Grinders & Glass: Essential Tools of a Marijuana Kit

This is a guide on the types of items you would have, should have, or might already have if you were hardcore about marijuana use let's get on with the show.

Glass Bottles

Most times when you buy marijuana, it comes in a plastic ziplock-type baggy. The problem with plastic is that it will let the smell out eventually. This is no good when you have a particularly strong strain of marijuana. You want to keep the scent as lowkey as possible. Glass bottles have an added value in that they are used to cure marijuana even further. Curing is a process will aids in adding taste and flavor to marijuana so it's an added benefit to keeping your bud in glass.

Unless you're a grower, you won't need big bottle. Small bottles will do the job fine. The best kinds to use are baby food bottles, Gerber and Beechnut. They are easy to find and they have this "gum" under the cap to keep food sealed in and fresh. This will only help in keeping your marijuana sealed in and fresh!

Personally, I have 2.5oz and 4oz bottles but I keep two 2.5oz in my kit because I may have more than one strain on me at times.

Grinders

The grinder is important because it will aid in breaking up the weed efficiently and effectively. You can always use your fingers but good marijuana will not break up easily with your fingertips. It can be a very sticky situation.

How do you go about choosing a grinder? You have three decisions to make: material, internal structure, and function. Grinders come in plastic, wood, and metal (steel or aluminum). The internal structure refers to the teeth that grind the substance. They have straight metal sticks, triangular shaped shark's teeth, and then the diamond cutters.And then, there are some grinders that do more than grind. They have something called a pollen catcher which contain a screen that will catch loose THC in a lower compartment, collecting it as you go along.

Personally, I have two grinders. Both are made of metal and have triangular teeth. Both did have a screen for catching pollen but one had the screen removed because it was pushed up against the holes causing marijuana to be stuck in between. This particular one is in three parts. My other grinder is in four parts, solving the problem of stuck marijuana by moving the screen down into the separate part. I keep the 3-part grinder in the kit because it is smaller and allows room for other things.

Tips: I would not buy the plastic or the wood because I find they are cheaply made. The grinders that only grind have an issue of sometimes grinding too much AND not grinding enough, turning one side to dust and the other into big clumps. The good thing about the other grinders is that the ground up marijuana will fall through holes so it's the perfect texture - fluffy, not too coarse, not too fine!

Note: In a pollen catcher, the loose THC, or kif/kief, will build over time allowing one to eventually create smokable hash which will have an almost pure THC content. You can either smoke the hash on it's own or put it in a joint or blunt with more weed for an incredible high.

Small Pipe & Papers

Now we need a tool for actually smoking the marijuana after it's taken out of it's glass bottle and ground up. We can either go for our trusty pipe or grab some papers to roll a joint. There are too many types of pipes and too many brands of papers to discuss so I will talk about my current kit and throw in some tips.

Personally, I have what's called a one-hitter, bat, or chillum. It's made of color changing glass (over time, use causes it to change colors a bit). Pipes come in different shapes, colors, and materials including wood, metal, and ceramic. Papers come in many forms: colored, flavored, transparent. It's really going to be up to what the person decides s/he wants to use. For a long time, I used Bob Marley papers. At one point I was in love with chocolate flavored papers. I've even tried the transparent ones, Aleda! It will be up to the individual to pick the type of pipe and papers they will want in their kit.

Tip: Remember when you put fire to marijuana in a pipe, you burn the pipe as well. Wood burns. It sucks if it's been treated because you will be smoking the chemical it was treated with. On top of that, it holds the smell which is what you don't want. A good glass piece will not hold smells as long as it's cleaned properly. And the sign of a good glass piece is that it doesn't have bubbles.

Lighters

Now, you've got your weed, it's ground up and it's all rolled up or bowled. Now what? You need to be able to put fire to it! You need to have at least two lighters in your case. One should be a quality trusty lighter and the other is for back up purposes to be kept in the kit at all times. You may even want to keep more lighters if you want.. Why? Sometimes, you misplace it. If you're already high, it's a bitch to look for something when you really don't want to get up. So it's good to know where there's another handy lighter.

