I am pleased to announce that we are FINALLY going to have our first screening in Los Angeles of BLOWING SMOKE. We would like to invite all those who have been following this blog and who have been patiently waiting to see the movie to join us on April 21, 2005 at a location TBA. This is a one-time opportunity to get a sneak preview before the movie is released in theaters and seating is limited to 100 people. If you would like to attend, please email me your name, contact information, and the names of those who will be joining you at the screening and someone will get back to you to confirm that you are on the list. Remember, seating is limited and only those who are on the list will be admitted into the theater, so please email me as soon as possible to reserve your seat. (For those of you in New York, don't worry about missing out on the Los Angeles screening...we'll be in New York very soon.) See you at the screening! Send emails to kamalski2000@yahoo.com

Watching the 77th Annual Academy Awards I couldn't help but feel disgusted from red carpet to vomit carpet. I was hoping some journalist would have the balls to tell the truth and nothing but the truth so help me god. My prayers were answered and Scott Holleran stepped up to the plate and delivered his commentary "Oscar Without Glamour".
I don't know what it is with women and fashion at the Oscars. Their dresses looked awful, their hair was even worse and their faces seemed like they were dipped in faeces. It seemed like the people who dressed these stars and groomed them did it on purpose just to have the world laugh at them.
It is sad to say that awards these days are not given to those who have an ability to act or for their Oscar-worthy performance but rather the Academy's bullshit politics.
Next Year the Porn Awards should air the same time with the Oscars and I bet you the former would erect higher ratings than the latter.
I rest my balls.

Finally, an intelligent woman who isn't necessarily jumping on to the band wagon of feminism, but rather chooses to believe that women have always had opportunities in all facets of our supposedly "male dominated world", including math and science. In her article La Difference Isn't Rocket Science in the LA TIMES, Catherine Seipp boldly argues that women have always had the opportunities before them, however, some women simply choose not to take on these opportunities.

Bravo, Catherine, for turning the tables away from feminist excuses and back onto women themselves who should take more responsibility for their actions...or lack of actions as the case may be...

After reading Anne Thompson's article in Wired Magazine about F/X Gods, it is evident to me that big names in movies are no longer 100% box office draw or guaranteed success. I can go see a film merely for its special effects content and have it ruined by actors who can sometimes discount the effect value. A good example of that is "The Day After Tomorrow", great effects, boring cast. Sometimes Hollywood does it right by scoring the perfect cast with the perfect effects gods like "The Fifth Element" with Bruce Willis and My favorite Mila Jovovich. Terminator movies with Arnold of course, Resident Evil with, you guessed it, Mila again and so on and so forth. You get the picture...

I've got news for all you cigar smokers out there: Cigar smoking is not just for men anymore. In fact, as more and more women begin taking up the fine art of the cigar, many women are beginning to wonder why we men have failed to introduce them to this pleasurable experience sooner. To be honest, I have struggled with the idea of women invading yet another male-bonding, "guys night out" tradition such as playing golf or poker. Did it ever occur to women that we sometimes WANT to get away from them for a short period of time? All that aside, I do actually appreciate that women are trying out cigars and liking the whole smoking experience. For this reason, I invite newly confirmed women cigar smokers to view this article which not only encourages women to smoke cigars, but also explains the delicate etiquettes accompanying this newfound tradition. Go ahead women, try something new!

A very good friend of mine once told me that any modern marriage would never be successful unless both people entered into this union with an explicit understanding of where both partners stood financially. Marriage is NOT about love, it's about developing a good, sound business contract. I adamantly disagreed. Marriage IS about love and passion and romance and friendship...not about a financial contract. But then I read a piece entitled The Love Business and I began to question my original thoughts on marriage. Am I being extremely naive in thinking that marriage can be a loving and passionate experience without the main focus being a financial one? Maybe not...

I was driving in my car today and saw a bumper sticker that made me take pause:

"Women who strive to be equal with men are simply not that motivated."

