Those living in the Atlanta, GA area, would be delighted to know about the American Craft Show that occurs annually at around March. It is normally held at the Cobb Galleria Centre. Here you will find all sorts of artworks that will excite you and your loved ones. You may even find some interesting pieces of jewelry here that will be the perfect gift for your wife.

I try to go to these craft shows whenever I can, as I am an advocate of such events. This year, you will be able to see crafted items that make use of recycled materials. While I am more inclined towards the traditional crafts myself, I still feel that these are worth looking at.

Let’s take the example of jewelry that I made earlier. To me, jewelry is only wearable when made from some sort of “jewelry” caliber material. I don’t plan on giving my wife some materials made from twigs and discarded building materials. It may work on sculptures, perhaps; but to me, there’s a difference between art and street wear.

I will note, however, that there is one exception to my metal and gemstone rule. The trinkets found at Alexandra Bitner’s lucite jewelry are just fantastic and very wearable. It is very hard to design something fashionable out of what many would consider to be trash, but Bitner manages to do that quite well.

If you want to do your part for the environment, or if the concept of wearing recycled items as jewelry appeals to you, then you can go to the American Craft Show that is held annually. To be fair, it’s not just jewelry; there are other works of art made from such materials. To each his own, but it’s really not my thing. If you’ve missed the American Craft Show, no need to fret; there are dozens of other crafts show you can attend all year round.

Cigars are status symbols. We often see cigars in Italian and Spanish gang films being puffed by Dons and rich gang lords. A cigar is also a contemporary of a more inexpensive and common/ commercialized cigarette. Indicatively, cigarette is to identify a small or mini cigar. This article is written to provide us with the cultural and historical significance of cigars.

The definition for cigar basically states that it is a a rolled bundle of tobacco leaves which is ignited when smoked. Fermented tobaccos are used in cigar manufacturing. Cigars grow extensively in places such as: Brazil, Philippines, Mexico and Cuba. Cigar manufacturing has an interesting history anecdote to tell. During the past, cigar manufacturer owners employ the services of a lector or a reader to entertain workers as they work. Nowadays, modern forms of entertainment are now used such as built in piped music or audio books. This will help cigar workers work on a good mood.

It is used to describe the overall flavor and aroma of the cigar and its overall look based on its color. Cigar wrappers are manufactured by extra care as they tend to carry the image of the cigar itself. As opposed to famous beliefs the cigar wrapper is a leaf not a paper wrapper. Some cigar wrappers are tended with polishers so as to give it a beautiful glossy effect. cigar leaves are derived from the widest leaf of the tobacco plant.

Fillers are what you call the rolled up tobacco leaves that composed of the inside of the tobacco. They sometimes contain the same leaf from a tobacco tree although some manufacturers create blends from other tobacco leaves. There are numerous tobacco species whose leaves can be used to create tobacco.

Contrary to previous beliefs, cigars are really not safer alternatives to cigarettes. They just differ from the type of sickness you can achieve. Cigarettes usually causes lung cancer while cigars target the head and neck.

A cigar tasting is treated in the same manner as wine and cheese tasting- a social event in some places. Visit the Cigar Tasting (featuring Oliva Cigars) in Fairfield, Ohio for more details

New Hampshire is named as the “Granite State” thanks to its geological composition and because of the rock’s hardy qualities. New Hampshire remains to be the most sturdy off the Northern states, thanks to the combination of its innovation and creativity with technology.

New Hampshire basically lives off its agricultural aggregates. Most of the products are usually of poultry and cattle. Most of which are dairy products, nursery stocks for other states and/or farms, cattle products (like meat, and bones for gelatin production) apples and eggs. The industrial section has machinery, rubber, electrical equipment, plastics and plastic products, and tourism. The state had started off with shoe-making and textile, but due to an economic shift, all present industries have taken the lead. It was all due to the promises of cheaper wages and the industrial revolution that had led to the death of these small companies.

The state is said to be one who has the lowest energy consumption rates in the whole country, thanks to the non-use of electricity as the source for home heating during winter times. The summers are mild too, so the households do not have much use for air conditioning as well. New Hampshire households use oil and burners for heating. The state has the potential to go green and use renewable sources of energy to fuel their power plants.

The state does not have a general sales tax and personal state income tax (though there is a five percent from interest and dividends). Also, the state does not have a tax-system that is broad. With this, New Hampshire remains to be in rankings with combined state and local tax burden.

The state is a good base for starting businesses, as there is an untapped market in New Hampshire. With the right direction, and persuasion; a potentially new and successful market could be achieved.

Nebraska is said to be a homestead state, since most of its starting industries had ranches and homesteaders leading the state’s economic march during the past times. In these times, the winds have changed direction.

According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, most of Nebraska’s gross state income comes from the agricultural sectors in the surrounding area. Most of the produce being exported or used within the state includes corn, soybeans, pork and beef. The industries that make up for whatever is left of the gross income is from freight and transportation, telecommunications, information and information technology, insurance and manufacturing.

