Hat tip to John Aravosis at Americablog, who linked the comments of the mother of the late Matthew Shepard, lynched near Laramie, Wyoming in 1998.

Dennis and I, and the entire board and staff of the Matthew Shepard Foundation, stand with all who are grieving the loss of Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado in one of the most shockingly brutal hate crimes in Puerto Rico’s history.

While we are grateful to the local law enforcement officials for their swift work to apprehend the suspect in this terrible crime, we remain deeply saddened that yet another family should have to suffer the pain of such a tragedy, and that such breathtaking violence continues to be directed at gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people who are simply trying to live their lives honestly and openly.

For another young person to lose their life and be taken from their family and community due to fear, prejudice and hatred is simply unacceptable. Each of us who believe in freedom and equality must remain vocal, active, and unrelenting in calling for justice.

Our thoughts are with Mr. Lopez, all who knew and loved him, the members of his community and the millions worldwide who have been touched by his senseless death. Our family and the Foundation will continue to work to prevent similar tragedies in any way we can.

(In a previous article, I had identified the suspected killer of Lopez Mercado as Jose Bermudez. That was incorrect. His name is Juan A. Martinez Matos.)

Earlier, in Toa Alta, Puerto Rico, the ashes of Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado were laid to rest Monday, November 23. His funeral was attended by upwards of a thousand people, among them his mother and father, family and friends, in a very public show of support, affection, and defiance on behalf of the young man who was butchered to death by another young man whose defense prepares to use the homosexual panic argument to win acquittal. Judge Madeline Vega has set a bond of $4 million dollars for prime suspect Juan A. Martinez Matos, 26, for a first degree murder charge.

The ACLU of Puerto Rico has jumped into the fray, after closely watching events unfold for the past week, calling the murder a hate crime. Pink News out of Britain hinted that Matos may be the first to be charged with murder under the new Matthew Shepard -James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which was just signed by President Obama, if they fail to indict him under Puerto Rican law.

“The support we have received from the public and Steven’s friends has given us the strength to bear this moment of such horrible pain,” Lopez’s aunt Rubi Mercado told El Nuevo Dia between tears (as translated from Spanish into English.) “I asked Steven with his wings from heaven to help us carry on without having him by our side.”

Miriam Mercado and her son, Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado, flashing his signature finger sign, in happier times. Contrary to other parents of color, she loved him more, even when he admitted he was gay (Courtesy: Queerty)

El Nuevo Dia further reported López’s aunt and his ex-boyfriend, Luis Rivera, opened the urn that contained the murdered teen’s ashes and placed a necklace and a white rose inside it at the end of the funeral Mass. The newspaper further reported López’s parents hugged their son’s friends and cried.

“We definitely hope people and society wake up and demand justice,” López’s friend José Alicea told El Nuevo Dia (as translated from Spanish into English.)

Yesterday, however, due to pressure from Puerto Rico’s two congresspeople, the ACLU of Puerto Rico, and many others, the authorities have agreed to investigate Lopez Mercado’s decapitation murder as a hate crime.

El Nuevo Dia reported William Ramírez, executive director of the ACLU and of the University of Puerto Rico’s Legal Clinic, pointed out to Puerto Rico Department of Justice Secretary Antonio Sagardía the Commonwealth has a history of “not investigating hate crimes cases” like the one he said to which Juan A. Martínez Matos reportedly has confessed.

“The ACLU has tried to get the government to accept its responsibility to investigate cases… that are hate crimes, particularly that of young Jorge Steven López Mercado,” Ramírez said in a statement. “We should not be satisfied with the possibility the federal government will do what our government is not interested in doing; which is to protect every citizen.”

Activists on Puerto Rico and around the country have repeatedly called upon local authorities to charge Matos under Puerto Rico’s hate crimes law, which includes sexual orientation. They have also blasted investigator Ángel Rodríguez Colón’s assertion López somehow contributed to his own death. The Federal Bureau of Investigation in San Juan has not ruled out the possibility of additional federal charges in the case.

Regarding Ángel Rodríguez Colón, the police investigator’s initial response to the murder enraged gay activists and supporters when he said, “These types of people, when they enter this lifestyle and go out into the streets, know that this could happen.”

