Mith-ology

…and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend.

The legend is gone. When fozbaca introduced me to “The Wheel of Time” back around 1994, I was instantly hooked. I spent the next several months combing new & used bookstores to collect the back-log of books in hardcover, because I felt that they were worth the extra money (money which incidentally I didn’t have, being a poor college student). I took many of these books to signings, and those autographed volumes are some of the most cherished items in my library. It’s been a long (and sometimes frustrating) journey through Mr. Jordan’s deep and immersing story arc. Still, the works of Robert Jordan remain some of my most favorite pieces of fiction.

Today, James Oliver Rigney, Jr., known to the world as Robert Jordan, died. Why is it that I feel like the final seal has now been broken?

I got my new humidor this week from Thompson Cigar. It’s their “Big Boy” model, and is my first humidor.  I was very impressed by the look and quality of the box when I opened the package.  The top opens to reveal a removable tray (which comes with two divider inserts) and a large storage compartment underneath.  On either side of the main compartment are partitions to hold the included humidifiers.  A third, smaller humidifier is also included, presumably for the separate drawer compartment.  Since I intend to use my drawer for lighters, cutters, and other accessories, I tossed this smaller humidifier into my travel case.

I’ve been conditioning the box to get it to a steady 70% humidity level before loading any cigars.  I’m hoping that it will be ready tonight.  So far, the only complaint that I have is that the drawer sits flush with the bottom in the front of the box.  This is only a problem because we have a runner on the surface where it sits in my house, and I can’t close the drawer without lifting the whole box up a bit, or the runner gets caught.  I can simply add a few stick-on rubber feet to solve this problem, but it would’ve been nice if the humidor came with those feet.

Last week I took a little time and e-mailed my two US Senators (Lamar Alexander & Bob Corker) about the pending legislation in the Senate concerning the SCHIP program.  My letter supported the program, but expressed my concern over the method of funding, which includes a HUGE increase (the largest in US history) on the excise tax on tobacco products.  For those of you who aren’t aware, this has the potential to add a $10 tax PER CIGAR on every cigar you purchase.

Given that both of the Senators from my state are Republicans, I thought that my concerns about excessive taxes being imposed upon Americans in order to fund spending programs would have fallen on sympathetic ears.  Apparently, I was wrong.  So far, Senator Alexander has not responded (which ticks me off for other reasons which I’ll go into later).  Today I received the following reply from Sen. Corker.

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CAO Italia-Gondola

Size: 6 1/4 x 54

Wrapper: Honduras

Binder: Honduras

Filler: Italy/Nicaragua/Peru

Single: $6.90

Additional Photos

Given that this is only my second cigar review, and it’s another CAO product, I guess I’m going to develop the reputation of being “CAO-Boy.” Trust me, I’m going to be branching out, but since I’m new to this pastime, and since I got introduced through CAO, I’ll admit a predisposition to that brand.

The dark wrapper of this cigar had a smooth, oily sheen with a few noticeable veins. It crowned well on lighting, but about half way down, it started to burn unevenly. This is probably due less to the construction of the cigar, and more to the fact that the label was on so tight I damaged the wrapper getting it off (which probably caused the uneven burn). I also felt that the draw was a bit tight. These are about the only negative comments that I have to offer on the Italia.

It delivered a rich, full smoke with strong leathery flavor. There was just a hint of roasted nut underneath. The few minor complaints noted above were not enough to detract from the overall experience. Being somewhat of a fan of CAO, I expect that this cigar will become a staple in my humidor, as it delivers a great flavor and is far more affordable than the previously reviewed Vision.

CAO Vision-Prana (Catalyst shown)

Size: 6 1/4 x 52

Wrapper: Dominican Rep.

Binder: Dominican Rep.

Filler: Dominican Rep./Nicaragua/Brazil

Single: $14.95

Additional Photos

I’ve had a chance to try out the snazzy new CAO-Vision a couple of times now at what is shaping up to be my new favorite hang-out spot: Stogies in Cool Springs. My friend Nathan works there, and since he knows that I’m partial to CAO, he directed my attention to this beauty. Pictured at left is the Catalyst (read - Robusto) size. I’ve been smoking the Prana, which is a bit longer with a torpedo head, but I couldn’t find a pic of that particular smoke.

The first thing you’ll notice (probably from the parking lot of your smoke shop) is the packaging. CAO ships these beauties in their new Sensi-box, which is basically a small humidor. This keeps the cigars at optimum humidity levels all the way from the manufacturer to you. And since each box had a batter pack for the humidor anyway, they went ahead and added stunning neon-blue lighting to the box. It looks great, and it really pampers the cigar in route.

