Pissing of the Polizie with a Dildo

$100 to whoever can tell me what I was saying

Wall of Fame | Heineken Experience

Where are Marge Schott and Jerry Springer when you need them?

The Cincinnati Health Department will investigate the Cincinnati Reds for violations of the state smoking ban after people complained players smoked cigars indoors while celebrating their National League Central Division title Tuesday night.

A lot of players could be seen on TV smoking the cigars, and Reds owner Bob Castellini was passing them out. But video doesn't affect the investigation - the health inspector has to actually see someone smoking, said Rocky Merz, health department spokesman.
Five people called a statewide smoking ban complaint hotline, Merz said. Those complaints were sent to the city health department today for investigation. Castellini will get letter soon notifying him of the alleged violation.

State law requires a health inspector to go out within 30 days at about the same time of day as the alleged violation, Merz said. That means an inspector might be attending one of the playoff games to see if anyone is smoking then.

"We come in unannounced, obviously," he said.

If the inspector sees someone smoking, the Reds will be sent a letter notifying them of the violation, which the team can appeal. No fine is attached to any initial violation. If another complaint is filed and an inspector responds again to the ballpark and sees someone smoking, the Reds could be fined $100. The fine escalates to $500 after that.

In some investigations, inspectors can interview witnesses. That won't work this time because all the complaints were anonymous, Merz said.
Terry Evans, who oversees riverfront operations for the county, said he wasn’t aware of the smoking complaints therefore could not comment.
The Reds declined to comment, team spokesman Rob Butcher said.

http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20100930/SPT04/10010340/

Ambassador Cigar Giveaway @Cigarrants

 

Check it out

http://cigarrants.com/2010/09/30/ambassador-cigar-giveaway/

Happy 50th Birthday to the Flintstones

 

50 Years ago today was the first episode of the Flintstones…..you gotta love these retro commercials.

Bordeaux and Anime…

…two words I thought I would never type in the same sentence

 

Chateau owner Jean-Pierre Amoreau is a celebrity in Japan -- a privilege he owes to a wine-obsessed cartoon he had never heard of until diehard fans started calling him at home.

Amoreau, owner of the Puy Chateau near the village of Saint-Cibard in southwestern France, said he did not know what to think last year when he started getting calls from Japanese buyers who wanted to buy his 2003 growth bottles at any cost.

His agent explained the reason for the calls: a television show broadcast in Japan.

Named "The Drops of God," it is a cartoon about wine that has won a passionate following in Japan and has the peculiar trait of referring mainly to real bottles.

It tells the story of a famous oenologist who, upon his death, bequeaths a vast wine cellar to one of his two sons on the condition he can solve 12 riddles about 12 bottles.

After completing the challenge, the heir has to track down a 13th bottle -- the ultimate, perfect bottle of wine -- known as the "Drops of God."

"For the last episode ... millions of Japanese people were in front of their TVs about to find out the name of the chateau which Tadashi Agi thought produced the best wine of thousands he had tasted the world over," Amoreau said.

The cartoon gave birth to a comic book that boosted the success of his wine with Japanese consumers. "Today we are the best-known wine-makers in Japan," he added.

The owner of the 17th century estate is the 14th generation of wine-makers in his family, as well as being a firm believer in chemical-free agriculture in the tradition of his ancestors who banned chemicals in the 1930s.

Despite the frenzy surrounding the 2003 bottle named in "The Drops of God," Amoreau kept the 18 euro ($24) price tag even when bottles were selling in Japan for 1,000 euros.

"We stopped selling the 2003 until the excitement had died down to avoid penalizing our regular customers," he said.

ASIAN OBSESSION

Thanks to the cartoon, Chateau Le Puy gained access to lucrative Asian markets in China as well as Taiwan and South Korea. About 80 percent of the 120,000 bottles produced at Saint-Cibard are destined for export.

Among the other Bordeaux vineyards to have benefited from a cameo appearance in the cartoon are Chateau Calon-Segur, Saint Estephe, Chateau Palmer, Margaux and Chateau Poupille.

Philippe Carille, owner of the Poupille vineyard, is still enjoying the windfall, three years after his wine was mentioned in the fourth volume of the series.

"I increased my sales in Asia by 20-30 percent. In Taiwan alone, my business went from being close to zero to 100,000 euros this year thanks to the manga (cartoon)," he said.

Asia is now one of the main destinations for Bordeaux wines, which saw export volumes slump by 14 percent in 2009 and are just starting to recover from the financial crisis, according to the CIVB, a study group devoted to Bordeaux wines.

At end-June, exports beyond the European Union had grown 11 percent from a year earlier while exports to China -- now the top buyer of Bordeaux wines outside the EU -- grew a whopping 94 percent, the group said.

The fact that Chinese buyers showed up for the first time in April to taste the year's new wine is another sign of the trend. Japan, which for a period was the top Asian buyer, is now importing more wine from Bordeaux, the CIVB said.

The "Drop of God" effect, surely.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE68R1RP20100928

The problem with Unions