Hah. Those types of people. Who enter this lifestyle. What about women who go out into the streets and are sometimes raped, whether they are prostitutes or not? So these women ask for it? Should they be forced to stay home rather than be penalized for making a salary, going to a restaurant, or merely meeting a friend? This is just the kind of mindset among law enforcement that needs to be broken like a stick over a knee and thrown away. A killing is a killing; a rape is a rape. Nobody asks for this kind of thing. Nobody.

What would really be interesting is for Colón to find out just how many of those so-called “real men,” those straight macho guys of the area, deliberately pick up a boy dressed as a woman, know the difference, and don’t even care. Bet he wouldn’t have very much to say then, especially if he knew some of them in government or in business.

The family of Steven Lopez, though, didn’t really need a pronouncement from Judy Shepard to humanize their dead son and brother. As Queerty believes, Miriam Mercado has quickly become the Judy Shepard of Puerto Rico. Here are her extraordinary words:

“When my son told me he was gay, I told him, ‘Now, I love you more’. I want to tell the world that hatred is not born with human beings, it is a seed that is planted by adults and is fostered creating a climate of intolerance and violence. We must change our ways and understand that anyone… could have been my son. And I want everybody to know that Jorge Steven was a very much loved son.”

This ain’t the end of this story.

Setelah di gala premierkan pada tanggal 15 Agustus , di Los Angeles dan New York, dan sampai sekarang sedang diputar di bioskop-bioskop di Amerika dan Eropa, film dokumenter musik (rock) dengan pendekatan yang unik  IT MIGHT GET LOUD yang dibintangi oleh tiga orang gitaris yang berkarakter dari tiga generasi yang berbeda, Jimmy Page (64),  The Edge (50)  dan Jack White (34)  akhirnya dirilis dalam format DVD dan Blue Ray pada tanggal 22 Desember yang akan datang. Ini tentu berita baik bagi kita di Indonesia, yang nampaknya tak mungkin mengharapkan film ini akan diputar di bioskop-bioskop.

Film dokumenter musik (rock) ini bisa dikatakan unik, karena dibuat berdasarkan pendekatan yang berbeda dibandingkan dengan film-film dokumenter musik (rock) yang pernah dibuat sebelumnya. Film ini tidak berbicara tentang pemujaan terhadap idola atau tentang obat bius yang biasanya dijadikan isu mengenai cerita yang berkaitan dengan musik rock, tapi film ini ingin bicara sesuatu yang lebih dalam, bersifat filosofis, mengapa ketiga orang gitaris ini memilih gitar sebagai media ekspresi mereka. Untuk mendapatkan “inti cerita” yang dimaui, maka sang sutradara memerlukan waktu kurang lebih satu tahun untuk menggali hal-hal yang dalam dari tiga orang gitaris ini.  “Saya melakukan pendekatan pribadi pada ketiganya, dan merekam pembicaraan dalam suasana yang informal dengan masing-masing dari mereka,”  kata Davis  Gugeinheim, sutradara film ini.

Ide awal pembuatan film ini muncul dari Thomas Tull, bos dari Leggendary Pictures yang juga seorang kolektor gitar, dan senang ngejam blues dengan teman-temannya pada saat segangnya. Ialah yang sangat terobsesi mengetahui mengapa ada orang yang begitu mencintai gitar.  Ia kemudian mengontak temannya  Davis Gugeinheim,  sutradara yang baru meraih penghargaan Oscar untuk film “An  Inconvenient Truth” film dokumenter tentang Al Gore mantan wakil Presiden Amerika yang  membahas tentang perubahan iklim global.  “Saya juga melakukan wawancara informal untuk menggali banyak hal dari Al Gore. Dan itulah yang kemudian menjadi bahan penggarapan film  An Inconvinience Truth.  Hal yang sama saya lakukan dalam penggarapan film ini.”

Dipertemukan di soundstage. Betukar visi dan Jamming !!!