The only problem is…it significantly adds to the price. These are very, very nice cigars. Aesthetically, they look and feel simply amazing. They draw well, and stay cool and consistent for the duration. This has the potential to become my personal favorite cigar. But at $14.95 each from my local dealer, I just can’t afford them in quantity. I have to believe that without the snazzy packaging, they would be much more affordable. So in the end, I’ll keep a few in my humidor for special occasions.

Here’s a more informed review which gives the CAO-Vision very high marks.

I wanted all things
To seem to make some sense,
So we could all be happy, yes,
Instead of tense.
And I made up lies
So that they all fit nice,
And I made this sad world
A par-a-dise.

God bless you, Mr. Vonnegut

 OK.  I’ve never been much of a sports-gamer.  Barring my childhood obsession with Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out on the NES, I’ve never really gotten into sports games.  But now I have an 8-year old son.  This weekend, I took him to see the Nashville Kats (local Arena Football team), and he became an overnight football junkie.

So now, I’ve decided to jump onto the Madden bandwagon so he and I can play video football together.  I picked up Madden ‘06 because it was only $12, and we’re enjoying learning it together.  I’m a little annoyed that the book it comes with just assumes that you’re a returning Madden player, and doesn’t really have any content directed toward someone who is new to the franchise.

Recently, there have been several gatherings at the Kindoll home which have made use of the arcade box that I built a few years ago with the help of fozbaca and Meister. While this not-so-little toy has enjoyed the admiration of many visitors to our home, it’s always been just shy of what I envisioned.

But all that’s about to change. Since ladyjane is now migrated onto her new laptop and off the old HotRod, that box is going to become the new brains of the arcade, giving me the added power to run a lot of stuff that the old P3 just wouldn’t handle. I spent a good bit of time this weekend getting my new front-end configured to work with the emulators that I’m using, and it’s coming along nicely.
Also, I’m finally moving forward on building my own custom control panel. It’ll be a two-level panel, inspired by Supercade, but with a 3-player layout. Here’s a preliminary mock-up of the new panel.

My gut reaction to “The Book of Fate” by Brad Meltzer is that he’s blatantly trying to play off of the popularity of “The DaVinci Code” and “National Treasure.” This book caught my eye on the bookstore shelf because of the huge, gold-embossed square and compasses. That and the dust-cover description had me convinced that it was a political thriller replete with Masonic conspiracies.

Wrong on one count, and poorly executed on the other. First, the Masonic conspiracy in this book exists only in the mind of one deranged psycopathic killer, and is quickly revealed to be a ruse developed to manipulate him. It’s so tangential to the plot, that can’t fathom why it’s referenced so prominently in the marketing of this book…unless it’s simply to capitalize on other currently popular works of fiction. As a Freemason myself, about the only thing that I dislike more than outright fabrication of malicious conspiracies is blatant exploitation.

As a political thriller, this book falls pretty flat. Sure, there’s lots of politics in this…the main character is a top aide to single-term president who gets cought up in a web of intrigue between of top political and intelliegence figureheads. It’s got assassination attempts, cover-ups, secret alliances, sex scandals, over-zealous reporters, and clandestine meetings in cemetaries. The problem is, there’s no THRILL in this thriller.

The only character we can possibly care about is the protagonist, and by the mid-point of this book, I didn’t really care about him. The code, which is introduced fairly early in the book and not solved until near the end, is so completely inane that I laughed when it was revealed. This is what I would expect from a complete amateur trying to copy other peoples’ style to capitalize on a craze. Which is exactly what this is…right down to the two-three page “chapters” a-la Dan Brown.

About the only good thing that I can say about “The Book of Fate” is that it’s a quick read.

Rating:

A good long while back, I played a demo version of “Shadow of the Colossus,” and I was immediately awestruck by the beauty and majesty of the game. The only thing that kept me from running right out and buying it at the time was the $40-50 price tag. Now that it’s been added to the $19.99 PS2 Classics line, I just had to pick it up.

If you’ve never played this game, the story is pretty simple. You play a young warrior who brings the body of you dead love to a towering shrine. In order to bring her back, you must slay the 16 Colossi which inhabit this land. Armed with your sword and bow, and accompanied by your massive war-horse, Agro, you set out on this Herculean task. The size differential between you and your opponants is pretty clear from the cover image at left.

Rating:

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