"If you have not tried to light your cigarette using a cup of coffee, you have not truly lived!"

Demonic Possession: In the year 1493, a sailor returned to the town of Ayamonte, Spain... returning from his voyage on the Niña with Christopher Columbus. The sailor's neighbors freaked the fuck out when they saw smoke coming from the man, day after day, and they reported him to the Spanish Inquisitors. The Inquisition was more than happy to take another soul into their claws.. and they discovered that the sailor was wrapping dried leaves inside of corn husks and smoking them. The Inquisitors declared the sailor possessed, and imprisoned him for "sinful and infernal" habits.. adding, "only Devil could give a man the power to exhale smoke from his mouth". Rodrigo de Jerez, the sailor who learned how to smoke tobacco from natives in Cuba, was locked in prison for seven years. That's right y'all, Europe's first smoker was imprisoned by the Inquisition because they thought he was possessed. [reference: Wikipedia]. Mad thanks to the "Did You Know?" group on Facebook for the info! For other crazy anti-smoking facts, check out this page [Here on Burn As One].

SuperGrouped & Google: If you Google "Smoking Art", do you know what the #1 site is? If you are in Western Europe, the #1 site is #The-Art-of-Smoking on deviantART. If you're in America, our group is #2, with #1 being Smashing Magazine. To every artist and watcher, welcome to the front page of Google, and mad thanks for being a part of this! deviantART's first pro-smoking group of artists is a SuperGroup! I renewed our SuperGroup account until March 30th of 2013. I know, I know, the world is going to end in December... but a few extra months never hurt anyone. If you want to donate dA Points for next year's SuperGroup update, I started a donation pool [Here on My Profile]. If the world DOES end, then you do not need the extra points that you donate. If the world does NOT end, then every donation helps a lot.. and, who knows, maybe only those who donate points will survive the end of the world. Just saying

Cigars vs. the FDA: In America, tobacco growers and cigar lovers are fighting hard against the FDA and against regulation. Just this week, we got the 25,000 signatures needed on [This Petition] to get the White House to listen. Normally, when you hear about an act in the House, or a bill in the Senate, it is something bad that the government is trying to do. But right now, there is an act and a bill to PROTECT the cigar industry and small businesses. If you are in America, take a moment to tell the House and Senate to support these actions. Here is the petition!

Blood & Flowers: The feature this month was chosen for its excellent tribute to the art of Brian Viveros [Official Site]. Viveros is one of the best macabre artists of our time, filling painting after painting with smoking women, bullets, blood, flowers, camouflage, tattoos, and much more. The word "visceral" best describes his paintings. For anyone who is new to Brian Viveros, check out some of the best [Here on Burn As One]. There ARE many other tributes to Viveros here on deviantART, just search for "viveros" on deviantART. If you have a favorite from the tributes, post it in the comments.

Change Your Username: That's right! If you have a premium membership, you can change your username. Finally!! For a very long time, dA users have asked for this. Now it's here. Check your account settings for how to do it.

Cheers y'all... and mad love!