different a few years later. It is also true that cigars are also evolving and being 100% natural handicraft product, there can sometimes be different cigars in one box!

A golden rule is that the cigar is and should remain a pleasure. One is never forced to smoke. When for any reason whatsoever your feelings regarding cigars change (the cigar becomes bitter, pungent, bitter, heavy, saturating, etc…) or they simply become disappointing, do not hesitate to ask and quit smoking.

Cigar covenants

Here, our heart is torn between epicurean and hedonistic. Yes, if it is sufficient to itself, a cigar can be enriched by a well-tuned alliance. And our beautiful country is rich in these more or less convoluted drinks that reveal a cigar as they unfold on contact! Again, every generalization has its exceptions and your taste will be the ultimate judge of your preferences. So, in general, do not “hurt” or “confront” two identical characters. A powerful or aggressive cigar will give all its brilliance on the soft roundness of old Madeira. Conversely, a cigar of aromatic finesse will be revealed and exacerbated by the tone of an Armagnac XO.

What kind of alcohol to use?

Do not impose any limits on yourself and have the audacity to dare. Of course, there are the traditional Armagnac and Cognac, but the old rum (Cuba, Santo Domingo, Martinique, Guiana, etc.), old port or Madeira, or Maury Mayde, and Pineau, Baume and other kinds of Muscat can also do the trick. You can also combine it with brandy, but you have to be careful. Test your cigars with Whisky and Bourbon, too. And finally, just test them with great wines (including Champagne), which marry excellently with the cigar. Alliances can also be done with the dishes. And chocolate goes well with cigars in point of checking the market for tobacco chocolates!

Can you make alliances with non-alcoholic beverages?

Although you frequently make alliances of alcohol and cigars, this is not the only possibilities. Teas also make great alliances in the context of hot drinks. There are also possible varieties, which are hard and subtle in flavor. In other words, there are multiple alliances to discover and test.

It is known that chocolate and cigar match perfectly, so feel free to make alliances and involve hot chocolate cigars. Also, be curious about the chocolate used, the rate of cocoa, its origins and also make mixtures. Cooking also contributes to the success and especially the former one. Stir while cooking until the boiling point to ensure an exceptionally creamy mixture with a good concentration of flavors. Cafes are also possible, but more delicate because it is difficult to drink a large volume of coffee in relation to the relatively long smoking time.

“Frozen” beverages are generally banned because the cold prevents the perception and the development of aromas. But you can make alliances with fruit juice and cocktails (with or without alcohol) at room temperature, where we always try to have a drink with a nice subtle aromatic range. As for alcohol, choose your cigars in confrontation with your alliance (very strong ones, marked / scored, very aromatic / highly aromatic… etc.), but they have to complement the sublime of one another. In short, you need to experiment in order to find surprising alliances that give you a wide range of tastes and sensations! And do not hesitate to share your successes or disappointments.

The terms of cigars

Here’s a glossary to guide you through the most used words in the little world of cigars:

Aficionados - fans. As with other disciplines such as bullfighting, the term refers to enthusiastic amateurs.

Talus – natural plant glue used to hold the binder and the wrapper. Tasteless and odorless, it does not alter the taste of the cigar

Ring – paper ring around the cigar originally designed to protect white gloves smokers, it has been used to brighten up the factory and identify the vitola.

Cabinet – high box where you store bundles of 50 cigars.

Capa or cape – the half-sheet that surrounds the outer binder. Soft, silky, solid and the color must be flawless.

Capote or binder – two half-resistant leaves that wrap the filler and thus form the doll. The largest volado leaves are chosen for this.

Stock – gauge used to measure the diameter and length of a completed cigar; it indicates the diameter of a cigar in units measuring 64th of an inch.

Pin – semi-circular and sleeveless cutting used by twisters.

Clear color - the clearest colors of the cigar (the cap).

Colorado colors – color of the cigar support (the wrapper). Colorado claro is for light brown, while colorado maduro is for dark brown.

Corojo – variety of tobacco seeds used for the wrapper leaves. Its culture will be protected from the sun and partly covered.

