Room 101  SAN ANDRES 808 Gordo 6 x 60

hints of cedar, leather, and nuts. The blend transitions from enticing spices to euphoric cocoa.

This cigar is a joint venture by both Matt Booth and Christian Eiroa. This cigar has been in on of my humidors since 2022.

Visiting a cigar bar in Florida offers a unique experience that combines relaxation, luxury, and a touch of tradition. Whether you’re a seasoned smoker or new to the world of cigars, understanding cigar etiquette can greatly enhance your experience. In Miami’s vibrant cigar culture, these unwritten rules are not just about manners; they’re about fully immersing yourself in the enjoyment of a fine cigar.

Maybe a stupid question but one I've asked myself, what's the difference in between a butch and a masc for you ? Is there one ?

not a stupid question! "butch" is an older word with more meanings across time. to straight people it's been a military style haircut, a male name (still a few old guys named butch in the US), and a fairly uncomplicated synonym for masculine. to lesbians, bisexuals and gay men, it's been all of the above, but it's also had a whole host of other connotations specific to us and our own ways of loving/performing masculinity. a lot of the different meanings of butch have faded or fallen out of fashion over the years, but the word has more or less kept its purpose among lesbians, giving it the lesbian tint it has today.

"masc" is a much newer term, and unlike butch, i don't believe it's ever been widely used by the straight mainstream. (not a lot of grandpas named masc out there.) it's my impression that masc first spread out from gay guys on grindr, or at least that played a big part in popularizing it, and it's been used pretty much exclusively in an lgbt context ever since. in that sense it's the word with the more explicitly queer origin, despite having a much shorter history. having risen to popularity in the age of social media, masc carries none of the historical baggage of butch, and as such it's a more open-ended term, implying very little about a person beyond their masculinity. you can see this difference exemplified in google search results: while looking up butch will primarily yield information about the word's significance to lesbians, masc will net you more neutral descriptions, like "a person whose gender identity is masculine, but who is not necessarily a man."

despite all that, masc and butch usually serve the same function (to express the masculinity of the subject) and are used pretty much interchangeably in many contexts. also worth noting is that the lesbian association of butch is not a rule, just an observation i've made about modern perceptions. bisexual women have always used butch (and femme) alongside lesbians, and to this day you'll still encounter gay men – usually older – who identify as butch. so in conclusion, if you're trying to pick what label to use for yourself, i wouldn't worry about it too much. both terms have room enough for you in them.

Cigars are used in ceremonies as a way to communicate with the Orishas, or deities.

A good cuban cigar closes the door on the vulgarities of the world.

- Franz Lizst

Hot cat on a tin roof.

(If you don't get it, you need to get you some fuckin' culture, son!)

AI Generated Image

tf2 mercs and the smokes i think they would pick up from a gas station. source: i work at a gas station

reasonings below the cut:

scout: i chose newport red shorts for him because i feel like he would think menthol is for losers. newports to me are a very. basic cigarette. the layman's cig. i also find newports, especially red newports to be a little nasty lol. also i dont see him as much of a cigarette smoker but i do think he smokes every once in a while, esp if hes really stressed out or had a bad match. his 1 box will last him a few months. after a while i think he would switch to newport gold shorts, as theyre lighter.

soldier: i know theres a lot of art of soldier smoking cigars, esp blue soldier. while i don't disagree with that notion, i dont think hes coming into a convenience store and picking up a pack of cigarillos. i went with lucky strike red shorts because theyre an All American cigarette and have been around forever. theyre on the cheaper side as well and he smokes them in Emesis Blue. i didn't go with american spirits because theyre advertised as an "organic" cigarette, and i feel that he would find that to be pretentious and an overall turn off. also american spirits are more expensive.

pyro: i dont think pyro is a tobacco smoker. if the pyro is smoking anything its going to be weed wrapped in a banana backwoods. banana is one of the more strange flavors backwoods has, and i feel like they would go for something on the fruitier side. i also chose backwoods because backwoods fucking rule and the shits look like twigs bc theyre full leaf wraps. i also feel like they would choose banana because none of the other mercs would want to smoke that.

demo: with demo it was more a process of elimination than anything. i dont think he's a cigarette smoker. so i went with a cigarillo because i can so very clearly see him smoking one. i don't think he would go for swishers as a lot of them are fruity, and that doesn't seem up demo's alley. i went with white owl sweets because theyre simple and straight forward, and i feel he would like a pack of sweets. to be honest, im a little shaky on this one, but i don't think anything else would suit him besides like. game greens. to be fair, i don't think he smokes much, and would probably go for something higher quality and hand wrapped if he was smoking a cigar. overall he would get these if he needed something quick and cheap.

heavy: idk about other stores but my store has 1 million dorals and nobody is buying them except for maybe one person every 6 months. heavy is that person. if heavy is smoking anything he's smoking light 100s because i can't see him smoking or liking a rich or full flavor cigarette. also dude is big so he's not getting shorts because they're too small and will be gone in two seconds. these smokes are a mystery to me; i have no idea of the quality or price range. but in my mind i can see him coming up to my counter, asking for these, and leaving without a word.

