Archive for November, 2006

Create An Illusion With Glow In The Dark Contact Lens

Tuesday, November 28th, 2006
Contact Lens
Jim Kesel asked:

Glow in the dark contact lens is also now available in the market. They are an innovation when it comes to special effect contact lens.

The usual type of contact lens just either help enhance the eye’s natural color or bring it out with the use of other eye colors. Some can also create illusions with the use of extraordinary colors such as yellow and red. Some go as far as placing shapes on contact lenses to create the illusion of a magical pupil or something otherworldly. However, glow in the dark contact lens put all those innovation into a whole new level.

The glow in the dark contact lens is generally used for theatrical purposes. Those who wanted to create a spookier costume presentation for Halloween would also benefit a lot from using glow in the dark contact lens. Once worn, it definitely calls for attention and therefore produces a lot of audience impact.

These contact lenses can be further customized to illuminate different images in the lens itself to make them more unique. It can also be built within shapes to create a more awesome look. No matter how innovating the designs or shapes maybe, they can still amaze those people who have tried them on. The only thing the wearer should keep in mind is that it must be relative dark in order to see the full effects to the glowing lens.

So what’s the trick behind that glow in the dark look? This type of contact lens makes use of luminescent material which is safely placed on its surface. However, in choosing a lens with specifications like this, it is important to look at its accreditation. It is highly advisable to use only those which colors are approved by the FDA. Make sure your eye doctor gives his or her approval before trying on an unknown brand of specialty contact lenses.

In addition, this type of lens should also be purchased with proper prescription. It is important to consult a licensed optometrist first before availing one. As soon as you get an approval to wear a theatrical contact lens, the next important thing to do is find a reliable contact lens seller. This is important so that the quality of lens is ensured. Also, it’s very appropriate to buy only those which have proven their name over the years since there’s additional material being placed on this lens’ surface which is not a simple process.

Some brands of glowing contact lenses are not recommended to be worn while driving at night. Apparently the glare of oncoming vehicle headlights have cause some people to have vision problems. Again talk to your eye doctor if you have any questions as any possible limitations that may be involved with wearing theatrical contact lenses.

It is strongly recommended that this type of contact lens should be used by only one wearer. This is not intended for borrowing because that would be very unhygienic and potentially dangerous to the eyes. Your Glow in the dark contact lens should also be taken cared of and cleaned just like any normal contact lenses. Failure to do so may lead to serious consequences.

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The History (And Value) Of Cigar Bands

Wednesday, November 22nd, 2006
Cigars
Garson Smart asked:

For many cigar smokers, the small paper band encircling their stogy is just a piece of trash, to be discarded along with the shrinkwrap around the box. But for others that cigar band is a bit of history - a collectible that adds immeasurably to the romance and mystique of smoking.

What is the cigar band, and how did it become so important? As is so often true when it comes to cigars, the story begins in Cuba - early-19th-century Cuba, to be exact, when that island nation had already come to be recognize as the cigar capital of the world. At that time cigar packaging was minimal - often no more than a wooden barrel or box, with the manufacturer’s name inscribed. The cigars themselves were generally left blank. This situation, not surprisingly, created a cheat’s paradise, in which cheap European cigars were bundled in boxes with “Cuban” markings on them and sold, domestically, to unsuspecting customers who thought they were getting fine imported Cubans.

Gustave Bock, a Dutch immigrant who owned a cigar factory in Cuba in the 1830s, is credited with being the first to place a paper band around his cigars. (Bock’s “cigar band” was just a paper ring with his signature on it.)

Many other makers adopted this practice, to the point where, by 1855, most Cuban cigar exporters were using them. These bands cut down on instances of counterfeiting while giving cigar manufacturers a way to increase name recognition and loyalty.

The practice spread from Cuba to cigar makers everywhere, and its popularity was encouraged by breakthroughs in printing technology, which developed alongside changes in the economy of Europe and the Americas that favored cigar smoking. Specifically, cheap color printing (through chromolithographic processes developed in Germany) was made widely available during the latter part of the century, and paper-embossing followed in the 1880s.

Between the expansion of the cigar industry and the new possibilities developed by the printing industry, a “Golden Age” of cigar advertising was almost guaranteed, and that’s what followed. Cigar makers began working not only to manufacture their cigars, but to differentiate their products from others. The late 19th and early 20th centuries featured elaborate, distinctive cigar box and cigar band artwork, often produced by highly-regarded commercial artists. These well-wrought bands featured images of famous figures of the day, historical figures, nationalistic imagery, nature scenes and animals. As with today’s postage stamps, special bands would be made to commemorate special events.

And, also like stamps, the bands had that combination of ephemerality and workmanship that so often draws collectors. While they were often well-made, they weren’t intended to last - so they gave collectors a challenge, as baseball cards, comic books and cheap children’s toys would later in the 20th century. And they always gave off a whiff of nostalgia, reminding dedicated smokers of good times shared with a cigar and a friend.

Children also found these bands attractive, since they were often left discarded on streets during the height of cigar-smoking’s popularity. Manufacturers even made “albums” with blank pages in which a person’s cigar band collection could be displayed - the forerunner of those plastic display sheets that every sports-card collector knows so well.

Adding to the boom in band collecting, some cigar makers gave premiums to customers who turned in a certain number of bands - everything from a set of children’s silverware (50 bands) to a Scientific American subscription (600 bands) to a baby grand piano (180,000), according to the American Cigar Co. catalog of 1904. (Those of you who used to collect Marlboro Miles during the 1990s should be feeling deja vu right about now.)

After World War I, cigars fell in popularity relative to cigarettes. Cigar makers stopped putting as much energy into the production of attractive cigar bands, as it became more necessary to cut costs. Cigar bands - at least in the US - grew generic, boring. The cost cut wasn’t enough - many thousands of cigar companies closed up shop for good in the US during the ’20s and ’30s.

Band collecting continues in the US among a hardy group mostly consisting of old-timers and nostalgia buffs, but in Europe it remains a thriving hobby, and cigar makers there continue to print colorful but cheap bands, some of which come as part of a series (again like stamps), others of which are created specifically for collectors.

Cigar Order

Wedding Thriller Dance

Thursday, November 9th, 2006
rockwoodcomic asked:

The original! (Subscribe and you’ll know when the sequel comes out.) Our entire wedding party does the Thriller dance at our reception. You can drop us a line or ask any questions at the Rockwood http://www.rockwoodcomic.com site. We do read all of your comments here, but if you want a response you’re better off trying the comic site.

Best Wedding

No Credit Check Instant Personal Loans: Attain Fast Cash and Handle All the Financial Problems

Friday, November 3rd, 2006
Personalized Checks
Gray Smith asked:

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