Criollo – variety of tobacco seeds used for the leaves of tripe. Resistant to sunlight, it will be grown outdoors.

Snake – it designates three twisted cigars linked together indicating the origin of the twisters.

Half-wheel – fagot. Wrapped bundle of 50 cigars. Quarter wheel = 25 cigars.

Stemming – manipulation to remove the central rib of the tobacco leaf. Used for stripping out between two fermentations, except for removing tie wraps in the factory.

Punch – cylindrical hollow cigar cutter that goes into the head and the axis of the cigar, opening a circle that does not damage the edges of the rounded head. It comes from the empty sockets used by cowboys. Attention, its diameter must be commensurate with that of the cigarette.

Figurado – a cigar is not cylindrical, but pointed at one end. There are also Obus, Piramide, Pyramide, Tornado, or Exquisito Campana. Double figurados are sharp on both sides.

Fumigation – processing performed at the factory to eliminate pests in tobacco leaves, including the cigarette beetle. Another kind of fumigation is done on completed cigars. Today, this step is replaced by freezing cigars and systematically killing larvae so that they do not alter the taste of cigars.

Galera or galley – workshop where cigars are made handmade.

Guillotine – a cigar cutter consists of a guillotine blade which makes a sensible cutc, crushing the cigar. Go for cigar cuts with two curved blades, which distribute the cutting forces all around the cigar. Generic term for cutting cigar cutters.

Humidor – a humidor is fitted with a humidification system to keep the cigars around a 70% relative humidity level.

Free pie - lower leaves at the base of the plant, just above the ground.

Liga or ligada – mixture of leaves which gives the cigar its unique character.

Linker - the linker is the person responsible for the liga or ligada and the assembly of tobacco.

Leaf tripe - although ligero means light, it is the leaves that give strength and power. They are generally dark.

Maduro – very dark color of the cigar (the cape)

Module – it indicates a standard size (length and diameter or weight) of the cigar that can be found in various brands.

Foot – end of the cigar which is lit. It is rarely closed.

Doll - the inner part of the cigar beneath the cape and made of tripe wrapped in the sub-wrapper.

Puro - all cigar tobacco (filler, binder and wrapper) comes from the same region, made entirely by hand.

Dress - term equivalent to the cape.

Seco – Leaf tripe. It gives the cigar flavors.

Tapado – it means covered. It means the culture is veiled in wrapper leaves. This web filters the rays of the sun to make more flexible, larger and silkier leaves.

Head - end of the cigar that you put in your mouth to suck the smoke from the burning cigar. It is frequently closed; it is a part of the cape which is more difficult to achieve.

Tiempos – it means classes. It refers to the different kinds (classes) of leaves used to make the filler after the liga.

Twister – roller or rolling machine, person rolling (manufactures) cigars.

Totalmente a mano – Fully handmade. It differentiates handmade cigars from semi-mechanized ones, using the name of Hecho a mano.

Filler – it is the heart of the cigar, La Liga, which will give the cigar its flavor, its strength and its character.

Short filler – tripe performed with “battered” leaves that are cut. It is often performed with falling leaves.

Long filler – elongated filler made with whole leaves of tobacco.

Vega – plantation. It is where tobacco leaves are grown and harvested and finally dried.

Tobacco planter – Worker planting tobacco by hand, which is very challenging because tobacco leaves are very fat and have some blackish grease.

Vitola – it is a cigar brand with a specific and defined module. In Cuba, it is equivalent to the module. Vitola de Galera is a module name given by the factory. Vitola Salida is the trade name of a module.

Vitophile – collector of cigar bands. Vitola means ring in Spain.

Volado - class of leaf tripe. Lower leaves of the plant. Mild in flavor and strength, it is used for proper combustion.

Volute – Effluvium of smoke rising from the foot of the cigar and bluish white smoke rising to heaven in a twisted dance to the rhythm and majesty of air currents.

