Everybody must get stoned

It's 4/20 and, whenever I hear that Bob Dylan song I think back to how I thought it was a literal celebration of the joys of marijuana.  Now, I think it might have been about human rights abuse and the barbaric practice of stoning.  Either way, makes me wanna light one up.

But, I don't do that anymore.  The last time was about 14 years ago after seeing the Rolling Stones at Dodger Stadium.  I got home and burned a fattie with my father in law.

Yup.  My father in law.  One of the coolest dudes on the planet.  A man who welcomed me into his family without hesitation, even though I was dating his daughter.  A man who let me hang out with him next to the BBQ at family gatherings and we would drink beer and sample the meat off the grill before anyone else got a taste.  A man who never hesitates to encourage and stand by those around him.  A man who appreciates good times, good food, good drink, and a good buzz.  A man with soul.

Which makes me wonder.

Are we heading toward some far-right-morality swing?  I hope not because I don't think people who talk about morality are that moral in the first place.  I think they're full of shit.  If you're one of them, you need to read this MORE than the choir I might appear to be preaching to.

You see, 4/20 is special to me, even though I don't smoke pot anymore.  I don't even have the desire to do it.  But 4/20 is all about freedom of choice.  It's bigger than just a few plants being harvested for a good buzz.  It's about being able to choose your buzz OUTSIDE the realm of corporate control.  Alcohol is corporate controlled.  Cigarettes are corporate controlled.  The food we eat is corporate controlled, unless we buy it from a local farmer before it hits the corporate controlled marketplace.

Unless we grow it.  Like marijuana.  Who has the self-delusional right to tell you that you can't grow something in your own backyard for personal consumption?  Nobody.

And yet, there are people with enough money and influence to create laws that accomplish just that.

But the revolution has begun.  And those of us on the side of free choice have to win.  We have to win all over the globe if only to spite barbarians who are bloodthirsty for control and money.  These people will preach religious peace out of one side of their mouth then kill you for not submitting to their version of peace.... or their version of the 'peace' of the pie.

And don't get me started on the thought police.  You see, 4/20 is all about controlling your thought.  Because, when you alter your own perspective, independently, and freely, and openly, you see things from a perspective that those living under the illusion of power cannot grasp.  You have taken yourself outside the realm of their influence - which is all around you on billboards, TV, radio, computers - and into the realm of introspection and thought.  This is a place they cannot touch.  This is a place where new ideas come about.  This is a place where you can just be free.

And if you grow your own, it's damn near free.  It's about as free as it gets.

This is why I brew my own beer.  After I spend a nominal amount on all-natural ingredients, I can brew something specifically to my liking and the corporate beer-mongers get nothing.  Nothing.

You are told that you need to consume.  Even the drug dealers masquerading as pharmaceutical companies want you to consume what they are selling.  The thing is, they can't control pot.  They have no say so.  They can try but they can't stop it.  And rightly so.  They inflate costs at random, pump billions into lobbying and advertising to get you hooked on their product.

Ladies and gentlemen, if more of us smoked pot, fewer of us would be looking to these clown-suits for solutions.  We'd solve them ourselves.

Oh, pot doesn't solve the problem.  But pot does put you in a mental place where you can digress from the bullshit and then divorce yourself completely from it.

You wake up the next morning... walk past the TV remote without even blinking... (except for the occasional cartoon).... grab some cold pizza, and ice cold beer, and beckon a new day full of possibilities and new ideas and you are beholden only to your family and friends.

Social Darwinists, fuck off.

Cheers and happy 4/20!!!!!

Wine Fucking

Stay with me on this one as I'm really intoxicated and may not be speaking clearly... even though I'm not technically speaking at all.. I'm writing... no, that's not it... I'm TYPING.  And I can type whafuckerthe hell I want. 

Okay..... whew.... as if I've got alot of integrity anyway.... huge number of followers... thank you.  All 4 of you.  This is for you.

Shit.  The room is spinning.  Okay... whew!!!.... Shit... still spinning..  I'm serious about this one.

Okay. 

Brewed my own beer tonight.  This is something I usually do every 4-5 weeks.  I love doing it and, after about 18 months in the trenches, I can honestly say that the beer doesn't suck.  It's quite good actually.  I'd pour it against most American ales at this stage of the game.

ANYWAY, I'm boiling the grains and decide to invoke the pleasures of an Arrogant Bastard.... lovely beer... no, fuck that.  Not lovely.  Kick ass!!!!!  This fucker has hops and malt and grains and hops and alcohol.... too much alcohol.  But I don't care.  (damn, thank God for the backspace key!!!!)

ANYWAY #2.... I grill a steak.  I have a decanter of Rosenblum Syrah that I paid about $45 bucks for a few months back... can't remember the vineyard... Rosenblum always designates their wines from a particular vineyard... the reserves, anyway...

ANYWAY #3... this wine was sitting in a decanter for about 48 hours.... it was too ripe, fruit forward, and all that crap.  It tasted like grape juice.. IF I WANT FUCKING GRAPE JUICE I'LL BUY WELCHE'S THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

ANYWAY #4... Over the last few days, I've also opened a bottle of Red Lion Cabernet (don't ask) and a bottle of Marquis Philips Grenache... please hold your questions until the end.

(shit, I can't even type... my fingers aren't responding to what my brain says to respond to... etc etc etc....)

ANYWAY #5... My Rib eye steak is USDA Prime from a local market (Orchards Fresh, but I'm not mentioning names).... and It's tender, and juicy... and I decide, rather than open new wine, I'll just see what I can do with what I have.

ANYWAY...

whatever.

The Rosenblum is too over-ripe.  The Grenache has some nice light licorice and acidic qualities but can't hold up... The Cabernetl, in spite of being a wimpy cab... has some tannic structure to it....

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...

I blend a 4 oz concoction of the Cab and the Syrah.... the tannins actually offset the over-ripeness of the fruit in the Rosenblum...

THEN, I mix (same ratio) the Syrah and the Grenache.... EVEN BETTER!!!!  The Grenache makes up for what the Syrah does not have and vice versa vice versa, etc cte.... whatever.

Of course, I need to mix the Grenache and Cab... shitty.  Two bad wines don't make a good wine.

BUT, I've settled on the Syrah-Grenache blend... it's good.  Dark fruit mixed with mid-level fruit, some light licorice hints, and balances nicely with the grilled Rib-Eye steak. 

FINALLY!

I pour the Grenache and Cabernet into the decanter with the remaining Syrah and discover something along the way....

I'm fucked up.

That's it.

So , I call my daughter on the phone and talk about Android and iPhone apps until I can see straight.

Then I decide to write this. 

And it doesn't matter.  I'm squinting right now just to read the words I'm writing on the computer and if it wasn't for spell checking... Id eb srewcd rghit nwo.

That's it.

Csheers....!