Personally, I keep a Colibri Talon, jet/torch ligther, with me at all times. I actually have two of them in red/silver and gunmetal/black, two Zippo lighters in blue and silver, and a few cheap ligthers for back up. Even when I don't plan on smoking anything, it's good to whip out a nice lighter when if a pretty lady decides to light up in front of you. A Zippo is nice but if there are high winds, a nice jet will do the trick. Besides, you want to have something that will have some level of impression, right? RIGHT!

The Case

A kit can't be a kit if all of the pieces don't have a home! Your individual parts are homeless. They have to belong somewhere. The only important thing to remember is that the case have be able to hold your weed, which should be in a bottle, your grinder, lighter(s), pipe and papers. You can use any container but let's have a little class about it! Find something that you can appreciate! A wooden case, a cigar case for example, if big enough, is a great case to complete your marijuana kit. But, don't be afraid to upgrade over time. Maybe, you can make your own and as many do!

Personally, I use a hardened plastic and metal constructed case with a cheap key lock on it. It isn't meant to be a safe or anything that serious or heavy but it does the trick.

Accessories

This is bascially anything else that can aid in your use of marijuana. For example, I have one friend who purchased a metal bowl which could be used for other things if necessary.

Personally, I keep an old metrocard, small blue plastic case, razor blade, metal stick, pocket microscope, and a pocket scale in my current kit configuration. I used to keep a scalpel and other items but not anymore. I use the metrocard as a way to sort of sweep the area of things. I may use it to collect the marijuana into a pile or scoop it up. I can also use it if I need to clean an area off! The small blue case is for crumbs that may have fallen out during the rolling of a previous joint or blunt; it's the crumb case. I also use it in case I don't finish a blunt, I can salvage the weed from the roach and put it in the case. Why burn my fingertips? I wouldn't want to corrupt the smell of my weed in the bottle! The metal stick is used for pushing weed down in the blunt in case it comes too far up. The scale is just so that I can know what weights I get from my dealer. The microscope is used to inspect the marijuana closely for quality purposes. It's a bit advanced but that's in the next installment, potentially!

So, that's your marijuana kit! You'll be ready for anything once your put your kit together. Take your time in putting it together. This will be your kit for a long time! Don't be afraid to upgrade if you have an opportunity to do so. Finally, keep in mind that it's your choice so choose what you like.

Relevant Link: Grinders & Glass: Four Levels of Marijuana Smokers

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Grinders & Glass: Four Levels of Marijuana Smokers

There are four levels of marijuana smokers. The first three levels are easy to attain. The fourth level requires years of experience. For each level, you need particular tools of the trade.

Typical Smoker

This person just smokes what's out there. He doesn't care what it is as long as he's getting high. He'll, at least, have a connect and know how to roll his own joints and/or blunts. Some people exist at this stage for a long time, sometimes for life. They simply aren't interested in other things marijuana-related. You'll find scavengers, most women, and some small timers smoking mainly mexibrick weed (cheapest) and maybe once in a while finding something worth the time.

The Marijuana Kit: Small Utility/Pocket Knife if anything at all.

Why? Typical user won't need much smoke. He can basically do everything with his bare hands and a little spit. At most, he will only use a small knife to aid in rolling.

Educated Burner

He cares about what he is smoking and how he smokes it. He will learn as much as possible about marijuana and be on a clear path to marijuana enlightenment. This is the level where people find out all of the bullshit names of marijuana on the street are the same damn thing. For example, hydro is NOT a type of marijuana. Hydro is HOW it's grown. It's like saying I got that "soil"! Soil is not marijuana and neither is hydro. In this level, you will find snobs and medical marijuana smokers.

Marijuana Kit: Knife, grinder, container, and different smoking apparatuses: glass, wood, ceramic, metal, papers of different brands and flavors.

Why? The Educated smoker will research marijuana and learn as much as possible about his favorite marijuana! For this he will need to experience different types of marijuana as well as different ways to smoke to find his own comfort zone. He will know he needs a grinder because breaking bud up by hand has become an annoyance as he now smokes so often. He will need a container to hold all these things.