I’m a cigar enthusiast and I want to share my thoughts with this community

Article from articlesbase.com

Find More Hollow Stemmed Champagne Glasses Articles

Champagne Tasting Tips

Posted on October 5, 2011 by admin

Here are some tips to better enjoy all the attractions of champagne:

Conservation of Champagne

Champagne keeps cool in an aired cellar at a temperature of about 12 º C. It should be stored horizontally away from the light that could damage the champagne. The champagne bottles must be handled carefully avoiding the move.

Temperature of Champagne

Champagne is drunk chilled but never iced. Champagne must be placed in the fridge at least three hours before serving. For this, the bottom of the refrigerator is ideal. A temperature of 8 º C is recommended for most champagnes not millisimes young and lively. For vintage champagne or rose, a temperature of 10 to 12 º C is more appropriate. If you lack the time, you can put the champagne in a bucket of water and ice, the temperature will be in fifteen or twenty minutes. Avoid freezer that alters the flavor because of its cold too violent.

The champagne glasses

The ideal container for tasting champagne tulip glass. Flared, wide and high, it allows the bubbles to move at will and preserve and restore more flavors than do the cuts to the edges too broad. Failing tulip glasses, you can also use tasting glasses specially designed for wine tasting. We find these glasses in shops specializing in very affordable prices. Whatever type of glasses, they should not be washed in the dishwasher because it leaves traces of product that kills the bubbles of champagne. If it’s still the case, it will rewashing glasses with hot water then dry on a rack. The hand wash and hot water is recommended.

Open the champagne

After removing the bottle from the bucket and having carefully wiped, hold it firmly tilted. Remove the cap and the wire cage and then slowly turn the bottle in his right hand while maintaining a strong cap with his left hand until the gas escapes. It’ll just remove the cap!

Champagne Tasting

Take the time to look into your champagne glass by the foot. The different colors for different types: a young champagne pale yellow to white to black and green or gray to white white. The bubbles may be more or less numerous, thin, sharp or diffuse and slow as champagnes. Smell the champagne then turning it gently in your glass which has the effect of releasing its aroma and finally taste it now!

champagne wine

Article from articlesbase.com

I Just Said, "Yes!" Park Hyatt Chicago Hotel Launches Engagement Package For The Stress Free Bride-To-Be

Posted on September 29, 2011 by admin

I Just Said, “Yes!” Park Hyatt Chicago Hotel Launches Engagement Package For The Stress Free Bride-To-Be

Chicago, IL (PRWEB) July 22, 2010

The man of your dreams has finally proposed. You are officially engaged and congratulations are in order! Before the stress of the wedding planning process begins and engagement photos and dates are in the works, come unwind at Park Hyatt Chicago hotel with an engagement package to celebrate with your closest girlfriend, mother or future mother-in-law. Pamper yourself with a manicure to show off your lovely new ring, receive tickets to The Chicago History Museum’s “I Do! Chicago Ties the Knot” exhibition, enjoy a bridal shopping excursion and more! Treasure this time and relax and revel in your newly engaged bliss.

Guests booking the Chicago luxury hotel’s “I Just Said, “YES!” package will enjoy: Overnight accommodations for two (2), a welcome amenity from Beauty on Call, two (2) tickets to The Chicago History Museum’s “I Do!” Chicago Ties the Knot, two (2) complimentary glasses of champagne in NoMI Lounge, two (2) ‘Bride-to-be’ manicures and paraffin Tiffani Kim at Park, a one (1) year subscription to your favorite bridal publication (Grace Ormande, Chicago Social Brides, or Town & Country Weddings), a two (2) hour bridal tour on how to create a wardrobe for your special day with ShopWalk owner Danielle Lutz, and special turn down amenities for sweet dreams of happiness to come.

This Chicago hotel package will be available to book starting April 15, 2010, with rates beginning at USD 400.00. Rates based on double occupancy, seven (7) day advance notice required and blackout dates may apply. Reservations are subject to availability and must be made in advance. To make reservations, or for more information, please call + 1 312 335 1234 or visit http://www.parkchicago.hyatt.com .