Maka dari penggalian ini lahirlah film IT MIGHT GET LOUD, yang selama kurang lebih selama 90 menit,  kita akan di ajak untuk menelusuri tempat-tempat bersejarah dari Jimmy Page,  The Edge dan Jack White. Siapa yang awalnya mempengaruhi mereka, bagaimana mereka menemukan sound gitar mereka, dlsbnya dalam alur cerita yang terpisah, sebelum akhirnya ketiganya di bawa ke Hollywood ( di tiga hotel yang terpisah) untuk kemudian dipertemukan dalam panggung yang tak begitu yang besardi studio Warner Bross.  Mereka saling bertukar pikiran dan ngejam bareng. Semua ini tanpa arahan. Dibiarkan apa adanya, kamera on itu saja. “Saya juga tidak tahu apa yang akan terjadi” ungkap Davis. “Ya karena cara pendekatan dalam membuat film inilah, yang membuat saya mau terlibat dalam penggarapan film ini.” kata Jimmy Page.

Dan bagi anda yang tidak sabar menunggu dirilisnya DVD atau Blue Ray film ini, diinformasikan bahwa mulai tanggal 8 Desember IT MIGHT GET LOUD akan dirilis dalam format I-TUNE secara ekslusif.

]]> http://sweetmusicblog.wordpress.com/2009/11/25/nameless-streets-guitarist-accused-of-ripping-off-the-edge-loses-patience/ Wed, 25 Nov 2009 23:33:09 +0000 sweetmusicblog http://sweetmusicblog.wordpress.com/2009/11/25/nameless-streets-guitarist-accused-of-ripping-off-the-edge-loses-patience/

Derwin Chadwick, lead guitar player for the Nameless Streets, flew into a rage this week following accusations that he was guilty of “ripping off The Edge.” The charge occurred after a Belleville show, when the band was talking with friends while packing their gear. According to an individual who was present, “this guy was walking out of the bar when he said to Derwin, ‘Dude, you’re just ripping off the Edge.’” According to further reports, Chadwick became so angry he threw down his Gibson Explorer, almost hitting his two Korg SDD-3000s and his TC Electronics TC 2290 rackmount delay. He then took off his black watchman’s cap and threw it toward his two Vox AC-30 amps. “He was so pissed,” fellow band member Gordie Boller said, “I thought he was going to smash his Kay Fuzz into his Lovetone Meatball, or maybe smash his Eventide Ultra-Harmonizer against the Line 6 DM4 rackmounted distortion modeller.”

Instead, according to additional reports, Chadwick – who was born and raised in Campbellford – went home and wrote a song about the difficulties of growing up in Ireland in the ’70s.

I’ve listened dutifully to the White Stripes since I caught their puzzling colour-coded act on the Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn back in 2001. Jack and Meg White’s records routinely impress me with their range of ideas in spite of the simplicity of their formula. For me, it represents songwriting stripped to the bone, with every added layer a very deliberate and interesting conscious choice on behalf of Jack, who can blow a song out of the water with the simplest tweak. It’s gratifying to see him in the trailer for “It Might Get Loud”, putting together a makeshift instrument with little more than a Coke bottle and nails.

As a musician, I’m looking forward to seeing these men delve into their approaches to creating not just music, but sounds – the very basic elements of the way a song plays in the head long before it comes out in the performance. It will be equally pleasing to see Jack White match talents with the Edge, as the two men seem to operate on opposite ends of the guitarist spectrum, with Jack’s backyard organic approach seemingly challenging the Edge’s vast array of effects pedals. Then, of course, there’s Jimmy Page, one of the only guitarists on Earth with nothing to prove, a man who is the reason most successful musicians today picked up a guitar in the first place.

I wonder what Page makes of the avenues rock and roll has taken over the last 40 years. It’s a great mix of musicians getting together, each coming from an equidistant point in the succession of their breakthroughs, to talk about why and how they still show love for what they do. Davis Guggenheim is serving as director, best known for the Oscar-winning doc “An Inconvenient Truth”. Really looking forward to this one.

I hate guitar magazines.

I hate almost everything about them. I hate the cover shots of guitarists holding their “axes” like weapons, the same stupid pose every issue. I hate shameless songs the reader can learn to play in every issue (one of which is, inevitably, a Zeppelin or Metallica song). I hate the silly reverence paid to equipment, be it the guitars themselves or the litany of effects being peddled in the advertisements. I hate that some of the guitarists that I enjoy have probably spent some of their youth learning from these rags.