Expert Toker or Connoisseur.

The expert will have figured out a lot of things about marijuana and himself. He'll have a favorite type of marijuana having tried many different strains and knowing the general type of reaction each one will have. You can ask the expert anything about marijuana and he will be able to tell you.

Marijuana Kit: Knife, Grinder, Scale, Microscope, Special container, Glass Bottle, small one-hitter.

Why? At this point, the knife is just in case. You don't know why or when, but you will need it. The grinder is for grinding marijuana if you need it. Small digital scale is used to make sure you get proper weights from the dealer and to measure out how much you will want to use per blunt or bowl so you don't overdo it. Microscope will be used to inspect the marijuana as you get it. A glass bottle will be used to help with two things: further curing and smell. A small one-hitter will be useful with small quantities.

Elite Connoisseur.

It takes years of experience in marijuana and a tight network of trustworthy people to reach this stage of the game. He will more than likely be someone who has grown his own marijuana. He will be able to pinpoint strains by sight, smell and taste. This is the guy that travels and is always on the move meeting different people in different countries.

Marijuana Kit? NONE!

Why? The Elite Connoisseur will have already experienced all levels of marijuana smoker. He will rely on his bare hand skills from th first level since he can't take any paraphernalia with him, his open-mindedness in the second level to be willing to try new things, and the knowledge he's gained in the third level to be able to offer a valid opinion.

Relevant Link: Grinders & Glass: Essential Tools of a Marijuana Kit

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Blogging While High, Ep 1: What happen to the story in porn?

What kind of pornography do you own? Do you just like the straight stuff? Maybe you like a particular flavor? Are you into some sort of funny, weird or even "carnal" fetish?

Well, I am into porn that has a damn storyline, a plot! Everything goes straight to the glory but where's the process? Where's the glory road? I see a porno these days and it's usually just two people straight fuckin? We don't know who's who, how they met, or why they're doing what they're doing. Is this a nurse/patient situation? Who's the nurse or patient? Why are they fucking?
SOMEONE FILL IN THE BLANKS.

I'm tired of seeing only this wham bam thank you ma'am shit. What are we teaching the youth? Well I am not that far removed from high school, bout 10 years. But, I read the news. Those kids these days are fucking like rabbits! They got accessories, hand signals and gang signs developed just for fucking. A WHOLE FUCKING NEW INDUSTRY DEVELOPED FROM KIDS JUST WANTING TO FUCK... like what? Todaaaaay's porn! It don't teach them anything 'cept how to fuck! They ain't even awkward about it anymore.

Anyway, I say we need to bring back some plot in our porn! Who remembers Debbie Does Dallas? The cheerleaders were fucking to help get money for Debbie to get on a bus to go somewhere. That's a reason. That guy is getting a blowjob to help Debbie! That's noble! I can respect that. There's Co-ed Fever where Traci Lords boned her brother to help him get over his fear of girls. Taboo where all kinds of family members are fucking each other. And Devil in Miss Jones where a woman is trying to fuck her way out of hell. Where are you gonna find those wild teacher/student sex scenes?

I think the future of porn is in the past but by real actors? Who wouldn't want to have Omar Epps give the business to Vivica Fox in Higher Learning? How about Brad Pitt boning Angelina Jolie in Mr. & Mrs. Smith? And other titles.. The Matrix, Jason's Lyric, How Stella Got Her Groove Back..and uh oh.. Driving Miss Daisy... and ooohhhh I am gonna get in trouble for this.. Brokeback Mountain! Whoa! Not my cup of tea either, but there's a market for it.
Anyway, my high is subsiding. I'll be back!

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Baltimore: Carb Cake Capital of the World

Baltimore is the largest city in the state of Maryland, part of the Chesapeake Bay region of the United States.of America It is a major seaport. Baltimore is famous for its crab cakes, claimed to be the best in the world. You can have steamed crabs and broiled crab cakes. Only question visitors ask is, where can I get the best Baltimore crab cake? That is a pretty tough question to answer, as it will depend on who you ask.