About Park Hyatt Chicago

Epitomizing modern luxury, Park Hyatt Chicago is a seamless blend of warmth and innovation in a sophisticated urban atmosphere. With a premier presence on Northern Michigan Avenue, Park Hyatt boasts spectacular cityscape and Lake Michigan views. A collection of original contemporary art is displayed throughout, expressing the vitality and personality of the city. For more information, or reservations, please call + 1 312 335 1234 or visit http://www.parkhyattchicago.com.

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Vocus, PRWeb, and Publicity Wire are trademarks or registered trademarks of Vocus, Inc. or Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.

More Tiffany’s Champagne Glasses Press Releases

Plastic cocktail glasses from virtually-glass.co.uk

Posted on September 11, 2011 by admin

In those warm summer evenings, nothing is nicer than sitting out in the garden or back patio and enjoying a glass of wine with friends as you watch the sunset. Or how about taking a sunny afternoon to hike to your favourite meadow or park and spreading out on a blanket on the grass to enjoy a leisurely picnic. However, have you ever opened up your picnic basket to the crushing realization that one of your lovely glasses has cracked or broken from being bumped slightly along the way? Or how many times has one of your fashionable garden dinner parties been interrupted by one of your guests knocking over a wine glass to have it shatter on the patio stones? Glassware, while beautiful to look at, is very easily chipped, cracked, or broken. You can destroy many glasses just by not being careful when washing dishes. If you want to be able to use your glasses, without having to worry about handling them so gently, you might consider using unbreakable plastic ones with the look of glass instead.

These types of glasses are often made in a one piece mould, and consist of a plastic polycarbonate that is dishwasher safe. They can also be safely used in a microwave. This ‘fake glass’ looks so much like the real thing that your guests will probably have a confused look when they first pick up one of your glasses, expecting it to be heavier because they will think it is real glass. However, these are virtually unbreakable, so you can drop them, bang them, clink them, and carry them around in a picnic basket on the most strenuous hike and they will still remain in one piece!

Some people have the notion that drinking from plastic glasses is unsophisticated or not classy. However, with the elegant designs of some of these plastic cocktail, wine, HI ball, and whisky glasses, they do not look out of place in a high class home. You can get many different sizes, shapes and styles of glasses, including half and full beer pints, tumblers, shot glasses, and even pitchers. Whatever type of drink you are serving, the chances are there is an unbreakable plastic alternative to serve it in.

Plastic glassware can also be a great advantage in a commercial setting, such as a pub or nightclub where broken glass is likely to cause danger to patrons. Restaurants can also benefit from this innovation, because they will save money by not having to replace their glasses quite so frequently.

So if you are tired of sweeping up broken glass, and are seeking a lightweight, durable, and machine washable alternative, consider looking for a set of high quality plastic glasses. They have all the elegance and style, with much less fuss!

Virtually-glass.co.uk can supply the widest range of unbreakable plastic products, including plastic cocktail glasses and plastic wine glasses , giving the look of glass to give you a cost effective solution.

Article from articlesbase.com

More Rules On Serving Wine

Posted on August 2, 2011 by admin

A particular annoyance when it comes to the “proper” way to serve wine is the inverted-cone-shaped trinket called a Sherry glass, which cannot hold much more than an ounce and a half without spilling. When Sherry is served, most people want at least two full ounces or none at all. This abominable, widely-used ornament is the reason hardly anybody ever orders Sherry in a restaurant or bar, where the price charged is excessive but the portion served in this exasperating little glass is skimpy.

Despite the foregoing tirade, it must be admitted that our eyes condition our taste buds and that consequently a nice Grenache (http://www.wineaccess.com/wine/grape/Grenache/) does taste better when sipped from a thin, long-stemmed, crystal-clear glass than from a tin cup or a kitchen tumbler. You are likely to avoid the eggshell-thin, long-stemmed kinds which break too easily. But most important is to avoid the glasses that are too small to provide a decent-sized serving.

