The Science of a Champagne Bottle

I love champagne.  My close friends know this well and now you do too.  My current favorite is Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin.  I'm fanatical about it probably to a fault.  I used to be all about Dom Perignon but once I tasted Veuve, it was over in a hurry.  Plus, I couldn't find vintage 1998 so regularly anymore and that started to annoy me.

While I knew the champagne bottle was shaped the way it is for it's specific purpose, a few of these points I did not know.  I thought I'd share it with you so you can impress someone the next time you have champagne.

The Cork - Usually larger than corks used to seal wine, champagne corks are made in two parts: the bottom (inside the bottle) is a natural cork composite while the top (outside the bottle) is a mix of cork bits glued together. Corks are straight when first put into the bottle then swell when removed, creating the famous mushroom shape.

The Wire Cage - The first champagne bottles used string to restrain the cork, but in 1844 Adolphe Jacquesson invented the metal cage system we still use today.

The Foil - Foil was needed to deter rats and other pests from nibbling on the cork. Now it's a decorative and traditional part of the champagne experience.

The Rim - It's there strictly to serve as an anchor for the wire cage.

The Glass - The glass in champagne bottles is much thicker than that in wine bottles due to the pressure, which can be upwards of 70-100 pounds per square inch. The very first champagne bottles were not as thick and strong as they are today and bottles (especially when kept in volume in champagne cellars) were considered somewhat dangerous as they regularly exploded.

The Indentation - The indentation in the bottom of the bottle isn't a sneaky way of serving less champagne per bottle, but instead a means of keeping the pressure from building up near the bottom. Also called the punt or 'kick-up,' it helps redistribute the pressure to keep the bottle from exploding.

Source

Game Rebellion EP Release Party (Pics)

The Game Rebellion EP release party was off the chains!  I nodded my head, I danced, I thrashed, I moshed, I took pics and I had a blast.  Picked up "Sounds Like A Riot" with the purchase of my ticket.  If you're sick of the same ol' same ol', you need to pick this up.

The show opened up with Donnis performing 3 songs.  Check his myspace to download his 10.Deep mixtape and check out the songs he performed last night. I actually first heard of Donnis back when I was living in Japan.  He put his first disc out independently over there and we have a very good mutual friend.  I put them back in contact so that was a beautiful thing.  He took off a little early as he had to prep for a XXL photo shoot.  Look for him in the upcoming issue.

 

After Donnis' 3 songs the show went into overdrive.  Kidz in the Hall came on and did several songs from "The In Crowd".  I picked up a copy for $10.00 bucks as it's a dope ass album and $5.00 of the purchase was being donated to YELE.  They really gave a great performance and shut the place down when they performed "Drivin' Down The Block (Low End Theory)".  Their label mate Buckshot came through but I didn't get a chance to get a pic of him as I was all into the show.

 

 

Game Rebellion premiered the video for "Blind" and then the place went into a frenzy!  The mosh pit started up and fists, elbows and bodies altogether were all over the place.  Their set was just amazing.  Netic is a truly skilled MC and he kept us hanging on every word on every song.  Looking at the album credits, he's damn near solely responsible for "Sounds Like A Riot". 

 

 

 

I have a bunch more photos and some really great shots to post up but I may have lost them.  I was jumping around with my cam a few times and probably destroyed some data doing it.

I think this is dope.

 

 

Heatrocks for Haiti

As we all know, there is a calamity of gigantic proportions happening just 700 miles from the United States. This earthquake has left tens of thousands of people dead and many more injured and homeless waiting for aid.
  

The original "Heatrocks for Charity" campaign came about after Katrina. The folks at Soulstrut.com, a record collecting/hip-hop message board got together and auctioned off all kinds of rare records, the proceeds of which went to charities doing work around the disaster. In total they managed to raise over $100,000 for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. They hope to recreate such magic to help our dear neighbors in Haiti.  

Head over to Soulstrut for the record auctions.  If you're a fan of vinyl, you'll find some incredibly rare records up and it's all for a good cause.  Shout out to Team L.A.R.K. member Richard for the heads up. He has an auction up for a rare groove instrumental record called "Express Rising".

 

Afro-Punk x Converse

 

Limited to just 50 pairs, this release was a special treat for fans of Afro-Punk bands.  I'm breaking them out for the first time tonight to hit the Game Rebellion EP release party.

Biddy Early's/Hudson Terrace

One a.k.a. Henry the Handsome Hero

I made my trek downtown last night with some friends to meet up with my boy One who's visiting from L.A.  He was making stops throughout the day and night and we caught up with him at Biddy Early's.  The meeting was brief as he had to get up early in the a.m. to meet another group of friends before he heads back to the west coast on Monday.  It was great to see him again.  Safe travels, Homie!

 

Beer Pong Heaven

We hung out a Biddy's and had a few drinks and appetizers as we waited for out entire party to show up.  Once everyone was together, we all headed to a rooftop party at Hudson Terrace.  It was my first time visiting and I was thoroughly impressed with the venue.  I can imagine how dope it would be in the summer.  The entire roof of the spot opens and closes.  When we walked in, the place was packed.  The music was pumping (supplied by DJ AQ) and everyone was having a good time.

My crew...

 

 

 KleanKicks

Alan

Judy Jane (l.) and Lindy Poppet (r.)

Wendy

Riddle Fontaine

 Last, but not least...