The standard sales tax imposed by the state is around five and a half percent as of the recent years. Additionally, cities can opt to add and increase that sales tax, up to a maximum of one and a half percent, making it to seven percent. Real property tax is also taxable in Nebraska, unless explicitly exempted by statute. 1992, it was declared that only depcreciable personal property shall be subjected to tax and all other types of personal property will henceforth be exempted from tax. Inheritance tax is also collected by the home county.

Some world famous industries have their home base located here in Nebraska. Kool-Aid (that colorful juice drink) was created by Mr. Edward Perkins in Hastings, for example. Since then, Kool-Aid was made the official soft drink of Nebraska. Nebraska also celebrates a holiday made especially for this drink, tagged the Kool-Aid Days. This event is celebrated during every second weekend of the month of August.

The largest train yard in the world, Union Pacific’s Bailey Yard, is in North Platte. The state is also home to InfoUSA, West Corporation, Valmont Industries, Woodmen of the World and the Union Pacific Railroad. Sidney, Nebraska is also the official headquarters of Cabela’s, that which is a specialty retailer of all outdoor goods.

California is a state of America, thus it is understandable that your viewpoint would be one of the typical blond, English-speaking American. But the state has also been considered as the ‘true melting pot of different races, different cultures’. California is probably the most open, and most easily accessed of all the states in America, so it is not a big wonder to have most of the Californians to be non-100% American, inexplicably open-minded, and readily accepting of any change, big or small, whether for lifestyle, taste or even political.

In terms of political beliefs, the Californians tend to be the most liberal, most free, and most (as mentioned) open-minded of the whole country. We can also attribute it to the diversity of culture, which makes all the citizens willingly accepting of change and new ideas. Alternative lifestyle is nodded upon, religion is not a big issue, but environmental concerns are. It’s a rather surreal culture that most Americans from other states sometimes undergo “culture shock”.

And why not? While most are oblivious to other languages except to our mother tongue, Californians have a wide spectrum of understanding. Spanish is second, Chinese near the Bay Area and Korean in Los Angeles.

California has been the world central, and hub; for movies, art and music thanks to Hollywood. Hollywood produces not just films but “THE” films. Films that are generally published, circulated and shown around the world. Films whose budgets sometimes go over the annual income of a third-world country. These are the types of films Hollywood makes. Some flop, but mostly, everything else makes big money.

Surfing and skateboarding culture all originated from California. From the slang words, ‘gnarly’ ‘tubular’, and ‘mondo’; to the biggest skateboarding contests and legendary Tony Hawk residing here, it is no doubt still the central hub of America in terms of dexterity sports. Even wind surfing is starting to shape up to be another hit for the beach goers of California.

Everyone might have had a bit of Tex Mex in their lifetime. After all, the dish is not really that hard to find anywhere in the good country of America. But where did Tex Mex come from? What is it? And who made it?

With the who made it part, history has it that came from the influence of the Tejanos, Texan meztizos. Tex Mex is the fusion of Texan and Mexican cooking, a unique cuisine made by the Texans to celebrate their love of food. In proper terms, Tex Mex is the blending of food from the United States with the influence of the cuisine style of Mexico. Tex Mex is varied and has lots of version depending on which region you tasted the dish.

There are similarities between all Tex Mex. According to a wiki entry I found, most of the dishes use “…melted cheese, meat (particularly beef), beans, and spices, in addition to Mexican-style tortillas. Texas-style chili con carne, chili con queso, chili gravy, and fajitas”. But almost every dish is Mexican in name, whether it be tortillas, burritos, churros or the usual salsa and guacamole. But the American feel is there. You can’t describe it. You just have to taste it.

Another definite trait of Tex Mex food is there’s not really a singular dish in a plate, what you get are a combination of different items. That boring old steak, when Tex Mex-ed, suddenly has a side dish of refried beans on the side, a slathering of chili sauce, rice and enchilada. We have an old favorite, carne asada tampiquena. You should try it sometime, it’s a fan favorite down in the Southern.

Tex Mex is an acquired taste, but it’s easy getting it since some of the influence is, as mentioned American. Most restaurants that cater to Tex Mex cuisine recieve a good audience, even from out of the country. There isn’t much of a cooking class that teaches Tex Mex, but a good start would be to learn Mexican dishes and the cuisine itself.

Maybe one day, you could open a resto in the heart of Tex Mex state.

Contrary to most beliefs, chili was not made in Mexico. It is actually (as most Texans would insist time and time again) a dish made in the good state of Texas. With the ingenuity of most of the poor people at that time (that time being with the Spanish conquistadors), they had effectively made a dish of all-spice and no meat (with the meat being terrible tasting anyway). Thus, the meat with chili, aka ‘chili con carne’ (is that chili with meat or chili and meat?) was born.

How to make chili? Chili is but sauce, herb and meat; nothing more. Adding other things not part of the basic recipe is usually done only for the flair or for accompanying flavors, but the skeleton of the recipe is enough to keep the mouth occupied.