Is this statement true? Are we, as women, setting our sites too low by striving for equality with men? An interesting thought...or is it just one more attempt made by a women's lib group to try to emasculate men (ala Gloria Allred)? I don't know about you, but I'm a bit tired of the Alan Alda "sensitive guy routine". Give me a real man who knows his place in the world AND who can understand my many emotional mood swings...but who doesn't cry at beautiful sunsets. Yuck!

So in turn, does my lack of interest in becoming "equal to" or striving to be "better than" men make me unmotivated? Perhaps women should be less concerned with equality or raising the bar and more concerned with finding happiness in the differences between men and women.

Before you get all excited by the headline, things are not what they seem. Chase me ladies, I am in the Cavalry is a hilarious blog that you should not visit until you have plenty of time to read through it and re-enforced sides to boot... A blurb in the side bar pleads:

URGENT! Please send 300 kilos of white mice. No time to explain.

Yep, it's that kind of a blog. Splendid.

Moving onto CASH! This is what Harry of Chase me ladies... has to say about it:

What is the scent women find most attractive? Musk? Pheromones? Eau de Cologne? In fact, it is none of these. The smell that really gets them hot is the smell of CASH!

Dr Herman Van Loon of the University of Nebraska has dedicated his life to isolating scent particles from dollar bills, and has now developed CASH!, the only aftershave made with real money. Wherever you go you'll be followed by the mouth-watering aroma of greenbacks; she'll find you attractive, but she won't know why.

Thanks Jackie for finding such a gem!

The Movieblog.com has an encouraging post about blogs that are getting more attention by independent film producers. Quite rightly, as Richard points out:

I think this is one of the most fascinating uses of blogging, to read about the development of something as it happens. It would be brilliant to read blogs dealing with the production of major pictures, and talking of that I found one.

So there you have it. He is inviting his readers to let him know about more movie blogs and someone linked to the Blowing Smoke blog! Thanks.

Now that the holidays are upon us, it is time to decide what to wish for and email Santa what it is you are craving the most for this holiday season. But what if you were only granted one wish and that was to choose between a woman and a cigar. Which one would you opt for?

Now gentlemen, there’s no need to make a hasty decision here, time is on your side. Since both provide pleasure, you might think you are a winner either way. Which one gives you more satisfaction and you can’t wait to get your hands and mouth on again? Which one relaxes you the most and makes you feel like you are in complete control? Do you think inside the box or outside the box? You know a woman would answer back but what if the cigar can talk back at you, what would it say?

In Blowing Smoke the boys made it clear and had no doubt who their favorite was but that does not necessarily mean you have to follow suit. So give us your opinion.

And just so the ladies don’t feel left out, what if you had to choose between a man and a dog...?

As Blowing Smoke is kinda heavy on cigars (just a bit), we got a fabulous write up in the last month's edition of Cigar Aficionado. We got the permission to reproduce the article for our readers here, so kudos to the magazine. Joel Drucker writes:

Set in a cigar club, the new film Blowing Smoke elevates the stogie to a starring role to help explore man's essential nature...

Were you to consider the cigar as an actor, you'd say that over the years, to use the slang of Hollywood, the cigar gets its share of steady work. When summoned for cinematic duty, the cigar always delivers with brio, hitting its marks and playing its role with style and just enough sparks to make a good scene. In many films the cigar has punctuated the humorous timing of the comedian, the backroom machinations of the politic operator, the dangerous coercion of the gangster and the ambitious swagger of the business titan. No question, the cigar amplifies. Yet despite its many credits and reliability, the cigar has always been strictly a character actor, a sidekick never showcased on the marquee.

That's all about to change with the fall release of Blowing Smoke, the first feature film that places the cigar front and center as both star and venue. Set to make its debut this fall, every scene of Blowing Smoke takes place in what's called The Havana Club, an exclusive cigar club patterned, right down to the humidor and plush couches, after the Grand Havana Room located in Beverly Hills, California.