The best example of eye appeal is furnished by the hollow-stemmed Champagne glass. The tiny protuberance at the bottom of the hollow stem causes the wine’s bubbles to cascade pleasingly upward long after the wine in the bowl has ceased to sparkle.

The seemingly excessive rule of wine ritual-correct table setting-originated with the formal banquets of an earlier century. If you have time to fuss with details, and are serving several different wines at a dinner, this provides an opportunity to put on a pretentious display of how much stemware you possess. At each diner’s right place two or three glasses (no more; guests need elbow room). Each successive wine is poured into the glass closest to the table’s edge. When that particular wine is finished, the glass is usually removed.

A common question is whether to include the water glass when setting the table to include wine. Since Americans are habituated to ice water with their meals, it cannot very well be omitted; but it is recommended to not fill the water glass unless the guest wishes it. In European homes, a bottle of water is usually available for guests who wish to dilute their wine, particularly if it is a heavy Cabernet or Zinfandel (http://www.wineaccess.com/wine/grape/Zinfandel/).

Once at a banquet of gourmets, who regard water as fit only for bathing; diners were surprised to see pitchers of that tasteless liquid placed in the center of the table. A closer look disclosed several goldfish swimming in each pitcher- an eloquent expression of the dinner committee’s opinion on the subject.

A second rule-that nobody may smoke where wine is being served-belongs to groups such as the Wine and Food Society and nowhere else. Except among professional wine tasters who must keep their palates keen, because their job is to detect flaws in wines rather than to enjoy them, this taboo is plainly silly. There is plenty of smoking at banquets in the wine countries of Europe.

A third ritual, the decanting, is sometimes necessary if you are serving an extremely old red wine, in order to avoid pouring sediment into the guests’ glasses. But in recent years leading vintners, both in America and in Europe, have learned to stabilize their Chardonnay before shipment; and only very rarely do you now find a bottle containing the sediment or crust (consisting of grape solids) which some wines deposit with great age.

If you ever have occasion to perform the decanting rite, do it before the guests arrive. Gently pour the wine from the original bottle into a decanter in front of a candle flame. When the light discloses tiny fragments of sediment swimming by, that is the point at which to stop pouring.

Another way to avoid putting mud into your guests’ glasses is to lay the venerable bottle on its side in one of those metal or wicker ware wine cradles. By careful handling the contents can be poured without disturbing the sediment. It is ornamental, but unnecessary, to use a cradle to serve a wine that is perfectly clear.

Sarah Martin is a freelance marketing writer based out of San Diego, CA. She specializes in international travel, cuisine, and fine wine. For a variety of wines such as Chardonnay and Zinfandel, please visit http://www.wineaccess.com/.

Article from articlesbase.com

French 75 Bistro and Champagne Bar Selected to Participate in the Official 77th Annual Academy Awards® Gift Bag

Posted on June 7, 2011 by admin

French 75 Bistro and Champagne Bar Selected to Participate in the Official 77th Annual Academy AwardsÂ® Gift Bag

Laguna Beach (PRWEB) February 21, 2005

The city of angels becomes the official city of stars one night a year when HollywoodÂs finest comes out to honor its own. In addition to unprecedented attention with more than 150 countries tuning in, the presenters and performers from the 77th Annual Academy AwardsÂ® telecast on Sunday, February 27, 2005 will also receive a beautiful gift bag where French 75 Bistro and Champagne Bar of Laguna Beach will be featured.

French 75 Bistro and Champagne Bar is a destination spot for those seeking great bistro cuisine in an elegant, understated setting. The restaurant features a piano and champagne bar offering a variety of champagnes by the glass, as well as an extensive martini list and a full selection of French and California wines. French 75 Bistro and Champagne Bar is located in the heart of iconoclastic Laguna Beach, California. Presenters and performers at the 77th Annual Academy AwardsÂ® telecast will receive a personal gift certificate worth $ 500 to dine at the famed establishment.