Above all else, I hate that guitar magazines glorify “the guitarist as technician” over the “the guitarist as auteur.” They peddle the idea that learning how to play “Stairway to Heaven” is as simple as copying the notes, or figuring out what guitars and amplifiers Jimmy Page used. The reality, of course, is that rock and roll is as much myth and mystery as it is manpower and machines. That’s why it’s an awful experience to sit through when your local bar band plays “Stairway to Heaven” and why it’s sublime to hear it from the original source – the song doesn’t always sound the same.

Which brings me to It Might Get Loud, the 2009 documentary from An Inconvenient Truth director Davis Guggenheim which inexplicably didn’t reach Halifax until this weekend (and even then only for two late-night shows). The film’s gimmick is simple: take three of the most distinctive guitarists alive – Jimmy Page, U2’s the Edge and Jack White of The White Stripes/The Raconteurs/The Dead Weather/whatever he comes up with next – and have a “summit” where they get to talk about the electric guitar with each other.

The funny thing about the movie is that the summit is almost completely underwhelming: they play some of each other’s riffs, talk about a couple of songs but, mostly, don’t have too much to say. (That said, the film-ending performance of the Band’s “The Weight” is easily a highlight.) So instead of focusing too much on the meeting itself, Guggenheim spends most of the film one-on-one with each guitarist, tracing them through their relationship with the instrument over the years.

I was worried that the movie would play like a guitar magazine, focusing more on the clinical than the creative. Thankfully, it’s quite the opposite. It Might Get Loud doesn’t care about how these guitar heroes built their most famous riffs and soundscapes, nor does it give undue reverence to particular pieces of equipment. Instead, it’s about mythologizing a guitarist’s work as something ephemeral, unknowable, mysterious. No matter how much the Edge talks about his pile of effects, or we hear Page talk about the house where Led Zeppelin IV was recorded, the film manages to keep things more than a little bit magical. You leave impressed, but unknowing.

Of the three stars, Jack White’s solo segments are the most compelling because there’s absolutely no way to tell if any of it is remotely true. While Jimmy Page plays elder statesman and the Edge honest broker, White shares screen-time teaching tricks to a representation of his nine-year-old self. He builds a guitar out of scrap wood and string, and then proceeds to ramble on about old records and a band he made when he worked as an upholster. I’m not convinced that any of this was real, or where that thin line between half-truths and semi-fictions was drawn. And I’m not sure I care. The mystery isn’t beside the point; it is the point. (The film even calls attention to its own game at the end, where The Edge points out how silly a couple of the film’s constructed visuals are.)

Leaving the theatre, I wasn’t compelled to head home, pick up the guitar and try to play something by one of the film’s stars. I just wanted to jam on my own. Unlike guitar magazines, It Might Get Loud doesn’t make you believe that you can be Jimmy Page, the Edge or Jack White, and it doesn’t even presume that their secrets are knowable. But it makes you believe that there is great magic in the guitar; magic worth unlocking, in whatever way one sees fit.

Foi divulgada a data de lançamento do tão esperado It Might Get Loud. O longa musical chega aos cinemas a partir de 8 de janeiro.

Pra quem não sabe, o documentário trás Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin), The Edge (U2) e Jack White (The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, The Dead Weather…Chega!) falando sobre suas experiências e técnicas com esse pedacinho de madeira, cordas e cabos, que tantos idolatram.

Sim, acredite: 97 minutos de alguns dos maiores ídolos da guitarra falando sobre…guitarra!

Não tá levando fé? Então, assista ao trailer:

Tudo bem, tudo bem… Eu também não acreditei quando ouvi falar, e confesso que quase chorei quando vi, é emocionante. Agora, estamos todos torcendo para que o documentário seja exibido nos cinemas do brasil.

P.S. Pelo menos no Amazon já é possível comprar antecipadamente o DVD, que sai, oficialmente, dia 22 de Dezembro.

I was recently informed that U2 will continue the 360 tour in the U.S. beginning in June 6, 2010 in Anaheim, California and wrapping up in July 19th at The Meadlowlands Arena (East Rutherford, NJ).