Here are some suggestions: ask for jumbo-lump blue crab meat which the Baltimore residents claimed is the best crab meat. It is the best and biggest part of the crab meat and very tasty. A restaurant in Baltimore serves the Chesapeake Crab Cake Platter.

Baltimore is also the birthplace of the Old Bay Seasoning, a blend of herbs and spices. Old Bay Seasoning was invented by German immigrant Gustav Brunn in the 1940s and it has been very popular till today, not only for crab cakes, but also to season shrimps and as a topping on fried chicken, popcorn, corn on the cob, salads, eggs, french fries and potato chips. Its ingredients include bay leaf, cinnamon, celery salt, mustard seed, black and red pepper, and ginger.

Gustav Brunn formed a company called Old Bay Company to producing crab seasonings which are packed in the unique yellow can container. Around 1990, Old Bay Company was bought over by McCormick and Company which continued the tradition of packing the around 1990. McCormick continues to pack the Old Bay Season in the classic yellow can. It is distributed world wide by McCormick and Company.

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Robert Matthew Van Winkle aka Vanilla Ice, I apologize!

Yes, I apologize to Vanilla Ice for the years of disrespect and jokes to his contribution to hip hop.

Why? With the effort of so many people in the REAL hip hop community to keep Hip Hop fresh and real, we targeted fake rappers and sought out to execute em from the scene. Among the casualties was Vanilla Ice, one of the top selling sell outs at the time. Hip Hop recovered from the likes of Vanilla Ice and others who were used by record companies to water down and whitewash Hip Hop. But, did it really recover at all?

Instead of record companies trying to whitewash Hip Hop they instead turned to NIGGERWASH it with snap music and other corny ass styles and dances that have our people walking the streets with pride looking like cracked out and coked up Ronald McDonalds and shit! This isn't the Hip Hop we know and love. This trash rap is what we were trying to prevent when 3rd Bass made fun of Vanilla Ice in the video, Pop Goes The Weasel.

So who's the new set of weasels to replace Vanilla Ice.. who are the ones being used to niggerwash Hip Hop.. here's just a few to begin with!

So, why am I apologizing to Vanilla Ice? Because, we, as a Hip Hop people, demonized Vanilla Ice only to end up allowing pure unadulterated NIGGERS take over the Hip Hop game. I realize, today, we would have been better off with Vanilla Ice as a top rap artist than have clowns like this terrorize the ears, eyes, and minds of America.

I wonder if MC Serch ever started R.A.P.E., that is, Rappers Against Phony Entertainers. I'd like to join that movement. Yes, with another white guy! At least, he was GOODl!

Images: Soulja Boy, Hurricane Chris, and D4L aka Tools of the Niggerwash of Hip Hop Agenda (and there are others)!

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Harlem Lost Its Hood Status!

Here I go! I am on fire. I been thinking about this shit lately and I have come to the conclusion that Harlem ain't what it used to be.

Being at the African American Day Parade was fun as hell. Me and my boy Gorgeous Billy Jenkins, because he gets all the ladies, were chillin right on 125th street. The great part about it was we were hanging with some old Black women, the grandmothers and great grandmothers of Harlem. Those ladies were fun as hell and racist as all get out now! But, their racism was somewhat validated at times. That's all I will say on that!

Now, as Billy and I walked from 125th to 129th to pow wow in St. Nick projects, I noticed some ugly things about Harlem - the fellas. The ladies, young and old, were beautiful as usual. They were gorgeous and workin' it. But, what the fuck is going on with these little brothas?

Here is an example of one little dude I saw: green sneakers, yellow shoe laces, tight black jeans hanging off his ass, huge bedazzled belt buckle, tight white tee shirt, and green and yellow cap. And, that's your typical guy in Harlem now - bright and goofy lookin like some dude waitin to get robbed! But, there's no real Harlem dudes to do the jackin. LOL.

