HMAs

It continues to befuddle me how people go through the painful and convoluted process to buy a home (and usually a damn expensive one at that) and yet sign away any semblance of freedom by putting their name on the contract of some ridiculous "Homeowners Association". Agreeing that another group of people will tell you what kind of plants you are allowed to put in your yard, if you can fly Old Glory, when you have to turn your lights off, the precise color you are allowed to paint your house, and whether or not you are permitted to have a motorcycle, vegetable garden, or a pickup truck. WTF happened to the United States, a historically individualistic society, signing away your life to live in a commune? What happened to the 'American Dream'? The horror stories are numerous, here's the latest I'm aware of:

LINK

Only one of many. I've seen million-dollar houses in these "gated communities" where they even specified when trees will be trimmed. Do these people not realize that they could buy a couple acres of land, have a house built on it, and be free to do as they damn well please with it? I invite any who can enlighten me as to the benefit of joining a 'homeowner's association' vs. keeping your testicles to drop me a line.

Why not just rent a house if you want people micromanaging you? To me, if you're dumb enough to sign on to this crap you deserve whatever idiocy follows because you agreed to be a sheep. Have fun, komrad!

Return from Makin Island

Nice video on the return of 19 Marine Raiders killed on Makin Island (now Butaritari) for burial in Arlington. The villagers took good care of them, and it is moving that how the only English the elder knew was the 'Marine Song' taught to him in 1942 as a teenager. He still remembered it, and he sang it for them when these Marines left for home in caskets over half a century later.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6f_FvZpm3g


On Memorial Day here in the United States, it is proper to think of and honor men like these, their ultimate sacrifice, and the impact they made. The real deal. It isn't just a day off and an excuse to fire up the grill. Always remember those fallen warriors who safeguarded the freedoms we enjoy today, from every service and from every walk of life.

Wm. Penn Panetela - disgusting!

I've reneged on my promise to keep reviewing cigars on here. Though I have smoked some real beauties and continue to age and enjoy cigars it became boring and ostentatious to me to write about them. I even stopped keeping 'tasting notes' and simply keep the bands. A good cigar is one you like. Try whatever one strikes your fancy and see what you think.

But I just have to warn people about Wm. Penn panetelas. I don't mind cheap machine mades but these ooze thick black tobacco juice in your mouth like a pipe that hasn't been cleaned in a month. Horrible. Has nobody in that company actually tried one? It makes no difference if you smoke it fast or slow, whether it's humidified or dry, how much of it you smoke, or what the weather's like. Nasty, nasty shit. Don't buy these. The Perfectos are alright - about like a White Owl Invincible. But I won't be buying from these people again, despite their long history.

Nobody thinks

Yet more stupidity. Has anyone read a label, listened to an ad, or read a slogan and actually thought about what it said? Obviously the people that write them don't, or they figure that in a country that cares more about the foibles of people on 'American Idol' than the fact that they don't have a damn job it doesn't really matter.

Case in point. On a can of Del Monte fruit: "Same Nutrients as Fresh!" Why the hell wouldn't it have the 'same nutrients as fresh'? It's goddamn fruit.

I saw a semi the other day and the slogan of the trucking company was: 'We Do It Right the First Time'. Let's think about this for a second. The truck goes to point A and the people load goods onto the truck to take to point B. The truck drives to point B and the people there offload the goods. It seems to me that this is a job you either do or you don't do - there is no doing it "right". There is no scale of quality in taking stuff from one place to another. If you go to the wrong place then you haven't done the job...there's no "right" or "wrong" about it. If they do it "right", how in the heck do you do it "wrong"? Drive in reverse while smoking crack the whole way?

I heard a radio ad for some program which purports to be a method for curing alcoholism at home. That's interesting in itself. But what I really found intriguing is that they said "If this isn't the most effective at-home program to stop drinking you've tried we'll refund your money!" I wondered if there are any other ones to compare it with, yes, but I got to thinking...how would you get your money back anyway?

You would have to pay for and do their entire lengthy program and have it fail. Then you would have to pay for and do the entire program from a competitor and have it work. Then you would have to go back to the people from the first program and show that you followed both to the letter, you are no longer a drunk, and that it was the second program that did it so you can get your money back in the unlikely event that that company even exists any more. Gimme a break.

America's Observance Madness

Just today, I was looking to see if I might have a paid holiday in June, so I Googled 'June Holidays' and what the hell do I get? This:

http://www.brownielocks.com/june.html

Effing 'Fish are Friends, not Food Week' (what the hell were these people smoking?), 'Upsy Daisy Day', 'Do-Dah' day, and wouldn't you know it - June is goddamn 'Pharmacists Declare War on Alcoholism' Month. Apparently it's unacceptable that people are dependent on alcohol when in the name of all that is right and decent they should be hooked on anti-depressants.

Christ, every day of the calendar commemorates some stupid shit or another in the US. Can't we just have one damn day that is a regular old day? One where you drag your tired old ass into work and then go home and eat dinner? Who in the blue funk celebrates 'World Infertility Month' or 'Find a Mate Week' anyway? Barren spinsters?

For God's sake people. Stop being idiots.