Although there are a few tickets available for select U.S. shows,  most venues are sold out as would be expected.  It would appear that one must purchase tickets through the U2 site, so good luck.

I’ve heard pretty amazing things about U2 shows; now may be your chance to get what tickets are left.

Click here to see the 2010 tour schedule.

O documentário de Davis Guggenheim, It might get loud, já tem data de lançamento. O documentário, que mostra como Jimmy Page, The Edge e Jack White se apaixonaram pela guitarra deve ser lançado no dia 8 de janeiro de 2010. Segundo o site da NME, o filme mostra os guitarristas tocando juntos, contando histórias e fazendo o diabo que seja que guitarristas fodões fazem quando se reunem. Dá um confere no trailer.

Com trilha sonora de Bono e The Edge, o musical abrirá suas portas em Fevereiro de 2010 no Hilton Theatre. O musical ainda não está 100% financiado mas já possui verba suficiente pra iniciar a produção.

Rocker Reeve Carney da vida a um dos protagonistas da Marvel Comics, o famoso Homem Aranha. Com 26 anos, o ator é vocalista de uma banda de Rock.

O musical conta a história do adolescente Peter Parker que acaba tendo sua vida virada de ponta-cabeça quando é mordido por uma aranha geneticamente modificada. No dia seguinte ele acorda com teias em seu corpo no teto de seu quarto. O estudante nerd descobre que tem poderes estranhos. Muito poder vem com muita responsabilidade, ele decide ajudar aqueles que não foram abençoados com esses poderes, enfrentando vilões a favor da sociedade.

Opinião pessoal: Sou super a favor de novos musicais na Broadway, mas já estou prevendo que esse será mais uma edição dos musicais baseados na tecnologia do que no talento dos atores (vide o musical O Senhor Dos Anéis). Sou fã do Fantasma, Miss Saigon, South Pacific, entre outros que surgiram numa época que a Broadway era realmente um teatro, e não uma casa de shows.

Qual será o resultado do musical Spider Man na Broadway?
(polls)

The page called ‘Vox’ is a narrowed down version of the book by Chris Riddell and Paul Stewart. I’m only doing four entries so that maybe you will become interested and decide to read the Edge Chronicles.

This is the cover of the actual book by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell. If you want to buy this book this is what it looks like.

There is a series of books that came out before ourWorld called the Edge Chronicles. This series includes: ‘Beyond the Deepwoods’, ‘Stormchaser’, ‘Midnight over Sanctaphrax’, ‘The Curse of Gloamglozer’, ‘The Last of the Sky Pirates’, ‘Vox’, ‘Freeglader’, ‘The Winter Knights’, and ‘Clash of the Sky Galleons’.

It is a good series of books. You should read them. I’m on book 6 ‘Vox’.

LINK: http://www.edge-online.com/

Esta es la pagina Web de la revista especializada en videojuegos The Edge, he escogido esta pagina web porque no solo analiza videojuegos en su estetica y jugabilidad, sino que hace breves reflexiones sobre la industria del videojuego en relacion con el cine y el lenguaje narrativo audiovisual.

Desgraciadamente, debemos de decir que, a pesar de ser junto con Wired, la publicacion mas prestigiosa sobre videojuegos, muy pocos reflexionan sobre el lado mas teorico y se centran en la experiencia ociosa de los videojuegos. Esto respecto a la participacion, y hay que añadir tambien que los comentarios no son reflexivos y son simples foros de tema-opinion-argumentacion diciendo lo contrario. No aporta nada nuevo.

La documentacion complementaria que nos ofrece The Edge son mayoritariamente links a las paginas desarrolladoras de los juegos y, lo mas interesante, los articulos de los expertos de la revista son muy interesantes y bastante teoricos, ademas de tener un foro despues de los articulos mas interesante que el foro.

While actress Milla Jovovich may be trying to draw in your attention with talk of extraterrestrial owls and an imminent fear of the fourth kind, there’s a phenomenon that has been slowly gaining momentum in the music world….