Where's the hood at? What happen to Harlem? It's like ever since these sissy ass Dipset retards showed up promoting this gay lifestyle, it's somehow been cool to rock fruity ass colors! WHERE'S THE HOOD AT? I know Dipset is the only thing viable reppin Harlem in terms of rap music (not real Hip Hop, there is a difference). But, since that's the case, I'd rather listen to country music, not follow these frilly dudes' homo-erotic fashion statements.

How do you walkin outside ya house looking like a gay Skittles commercial? How does your mother let you walk out the house looking like a ghetto Ronald McDonald? WHERE'S THE HOOD AT? What happen to the days when Harlem was hardcore. The only people you caught lookin colorful were Jamaicans but in a Jamaican pride way, absolutely NOT a I-want-a-dick-up-my-ass way! WHERE'S THE HOOD AT?

And then to make matters worse, these dudes are out-dancing the women. I know the ladies are asking the fellas to do more than the two-step in the club. HOWEVER, I am pretty sure they didn't ask the fellas to push them out of the middle of the floor so they can dance with each other. WHERE'S THE HOOD AT? Fellas aren't supposed to be comparing dance moves with each other. FUCK THAT GAY SHIT! Y'all supposed to be grinding up on the juicy booty chick to get her in trouble for when her momma come walkin by! WHERE'S THE HOOD AT? How y'all dancin with each other like some females? WHERE'S THE HOOD AT?

I blame the older brothas! I blame them for not checkin these young cats "at the door". Y'all too damn lax on these little dudes. Y'all see that shit, speak up! Tell them that shit ain't cool! Pants saggin is one thing but purposely pullin ya tight ass jeans so low ya "exit only" becomes an "easy entry"? WHERE'S THE HOOD AT?

WHERE'S THE HOOD AT? I ain't gon sit here and say all of Harlem is looking real faggedy! I saw some young pups out there ready to become full fledged dogs! But, they need to start checkin these man-bitches at the door since the older brothas aren't doin it!

I point to my boy Billy who's real Harlem. He keeps it real! You see Billy in the streets and you can't call into question his sexuality. You know he likes women! He ain't wearing no tight anything, his pants sag but only slightly, and he doesn't walk with his ass poking out (yeah that's a clue too). I would use myself as an example but I don't claim Harlem. I claim the Bronx and we been keepin it gully since day one! We ain't never, nor will we ever be into that frilly shit. I stand corrected.

Anyway, with that,

I, Anthony Taurus, as a representative of the Bronx and New York City, and former Harlem resident, hereby, revoke Harlem's Hood Status until Harlem redeems it's former glory through marked improvements in all styles!

Being that I am a representative of the Bronx, this revocation of Hood Status bans all Harlem residents from travel to any specific destination in the Bronx without an approved escort.

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San Diego and South Mission Beach

I visited San Diego, California, sometime back in the 80's. San Diego is located by the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, the second largest city in California and the eighth largest city in the United States. It is a pleasant city with access to some beautiful beaches, the largest of which is Mission Beach. It has a pleasant, mild and sunny weather throughout the year with average monthly temperatures of about 14°C in January to 22°C in July.

San Diego is very near the Mexican border with the United States sharing a border with Mexico at Tijuana, just approximately 16 miles or 25 kilometers south of San Diego. Americans and tourists go to Tijuana to buy prescription drugs, fake brand-name clothing and accessories plus for entertainment. There are many night clubs at Tijuana. I went there, but didn't buy anything.

The residents of neighbouring states of Arizona and Nevada flock to San Diego in the Summer when temperatures reaches into the 100s. They would seek San Diego Beach Rentals for their sojourn there. Mission Beach Rentals are popular with the beach lovers. Mission Beach is a stretch of sandbar along the Pacific Ocean east of San Diego. There are many well-known bars in Mission Beach which are relaxed, beach-style gathering places for residents as well as visitors. The more popular one are The Sandbar Sports Grill, The Beachcomber and The Pennant.

If you are going to San Diego with a large of extended family, a great option would be Togethering, vacations with extended families. You can get accommodation for groups of approximately 12 to 27 people. You can then spend a relaxing time with the uncles and aunties or nephews and nieces, etc.

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