ÂWe know that there are a lot of options out there and weÂre honored to have been selected to participate in the official 77th Annual Academy AwardsÂ® gift bag,Â remarked David Wilhelm, President of Culinary Adventures, the parent company to French 75. ÂThis opportunity is great exposure for French 75 beyond its geographical boundaries and that is incredibly exciting to me.Â

French 75Âs menu offers a blending of traditional and contemporary French bistro classics. Most popular items include their signature Â3 Way DuckÂ, nightly ÂFrench Soul FoodÂ dishes and Hot Callebaut Chocolate Souffle. French 75 Bistro and Champagne Bar is located at 1464 S. Coast Highway in Laguna Beach, California.

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, Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.
Vocus, PRWeb, and Publicity Wire are trademarks or registered trademarks of Vocus, Inc. or Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.

Floral Arrangement and Cakes Are Perfect 25th Wedding Anniversary Gifts Ideas

Posted on June 6, 2011 by admin

Anniversary is a term which defines the completion of one year of any relationship. If it is wedding anniversary, then it surely marks the completion of the successful marriage of two bodies and minds. The couples share a bond of love for a period of twenty five years to reach the goal of 25th wedding anniversary. And now it is the time to call family and friends, whose presence will add grace to the celebration of the silver wedding anniversary ceremony. It makes the couple feel happy and special. Their presence is more than enough for the couple to be happy, but the satisfaction with the arrival of the guests arises from the presentation of the 25th wedding anniversary gifts for the celebratory couple.

25th wedding anniversary gifts for a couple, range from a simple bouquet of flowers to a costly trip abroad. Their friends can think of something unique and creative as 25th wedding anniversary gift ideas. They can make an album containing the photos of the couples from the first day of their wedding till date. A coffee mug embossed with the couple’s smiling photo will be a cool idea. Other photogenic 25th wedding anniversary gifts are scrapbooks filled with warm wishes and photo frames of different designs or wedding newspaper chronicles.

Not only the guests can bring 25th wedding anniversary gifts along with them, the couples exchange gifts between them as well. Not necessarily they have to give some present to each other. A candle light dinner will be a charming option for the couple. The twenty fifth wedding anniversary is a much awaited ceremony so the decoration of the house with lights and flowers is a must. It is a ceremony which marks the significance of the silver wedding anniversary as a milestone. Twenty-fifth anniversary is known as silver jubilee, so the 25th wedding anniversary gifts can be silver jewelries for a wife and silver cuff links for a husband. Red roses preserved in a silver vase and silver candle holders are among other options.

A wedding anniversary is completed with a cake. So a chocolaty cake prepared by the couple themselves will flourish the love between them. Floral arrangement in different designs will grab any one’s attention because flowers are the symbol of love. Ruby wedding gifts signify the fortieth wedding anniversary gifts for a couple. The occasion of celebrating the fortieth wedding anniversary is more heart-touching for the couple since by now they have come closer with the passing of the hard time in their marital life. Ruby wedding champagne glasses; ruby wedding anniversary candles, etc are categorized under Ruby wedding gifts.

Roger Black loves doing research on Ruby wedding gifts. He surfs the internet for good sites on wedding gifts. For information on them he recommends you to visit http://www.a1gifts.co.uk/

Article from articlesbase.com

Southwest Airlines Begins Service in Denver, Announces Additional Flights and Destinations

Posted on June 2, 2011 by admin

Southwest Airlines Begins Service in Denver, Announces Additional Flights and Destinations

Denver, CO (PRWEB) January 3, 2006

Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) toasted its new service at Denver International Airport. Not only did Southwest Airlines show its panache to Denver travelers, the airline also announced new destinations it will serve from Denver International Airport. To see Southwest Airlines’ full Denver schedule or to book a flight to Denver or from the Mile High City to any of Southwest’s 61 other destinations, visit: http://www.southwest.com/jp/luvhome.shtml?src=PR_DEN_010306

“Denver has been a missing link in Southwest’s system for too long, and we’ve known the demand for Southwest Airlines service is strong in Colorado,” said Gary Kelly, Southwest Airlines Chief Executive Officer. “Today, we’re not only celebrating the start of our new service, but we’re pleased to announce two new destinations that Southwest Airlines will serve nonstop from Denver International Airport.”