Get meat, preferably beef. The harder and tougher, the better. Chili was originally made with too hard to eat meat (goat and venison, anyone?), so the cooking time depends on the meat. Also, the longer the chili cooks, the more flavor seeps in and mixes with one another. A good chili cooks for at least more than half a day or so, else you get a separate mixture of meat and beans. Soup not part of the bowl too.

The choice of herbs vary according to your taste, though the preferred chili is dried ancho, a common pepper. Cumin, black pepper, garlic, oregano, onion, sage (if you’re adventurous), and others. Those mentioned above are the most common, and makes for some good chili.

Cook the meat, add the herbs, liquid and slow cook. There are lots of recipes out there, but a good chili is a reheated chili. All chilis follow this rule. Serve the chili, next day, reheated. It’ll taste loads better, flavorful and thick. Extraordinary, yes?

In a previous article I wrote, I had tackled up Fort Worth’s botanical pride; the botanical gardens. After all, the area was just screaming to be written. I think everyone should visit the gardens when they do have the time.

But another garden has caught my attention. Located at the south of downtown, Fort Worth, a 4.3 acre park has stolen my attention. The Fort Worth Water Gardens (this makes me wonder if Fort Worth should get the title as ‘City of Gardens’). Apparently, the whole area was built and designed by Philip Johnson and John Burgee, both respectable New York architects.

The park has been dubbed ‘a cooling oasis in the concrete jungle’(according to wiki) and truthfully, it is. There are a lot of water going around that the spray is enough to keep even the summer doldrums away. There’s a pool of water and a terrace with water flowing downwards into a pool. It shields the park from the heat. There’s also a meditation pool for relaxing (or just keeping the heat away), an aerating pool that has multi-fountains (which also keeps the heat away) and an active pool that is flowing with water and leads down into a 2-feet pool. It’s a very thrilling experience seeing water around you flowing downwards.

Recently, the park has undergone major renovations and fixing so that it was safe for everyone. The renovations had also made it a lot more convenient for some people because it was now accessible via the Convention Center expansion.

Whether you have the time or not, I suggest you visit the place. It is a god-send from a city of concrete. Running water has several benefits that could help you and your physical and mental constitution. But that’s another issue to be discussed.

The name brings thought to some kind of paganistic ritual set out to worship the sun god. But no, it’s not that, and it certainly has nothing to do about the actual sun.

The Sun God festival is an annual celebration held at the University of California in San Diego that usually occurs during the sixth or seventh week of Spring. It is held by the members of the Associated Students Programming office. The event is usually held with a large concern of independent bands, mostly amateur, novice with some mid-level bands. One or two mainstream bands are also in the festival to kick the intensity up a notch. Some of the popular people and groups who were able to earn a name for themselves were Busta Rhymes, Social Distortion, Gwen Stefani and My Chemical Romance.

The festival was held to provide a venue to let the students socialize to the point of bacchanal revelry. For a school that fails at socialization, it is a welcoming point to an almost-dead school. Still, there’s the authority to keep people (and substance abuse) in check. Beer drinking and public displays of affections are just some of the few things you might see during the festivities; testaments to the pent up frustrations of the students (and some of the teachers too).

The festival usually has booths made up of the different student organizations in the area. There’s food (for those lazy to bring their own), drinks (common fan favorite), information (if you get lost) and games (fairs usually have them).

A more discreet event is the Junkyard Derby Downhill Race, where both student and faculty can create downhill racers from old rust buckets.

The festival happens around Mid-May. Don’t forget to bring the usual anti-mosquito lotions and jackets. It’s highly unlikely to get cold, as the heat and the action gets intense as the night turns late.

In a previous article, we talked about the problem with fusing local Californian products in international cooking. Then, of course, I proposed that the answer to that problem, is spice.

Spices are one of the most important ingredients in almost any form of cooking. They are like the beads and baubles in a woman’s wedding dress, the corsage in the man’s tuxedo, the flower petals in the red carpet, the wedding statue on the cake. I use the analogy of marriage because California cuisine IS the marriage of two or ,probably, more cuisines. Simply put, spices are and will be always, an integral part of your cooking arsenal if you plan to tackle Californian cooking.

The amount of spice you employ per dish is going to be small, minuscule even. In a gallon of soup, your spice might only reach a teaspoon. A tablespoon is surely cutting the limit, but it is manageable. Point is, you will have to mix and match spices of differing types and amounts to reach the desired flavor, that will not hide, but complement your dish. Spices are meant to ACCOMPANY the dish, not hide its true flavor. It is there to guide, to strengthen and to supplement the flavors. A tasteless soup gains depth through the right spice.

According to Andrew Lam, author of “California cuisine has turned to Crossroads cuisine”; “To live in California these days is to live at the crossroads of a global society and a global table.” It is no surprise that most of the restaurant and cafe owners in California are of people from different parts of the globe.

California has given birth a lot of current favorites used by other states. The California Maki Roll, Rice Cake (o-mochi) Ice Cream, Pupusarias (stuffed tortillas), Fresh-Mex (a play on Tex Mex, difference being the ingredient’s emphasis is on the ‘fresh’), Chipotle and others. Frying is usually not appreciated, with two foods only given the exception; fish taco and tempura.