In the Mail

Today's Happy Hour will be a good one, assuming we warm up a bit between now and whenever the mood strikes me (I'm still drinkin' my "morning" coffee).  Mainly because I received these in the mail today, in addition to the more-than-my share ration of frickin' junk mail (see left):

That's a box of Drew Estate Toro Negras, which is a damned fine cigar.  We were also pleased to see our buddy Tim tossed in a bag o' three Drew Estate Natural Torpedoes, just out o' the kindness of his heart.  I've said this before:  I LOVE doin' bid'niz with Tim.

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Speakin' o' junk mail... does your Trash folder look like this? 

By "look like this" I mean do you delete about a quarter of your mail unread?  I know there's a cure for this, as in "opt out."  But sometimes I read this stuff.  Not often, just sometimes.

―:☺:―

Tiny Lil Music Review (with apologies to The Shoebox Blog):  Yesterday we received five of the six new CDs we ordered a couple o' few days ago; we've completed the first listen and are well into the second go-round.  The best thang is there ain't a clunker in the bunch; all are VERY pleasing to my ears.  The only bad thang I might possibly say is there doesn't seem to be any one outstanding cut on any of the CDs.  I define "outstanding" as music that raises the hair on my forearms, causes goosebumps to appear unbidden, and makes me want to put that cut on repeat for about an hour.  None such jumped out at me on the first run through, but there MIGHT be one such on the Susan Tedeschi album.... there's potential there.  I knew what I was getting here: a woman who's both an excellent guitarist and a rightful heir to Janis Joplin when it comes to singin' the blues.  Of the five albums I received this one is definitely my favorite... but we still have one album yet to come.

That isn't to say the Alison Krauss, Joan Osborne, or Norah Jones albums are bad... they most definitely aren't.  Ms. Krauss has a voice that can best be described as "sweetness and purity, personified," Norah is Norah... which is to say consistently GOOD, and Joan... well, JOAN.  Ms. Osborne does most excellent covers of several Motown tunes (and others, as well) on this album, and I just might post one or two later today... assuming I can find 'em on the Tube O' You.