Southwest Airlines begins its Denver service today with 13 daily nonstop flights to the following cities: Chicago Midway (four daily), Las Vegas (five daily), and Phoenix (four daily). The airline will offer direct or connecting service to 36 additional destinations, such as Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood, Pittsburgh, Nashville, Orlando, and Seattle/Tacoma.

Beginning March 4, 2006, Southwest Airlines will offer new nonstop service between Denver and Baltimore/Washington (one daily nonstop departure) and new nonstop service between Denver and Salt Lake City (four daily nonstop departures). Southwest is offering these new flights to Customers at very low fares. Nonstop flights to Baltimore/Washington start as low as $ 99* one-way with 21-day advance purchase, and nonstop flights to Salt Lake City start as low as $ 49* one-way with 21-day advance purchase (*see fare rules). Also, beginning March 4, 2006, Southwest will add one additional flight between Denver and Phoenix (for a total of five daily nonstop departures) and one additional flight between Denver and Las Vegas (for a total of six daily nonstop departures).

“This new service will grow our Denver operation from 13 daily nonstop departures today to 20 daily nonstop departures — all in less than three months! We know our Denver Employees will wow our Customers with their warmth and efficiency, keeping the demand high for more Southwest service in Denver,” Kelly said. “These new flights demonstrate Southwest’s commitment to Denver and our commitment to Colorado travelers. Southwest is the low fare provider; in fact, our fares top out at only $ 299** one-way, which will benefit all Colorado Customers.”

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper and Denver International Airport Co-Managers Vickie Braunagel and Turner West joined Kelly today at the event. The gate areas were decorated in a New Year’s theme, and the event was kicked off with Southwest Airlines Employees declaring their New Year’s resolutions for the airline’s new Denver service. After Kelly announced the airline’s plan for new service, he and Mayor Hickenlooper toasted the crowd with oversized champagne glasses.

With the addition of Denver, Southwest Airlines now offers nearly 3,000 daily flights to 62 cities in 32 states. Southwest Airlines employs 40 local Employees and more than 31,000 Employees nationwide. For Southwest Airlines’ lowest fares, visit http://www.southwest.com .

*Fare Rules

Tickets must be purchased 21 days before departure and are valid on Southwest-operated published, scheduled service only. Fares are available one-way and are combinable with all other fares. When combining fares, all ticketing restrictions apply. Seats are limited. Fares may vary by destination and day of travel and will not be available on some flights that operate during very busy travel times and holiday periods. Fares do not include a federal segment tax of $ 3.30 per takeoff and landing. Fares do not include airport-assessed passenger facility charges (PFCs) of up to $ 9 one-way and U.S. government-imposed September 11th Security Fees of up to $ 5 one-way. Fares are subject to change until ticketed. Tickets are nonrefundable but may be applied toward the purchase of future travel on Southwest Airlines. Fares are not available through the Group Desk. Any change in itinerary may result in an increase in fare.

** The $ 299 one-way fare is unrestricted and does not include a federal segment tax of $ 3.30 per takeoff and landing, airport-assessed passenger facility charges (PFC) of up to $ 9 one-way, or U.S. government-imposed September 11th Security Fees of up to $ 5 one-way.

http://www.southwest.com

Customers: To book these great low fares, go to: http://www.southwest.com

Contact:

Public Relations of Southwest Airlines

+1-214-792-4847

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Vocus, PRWeb, and Publicity Wire are trademarks or registered trademarks of Vocus, Inc. or Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.

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I Just Said, "Yes!" Park Hyatt Chicago Hotel Launches Engagement Package For The Stress Free Bride-To-Be

Plastic cocktail glasses from virtually-glass.co.uk

More Rules On Serving Wine

French 75 Bistro and Champagne Bar Selected to Participate in the Official 77th Annual Academy Awards® Gift Bag

Floral Arrangement and Cakes Are Perfect 25th Wedding Anniversary Gifts Ideas

Southwest Airlines Begins Service in Denver, Announces Additional Flights and Destinations