if you can, try to buy what's known as hardneck or stiffneck garlic. it has a much better, less bitter falvor. the cloves have a purple-ish tinge, and the center of the head is a little stem, not the increasingly smaller cloves as you find in normal garlic. a friend's brother grows these upstate ny (i didn't know it was garlic country either), and they are fantastic. i savor them every time she goes to visit him and brings me back a little bag. i store them in a brown paper bag on the counter so they last for a pretty long time, but i'm not sure how long since they never last...
p-top, i love watching yan chop. i saw him at a local home and garden show a few years ago. i have tried to imitate him, but i start to get scared for my fingers and have to slow down.