But Blowing Smoke is no mere travelogue. Its title reveals a story laced with double entendres. On the surface, the plot focuses on six male cigar lovers. Most of these gentlemen hold jobs in the entertainment industry—a business, of course, where blowing smoke in pursuit of fame and riches is no mere tactic, but a fundamental strategy. Each week they gather at The Havana Club after midnight for a high-stakes poker game. As they enjoy their cigars, they continually blow smoke in their conversation. "This is a film about what men talk about among themselves," says writer-director James Orr (other credits include writing Three Men and a Baby and producing Father of the Bride). A charter member of the Grand Havana Room, he wrote, narrated and produced the two-part documentary film The Fuente Family: An American Dream and Fuente Fuente OpusX: Making of a Legend. "You're talking about sports or business, but there's also one thing they talk about most of all when they're by themselves: women. And that's what becomes the big topic in this movie."

The "C" word, the "P" word, what ineffective tools when the intent is to level a blow to a female. Just as when she sees a child throwing a tantrum, she will immediately rise above the effect knowing it says more about the person saying it than about herself.

Vulgarity is general and therefore too blunt of a tool to be effective. The intelligent male knows one must go to great lengths to sink a blade deep into the heart of your victim. You must befriend, and yes, even sleep with the enemy. For the only way to manage a killing blow, is if your victim actually cares about your opinion. Once this trust is gained and vulnerability established: fire at will.

After walking behind her up the stairs:

You should come work out with me, my gym is really great, they have trainers that help you with dieting, and lots of cool stuff. Wouldn't that be fun?

After visiting her work or viewing any artistic endeavor:

It's not your fault, people can't help how much talent they're born with.

After sex:

That was the best ever, I only had to imagine my ex 2 or 3 times!

And:

You're so ugly when you cry.
Aren't you afraid that if you have children, that they'll be like you?
Now I see why your father abandoned you.
You are exactly like your mother in every way.
I guess you can't help who you are, it's just tragic that no one will ever fall in love with who you are.

Etc. You get the idea.
May your battles be glorious.

Fellow Blowers, many of you have been asking, "When do we get to see this controversial film we've been hearing about?"

We are working on a February release date, starting in New York and then working our way across the country. We’ll keep you posted on the blog as we go. In the meantime, keep blowing...smoke.

And if you just can’t wait to see the movie…

Then I have a suggestion for you. Gather a group of 100 or more people in any major city across the country (Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, etc.), we will bring the movie to you for a screening of the Blowing Smoke. That way you can have your very own Sneak Preview!

Last night over dinner, wine and cigars, a friend told me he’d had an "angry fuck" the other night.

It was with a very attractive woman who was being such a bitch, as beautiful woman are wont to do, that he was ready to ask her to leave, but instead he had sex with her. I thought there was some meaningful irony in the story so I asked him, why would anyone want an “angry fuck”. In fact, I wondered, why would he want to be anywhere near a woman he was that angry with.
He replied “oh, because Angry Fucks are the best fucks”.

Then the conversation changed. But I couldn’t get it out of my head. I zoned out for the rest of the evening and I continued thinking about it on the drive home.

WHAT IS A WOMAN
An angel of truth and a dream of fiction
A woman is a bundle of contradiction
She's afraid of a wasp, will scream at a mouse
But will tackle her boyfriend alone in the house
She'll take him for better, she'll take him for worse
She'll break open his head and then be his nurse
But when he's well and can get out of bed
She'll pick up the teapot and aim for his head
Beautiful and keenly sighted, yet blind
Crafty and cruel, yet simple and kind
She'll call him a king, then make him a clown
Raise him on a pedestal, then knock him flat down
She'll inspire him to deeds that ennoble man
Or make him her lackey to carry her fan
She'll run away from him and never come back
But if he runs away, then she'll be on his tracks
Sour as vinegar, sweet as a rose
She'll kiss you one minute, then turn up her nose
She'll win you in range, enchant you in silk
She'll be stronger than brandy, milder than milk
At times she'll be vengeful, merry and sad
She'll hate you like poison, and love you like mad

WHAT IS A MAN
Horny.