engie: i almost went with marlboro southern cut for this guy but it felt too on the nose, even if i think he would enjoy the smoke of those. i went with honey bourbon backwoods instead. the flavor seems right up his alley, and i can clearly see him asking for these at a convenience store. as to what he does with them... i can see him smoking them as they come in the package, or using them as a wrap. overall engie looks like he drinks good whiskey, and these cigars look like good whiskey. well... bourbon.

medic: i had a hard time deciding what medic would smoke and went thru all the brands i know of. at first i discounted marlboro because of how commonly bought they are, figuring he would smoke something weirder. but when i came back to it i had figured he would enjoy menthols, and i landed on marlboro menthol blue 100s. he wouldn't go for full flavor, as they would irritate his throat. i feel like smoking these shits would be like sipping cold water after having mint gum. i mean, they're described as "smooth" and "cool." medic is smoking basically spearmint and cold water, but not enough to the point of where he's buying a pack of marlboro ice and its variants of gum package looking cigs.

sniper: i chose cheyenne menthols for him because to me sniper looks like he loves old school shit. the youngest person i have seen come in and buy these has been maybe 40. i don't think he would go for a basic cigarette. cheyennes are box cigars, and a box of these goes for under $3, and typically have more tobacco in them. i feel as if he would enjoy that as well as menthol full flavor, and the smokes themselves are brown instead of white. i can see him smoking a brown looking cigarette so clearly. also the packaging has an outdoorsy look to it lol. basically, i just Know he would go for these. if he was going to go for anything else, he might smoke camel menthol wides. he would also pick up zig zag unbleached cones for his joints.

spy: look we all know spy is smoking that hoity-toity imported french bullshit but if for whatever reason he had to pick up a pack a cigs from a mobil or something it would be parliament blue 100s. i already think he smokes 100s in general, and would go for parliaments because theyre expensive. where im from they sell for like $13 a pack and its always dudes in suits and/or gold chains asking for these things. the packaging isn't an issue here as spy keeps them in a case, but i don't feel like he would turn up his nose at it. overall these are his best option for a gas station cig.

Yesterday's haul

Liga Undercrown Sungrown Robusto (5" x 54)

Ave Maria Ark of the Covenant (4.5" x 60)

La Palina Illumination Robusto (4.7" x 54)

i always feel so childish compared to other ppl i. fandom spaces even if we’re in the same fandom. Like wdym you have a HUSBAND AND BABY?? wdym YOU SMOKE CIGARS??? wdym YOURE A LITERAL ROCKET SCIENTIST???? wdym YOURE GOING TO BE A GRANDMOTHER???????????????

I hate digital media taking over physical media, bro. I hate how if it’s edited or changed from the original that there’s no way to really get the original version without spending a ton of money or pirating from shady sites. I hate weird “modern sensibilities” censorship that’s ultimately meaningless (ex: Disney Plus version of a short that removes a scene just because Donald is smoking a cigar for a few seconds) and prevents any historical media analysis.

Properly used, a cigar is a stimulus to conversation, a solvent of awkwardness and a reminder that life is a blessing, and other people, too.

- Sir Roger Scruton

”that womanhood is sacred and divine and specific and cant be dirty or ugly or annoying or come in different shapes and sizes. we are slowly turning back to being pure and beautiful as possible through some warped ass tiktok “spirituality”” With all due respect, Catholicism seems to.. encourage this? I can provide evidence from magisterial documents. I greatly respect and admire your Church, but gender roles in Catholicism are a source of endless confusion for me. I see a lot of Catholics here seem to reject the idea altogether, even though the Church does seem to promote “male/female complementarity” and “traditional gender roles.” I’m not a particularly “masculine” man so it effects me too.. one day I’m going to tag all of you with all my confusion and magisterial sources (I’m on anon because I’m shy but I do have an account) because it’s been driving me slightly mad-

The Church's understanding of gender roles are far as it impacts cultural participation has evolved over time, so the way magisterial documents might have talked narrowly regarding the expression of gender in like, the 19th century is not necessarily reflective of current Church understanding.

Contrary to popular belief, sometimes Church officials do confuse cultural norms for moral guidelines, or else assume that one begets the other when that's not always true. (E.g. "This is the way we always did it" mentality, so there's often a desire to morally justify such things even when it's not a moral question). I mean, there's been points in Church history where the magisterium defended institutionalized slavery and even prostitution - obviously that's no longer considered viable moral arguments.

Regarding the post you're referencing: the point is that modern feminist rhetoric has become so reactionary against the "women are inferior" sexism prevalent in historical social culture, that they've started going too far and acting like merely being a woman makes you a perfect human being. But only if they act like women in a specific way (i.e. still adhering to social norms). So it ends up being regressive.

The Church does believe the two sexes are manifestly different, and that there are qualities specific to both. For example, only a woman can be a mother, just like only a man can be a priest, because sex is as theological as it is biological. However, the Church has never taught that somehow being female magically makes a person better, or "pure", or objectively beautiful (in the superficial sense). Being an extant female is not a virtue; what you do with your femininity can be virtue.

So no, I can't say that I agree that Catholicism encourages regressive post-feminist views of womanhood as it relates to that post.