gdp's Comments

Big Hollywood : Kate Winslet Gushes Over Child Rapist Polanski

Thu, 1 Sep 2011 20:33:46 +0000

If Hollywood were to make Polanski into a villain in a film he would magically become a right-wing misogynist who is the CEO of some anti-green, polar bear killing, massive Global Corp. who just happens to rape little girls.

Big Hollywood : Why Superhero Films Are Failing

Thu, 1 Sep 2011 20:27:58 +0000

One movie with an origin story that worked for me was Godfather II. Sure, it's not a superhero movie, but it's a movie with an origin story taking up a good portion of the movie. And I think it's safe to say that Godfather II was pretty successful, so it can be done correctly.

Big Hollywood : Wow! First Look at Henry Cavill as Superman

Fri, 5 Aug 2011 03:23:32 +0000

I'm looking forward to this movie because I have enjoyed Henry Cavill's acting in The Tudors, which I'm currently watching. Let's just hope they don't screw it up.

Big Peace : Economists In Shock Over GDP Report

Sun, 31 Jul 2011 07:01:53 +0000

The inability of economists to adequately predict GDP growth, as Mr. Xenakis points out, is not very surprising. I would love to see a prediction market set up for GDP that is more exacting than InTrade's market for GDP (which is "Will GDP for Q3 be positive?"). Crowds are better equipped to predict these types of things because they have greater knowledge than any one person could ever hope to have.

Big Government : Flash Mobbin' In the NEA

Sun, 31 Jul 2011 06:45:50 +0000

The problem with teachers is that they flash mob just about as well as they teach.

Big Hollywood : Trailer Talk: Is 'Iron Lady' a Hit Job on Conservative Women?

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 08:27:16 +0000

It may not be overtly hostile to conservatives (although I wouldn't be surprised if it is) there will be many thinly veiled pot shots at conservative women.

Big Hollywood : Hollywood Royalty Meets Real British Royalty

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 08:06:34 +0000

I wonder how many carbon credits would have to be bought to offset that gaseous gathering.

Big Hollywood : F-Word Open Thread

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 07:52:26 +0000

I have to admit, I enjoyed watching that clip of Buckley calling some insufferable lefty icon by that pejorative and threatening to sock him in the mouth. But, yeah, I could care less about someone using that word. Kobe shouldn't have been fined six figures and that one actor shouldn't have gone to diversity training for using it either.

Big Government : Bacon, Duct Tape, and the Free Market

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 07:44:50 +0000

It's sad that the government never seems to understand this simple concept as they are inexorably moving us away from the free market.

Big Government : Monday Open Thread: Mockingbird Edition

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 07:38:14 +0000

Great book but not as good as Huckleberry Finn.

The Perfect Draw : Cain Maduro Cigar Review

Sun, 1 Nov 2009 07:16:17 +0000

Even though I am not totally enamored by the Cain Maduros I still find them enjoyable - they are good cigars.

The Perfect Draw : Cain Maduro Cigar Review

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 05:22:05 +0000

No, it's not. I think that if there wasn't this amount of hype surrounding these cigars I would probably enjoy them a little more. From a marketing perspective, the hype is great and I'm sure that there will be a lot of people who love the Cain Maduro and smoke them regularly. However, these are not the greatest things ever.

Now, the Cain F may be another story (I've smoked a couple and I liked them more than the Maduros) and I haven't smoked any of the Habanos yet and maybe I'll really love those stogies.

As always, thanks for the comment.

The Perfect Draw : 128-Year-Old Tobacco Shop Being Forced to Cover Up Cigars

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 09:51:02 +0000

Gar, It's a brave new world we live in, isn't it? I wonder what the government is going to do once they lose all that tax revenue they get from people like you and me. It's not like you can tax puppies... wait, I probably shouldn't give out new tax ideas like that. ;-)

The Perfect Draw : Partagas Black Label Short Cigar Review

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 05:15:31 +0000

For the most part my experience with this particular cigar, the Partagas Black Label Magnifico, tracks well with this review and the other one I did for it. But tonight I smoked another one that had a pretty good draw. The burn was atrocious but I could at least get a good grip on the flavor profile. It's basically what I have written in this review without the lingering sweetness on my lips or the extreme bitterness. When I started this cigar I had no intention of assigning a score to it nor was I thinking about reviewing it. I just wanted to smoke a cigar, and, not feeling great, I picked a cigar that I wouldn't be disappointed in if it wasn't that good. Fortunately, it turned out that this cigar was better than I expected. But not that much better. I would peg it in the 85-87 point (3 point) range. It's a decent cigar when the draw is open the whole time.

The Perfect Draw : CAO L'Anniversaire Maduro Belicoso Cigar Review

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 19:11:04 +0000

It's a great cigar, well balanced and complex.

The Perfect Draw : Alec Bradley Tempus Cigar Review

Wed, 7 Oct 2009 20:28:32 +0000

They're great cigars, you've got no disagreement from me.

The Perfect Draw : Cuba Cuts Back on Cigar Tobacco Acreage

Tue, 6 Oct 2009 03:45:06 +0000

Luke,

I hope that you're right although I think that America is already the biggest consumer of Cuban cigars - so I'm not sure that lifting the embargo will improve the state of Cuban cigars significantly. And, if and when the embargo is lifted it will bring about a really interesting situation in the cigar industry. What will happen to the legal brands that we smoke now?

At least in the short run after the lifting of the embargo there will be a dramatic decrease in the price in the upper echelon of the cigar industry - holding everything equal, of course. Now, if huge increases in cigar taxes and smoking bans continue unmolested then the cost of cigars would go up - holding everything else equal. My guess is that the prices for cigars are only going to increase, with or without the embargo.

What is for certain is that this is a tumultuous time in the cigar industry. Anything can happen. Unfortunately, there are some really devastating scenarios for the cigar industry.

Thanks for stopping by. :-)

The Perfect Draw : Camacho Corojo Natural Short Cigar Review

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 07:34:46 +0000

I have smoked a few of these since the review and I must say that it is better than my initial review. I will do a full review for this cigar in the next couple of weeks.

The Perfect Draw : CAO L'Anniversaire Maduro Belicoso Cigar Review

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 01:25:24 +0000

It may be one or two points too high, but not any more than that. It's one of those cigars that I loved smoking because it had a lot of flavors that I really like. But you know what, I'll take a look at and do a review for a RJ Res Mad. It does cost less than the CAO Anni Mad. Sorry to hear it's getting that cold in Buffalo. In SoCal it's still getting into the high 80s during the day. Thanks for leaving a message.

The Perfect Draw : Carlos Toraño Exodus 1959 Cigar Review

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 06:12:01 +0000

I am smoking another one of these right now and it is starting off basically the same as this one. Vanilla is the main flavor backed up by some spice and burnt wood. Unfortunately, this one has some fairly significant burn problems, which knocks it down a few pegs for me. The draw is good and the flavors are all still very good. If not for the poor burn I would have no problem giving it 90 or 91 points but I think that's the upper limit for this cigar. This one: 87 points Purely based off the poor burn, which knocks a few points off for me.