Bands and musicians have been switching members and pairing up like Xenon Octa-Flouride (XeF8) would, if it ever is going to be invented (thanks Wikipedia!). In layman’s terms, we’ve been getting a lot of new supergroups, side projects, and collaborations – some that could have been foreseen, and others that seem to have appeared out of nowhere.

The Almanac Singers seen here with Bess Hawes, Arthur Stern and Sis Cunningham

Now, the idea of a supergroup is not a recent innovation by any stretch of the imagination – the supergroup goes all the way back to the Almanac Singers - a combination of Millard Lampell, Lee Hayes, Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie that got its start in 1940. From the 60’s until today, we have been given plenty more supergroups, such as in 1969 which brought us both The Plastic Ono Band (which included the likes of Eric Clapton, both George Harrison and Ringo Starr, Keith Moon and Alan White – just to name a few) as well as Blind Faith (which also featured Mr. Clapton, but had Ginger Baker, Steve Winwood and Ric Grech to boot). 1988 brought us the Traveling Wilburys, which was the tour de force of George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty and Bob Dylan. And although they Wilburys only stuck together for about a year after Orbison’s death, that cosmic aligning is something that has not met it’s match… yet.

The Monsters of Folk

Among the recent crop of supergroups is a group I mentioned last week – The Monsters of Folk, which consists of folk songsters Connor Oberst and  Mike Mogis from Bright Eyes, M. Ward of She & Him, and Jim James from My Morning Jacket. They’ve been associated under the Monsters name since 2004, but have all been so busy with their respective main attractions that they weren’t able to release their self-titled first album until this year. You’ve definitely heard their track “Say Please” on the Peak – and both M. Ward and Connor Oberst gave free concerts in NYC this summer!

Ben Gibbard and Jay Farrar

Moving down the line from most folky to least, next up is the recent pairing of Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard with Jay Farrar, member of Uncle Tupelo and frontman for Son Volt, the two bands that he played with throughout the 90’s before he launched his solo career in 2001. Gibbard and Farrar first got together in 2007 to record the soundtrack for One Fast Move and I’m Gone: Kerouac’s Big Sur. Both the movie and the album came out on October 20th, the day before the 40th anniversary of the prolific author’s death. You can see the music video for “San Fransisco”, the last track on the album, here. And you can expect to see more from them in the future.

Taking a detour into the realm of electronica, at the end of September, Thom Yorke, the lead singer of Radiohead, slipped this little surprise into his blog:

Thom Yorke and Flea

Of course, those shows were sold out in 20 minutes. Flea, as you know, is the Red Hot Chili Peppers Bassist – and he seemed to be ecstatic to be on stage with Yorke, playing cuts from Yorke’s solo album The Eraser (2006). There hasn’t been a follow-up to the October concerts, but that’s something you should keep an eye out for as well.

Jack White and Alison Mosshart sharing the mike at Glastonbury this year

Next up come two really driving groups. First is The Dead Weather, whose song “Hang You Up From the Heavens” I featured in my first week of blog-writing. The Dead Weather was formed by Jack White who’s been extremely active – leaping from the White Stripes, to the Raconteurs, to the recent release of “It Might Get Loud” – a documentary featuring White, The Edge, and Jimmy Page. The band also features Alison Mosshart of the Kills on lead vocals, Dean Fertita of Queens of the Stone Age and Jack Lawrence, who played with White in the Raconteurs. And to sweeten the deal, they just announced a show at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on November 17th! Tickets for that are going on Sale this friday, so get ‘em quick.

The "Them Crooked Vultures" teaser photo from earlier this fall

And finally, we come to Them Crooked Vultures, or TCV as they call themselves. TCV is big news. On drums is Dave Grohl, from Nirvana and the Foo Fighters. On vocals and guitar is Josh Homme, from the Queens of the Stone Age. The kicker is that John Paul Jones comes soaring in on bass. They’ve got a really great sound, full and rocking, but what remains to be seen is whether TCV will be able to stay afloat once their star power has worn off. Their self-titled first record is due out on Sony in a week, which should be an insta-grab for all hard rock fans. But for now, check out the full album on the band’s website!

