At 1800® Tequila, we are dedicating to showcasing the most cutting edge artists in the world - art and artists who are Essential in creating the most exciting modern work. We are after artists who, like 1800® Tequila, make it their goal to Follow Their Own Path. Once a year, we hold the Essential 1800® series where one winner will have his/her work featured on a prominent billboard in the arts district of the major city from where they reside. In addition to this, 1800® Tequila will provide the winner with a $10,000 cash prize to help further their career. The judging panel will be made up from members of the family who own 1800® Tequila and the 1800® Tequila management.

Separately the five (5) highest rated bottles ("runners up") will receive complimentary printing of their artwork/ design onto an 1800® Tequila Bottle. 

You can hit the 1800 site HERE to upload your art, or take a look at the bottles already submitted.

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April beat out 999 other women to take home the title, and overall I think it's a good choice.

You can check out the Top 10 Finalists HERE to see who she beat for the title, and you can check out April's page HERE to see exactly why she the winner.

Colombian Gold cigars are handcrafted from six year aged tobacco, which provides unique flavors like no other cigars. The fillers, binder and cigar wrapper are all grown from the rich fertile soils of the northern Andean region in Colombia, South America. "The wrapper is an oily, seamless maduro casing that helps deliver smooth and creamy, well balanced and complex flavors," said Senor Juarez, the entrepreneur behind the product launch. "Experienced cigar smokers will appreciate the intoxicating Colombian tobaccos and aromas of this blend."

The contest is a pretty simple one:

This week I would like you share with us your very first cigar purchase. Did you go to a local cigar shop, order online, or something different? How was the experience overall?

All you need to do is go to the website HERE, and post a comment answering the above question. A winner will be chosen on Sunday November 23, 2008, and you're only allowed to answer once.

There's only about 20-25 entries so far, so at the moment, your odds are pretty good as far as contests go.

Italian designers Dolce & Gabbana have created a collection of one-off crocodile bags for men as part of their Spring / Summer 2009 offerings. The One-of-A-Kind collection "blends together the artisan leather tradition of Tuscany with Dolce & Gabbana's innovative use of precious materials," the company notes and crafted out of "the finest mix of luxurious multi-colored crocodile skin in a unique and not-reproducible combination meant for those men who are looking for the ultimate object of desire."

First off, how exactly is this *not* a purse? Second, for your super exclusive one-of-a-kind bag, you'll have to cough up $50,000. You read that right, $50,000 for your "limited edition 1 of 1" bag.

If anyone out there is considering this, please contact me. I'll introduce you to a nice place called Las Vegas, and be happy to show you there's a hell of a lot better things to do with $50k than buy a man bag.

Macallan is selling 1,000 limited-edition bottles of its oak 30-year-old single malt whiskey, each with a unique Polaroid snap taken by the photographer Rankin.

Rankin, a famed Scottish photographer, was chosen to spend a summer interpreting the The Macallan Estate through his camera lens and capture it on Polaroid. Since Polaroid was discontinued this year, The Masters of Photography represents the end of an era, and adds to limited edition of the bottles.

The black-and-white pictures include Rankin's muse Tuuli, pictures of Easter Elchies House, shots of craftspeople at the distillery and still life images of the surrounding flora and fauna at the estate.

Rankin said: "This project is very special to me for two reasons. Firstly, I've been able to come back to the country of my birth and portray its beauty through one of the most ambitious projects I've ever attempted.

"The second reason is that this collection marks the full stop after Polaroid, as we head into the digital age."

Each bottle comes in a black leather box lined with velvet which also contains the original Rankin Polaroid used for the bottle, and a booklet of authenticity signed by Rankin. A bottle will cost you around $1,300.

You can read more about the project at the Macallan Masters of Photography site HERE.

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Autoblog caught one out an about, and has some pictures of it, and the crowed that gathered around to take a look. From the site:

The Dodge EV is essentially a Lotus Europa, but uses lithium batteries and a 268 hp electric motor in place of the standard 2.0L four cylinder engine and transmission. It promises a range of 150-200 miles and a 0-60 time of under 5 seconds. It's a full-blown, plug-in EV, just like the Tesla Roadster, and should require a 4-hour recharge from a 220V outlet or 8 hours on a 110.

You can read the whole article, and take a look at the other pictures that they have, over at the Autoblog site HERE.

Jermain Taylor took a major step forward on the comeback trail Saturday night by pounding out a unanimous decision victory against his 2000 Olympics roommate Jeff Lacy.

Both Taylor and Lacy hoped to use the HBO-televised bout in Nashville as a steppingstone toward rejuvenating their careers, but Taylor was the aggressor from the start and won easily by scores of 119-109 on two judges cards and 118-110 on the third.

You can read the whole HBO article HERE.

You can also read another take on the fight,and more about both boxer's futures, over at the always good East Side Boxing site HERE.

This 33 disc set contains all 86 original episodes, as well as an interview with series creator David Chase conducted by Alec Baldwin and two "Supper With the Sopranos" featurettes that will show cast members sitting down for dinner to discuss their favorite episodes. Other features include: Sopranos Spoofs, 2 CD soundtracks on 3 discs, a 16 page episode guide and a 56-page collector's album.

The set sells for $255 at Amazon HERE, which is quite a deal considering the individual seasons cost around $40, and all the extras they're throwing in.

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THE SHELBY BLACK HORNET

Created under the direction of racing legend Carroll Shelby, the 1968 Shelby EXP500 CSS “Black Hornet” pays tribute to its chrome and green prototype, the Shelby Green Hornet. Like its predecessor, the Shelby Black Hornet sports the famous scoops and stripes, powered by a Cobra Jet 428 V8 engine with a heart-pounding 335 horsepower. It began life as a vintage 1968 Mustang, and was transformed into an authentic Shelby muscle car worthy of inclusion in the Shelby Worldwide Registry. In its next life, it could be yours.

A LETTER FROM CARROLL SHELBY

On December 2, I'll kick off the holiday season with my friends at Restoration Hardware for a once-in-a-lifetime auction of my very own 1968 Shelby EXP500 CSS "Black Hornet." EBay will host the global auction, with bidding beginning at $100,000 and with all of the proceeds going to my charity, the Carroll Shelby Children's Foundation™. In 1991, I made a promise to help children in need of heart and kidney care while lying in the hospital waiting for my own heart transplant. So mark your calendars for December 2 and make this holiday one to remember for you and children all over the world.

The auction will run from December 2 - 12.

If you're the Grand Prize winner, you receive two round trip tickets to Las Vegas, a three night stay at Mandalay Bay, two ticket to the Cirque du Soleil show KA, dinner for two at Craftsteak (which is excellent) and two passes for the Spa at Mandalay Bay.

All you have to do is fill out you information on the site HERE. The contest ends on December 31, 2008.