So, I apologize about all the name dropping – it’s not something I routinely do. If you think a supergroup has been left out, please let me know. Or if you feel the need to justify the Tinted Windows‘ existence, by all means, please try. But if you do, I’ll kindly remind you that their lead singer is from Hanson, and we’ll go our separate ways. Wikipedia to the rescue once again!

——————————–

Peak Keyword: MMBOP

por que ninguém pensou nisso antes? Jimmy Page, The Edge e Jack White em um documentário sobre música e guitarras…

The Facts:

The Edge by Rocky Patel

Ring Gauge: 6×52

Tobacco: Maduro Wrapper with Nicaraguan-Honduran Ligero fillers.

Bought: October 31st 2009

Smoked November 7th 2009

Price: $2.99 a stick purchased during a special at Cigar.com (reg. $5.70)

Beverage: None

Smoke Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Initial Thoughts:

Rocky Patel is on fire (pun somewhat intended) in the cigar world. As I selected this cigar I noticed near perfection in the dark brown color with excellent consistency, no flaws, and a very smooth appearance. The cigar was firm and you could tell that the tobacco was well packed. I was truly looking forward to smoking this cigar!

The smoke:

This cigar was truly a pleasure to smoke. The aroma was rich, complex, and smooth. The flavor boasted spice, pepper, cedar, and a blend of complexity.  The cigar was medium body but pleasurable.  The aftertaste and finish was smooth. The cigar presented with no flaws in construction.  As the cigar neared the end no harshness or bitterness set in. The inital draw was tight but the cigar opened up as the smoke continued on up the body.  The cigar never burned out.  The only criticism I could find was that between 75% and 100% the cigar burn became slightly uneven but not to the point of requiring touch-ups.  The ash was firm, gray, and solid. In fact, I smoked about 50% of the cigar before the first ash feel off!

If you like medium to full-body cigars chances are you will find this a great smoke! Overall, this cigar was truly amazing!

The Results are in!

Construction 29/30

Appearance 19/20

Burning Properties 13/15

Taste 33/35

(Minus “Party Foul” Deductions)

No party fouls here.

Rating:   94(A)

Milhares de pessoas abarrotaram hoje os arredores do Portão de Brandenburgo, em Berlim para assistir ao show do U2 que serve de aperitivo para as comemorações que o local receberá na próxima segunda-feira, data do 20º aniversário da queda do Muro de Berlim. Depois de cumprimentar o público, Bono Vox, The Edge, Larry Mullen e Adam Clayton abriram com “One”, a primeira das seis músicas de um show de pouco mais de meia hora. O evento faz parte da festa dos prêmios MTV Europe Music Awards 2009, que serão entregues esta noite em Berlim. Os dez mil ingressos gratuitos para o show do U2 distribuídos via internet se esgotaram apenas três horas depois.
Antes do começo da apresentação, os serviços de segurança abriram parcialmente as cercas de proteção do local para permitir o acesso de mais alguns milhares de cidadãos que, sem ingressos, se amontoavam nas cercanias para acompanhar o show. O Portão de Brandeburgo será palco na próxima segunda-feira do ato principal de comemoração do 20º aniversário da queda do muro de Berlim. Estarão presentes a chanceler alemã, Angela Merkel, além de dos chefes de Estado e do Governo da União Europeia (UE), dos Estados Unidos e da Rússia. Outros convidados são o ex-líder soviético Mikhail Gorbachov e o Prêmio Nobel da Paz Muhammad Yunus.

Batizado de “Festa da Liberdade”, o ato contará com a derrubada de um dominó gigante que, ao longo de 1,5 quilômetro, acompanhará o antigo traçado do muro entre o Reichstag (sede do Parlamento alemão) e a Potsdamer Platz.

A coluna Diário da Fonte, da Sonia Racy, publicada nesta quarta-feira no Estadão dá conta que o U2 confirmou que vem ao Brasil em 2010, com a “360º Tour“. Os irlandeses teriam fechado contrato com a produtora Live Nation para quatro apresentações em Terra Brasilis, três em Sampa e uma no Rio. A declaração é atribuída a Jânio Quadros Neto, consultor e amigo pessoal de Bono Vox. Segundo a jornalista, só o palco da nova turnê do grupo, que faz giros completos no local dos shows, está orçado em US$ 12 milhões.