Kreteks, Cloves, and the Joy of Indonesian Smokes

The crackle and the alluring aroma of the clove cigar (kretek) is worth a try. Here is a rundown on the brand remaining in the US - Djarum.

 So what happened to clove cigarettes in the United States? In 2009, Congress banned flavored cigarettes, except for menthol. The big manufacturers knew tighter regulations were coming and their gambit enabled the smaller importers to be effectively out of business in the US. Well played.

Shelf space was freed up to the (always profitable) pure tobacco and menthol cigarettes. Djarum quickly changed their wrapper to meet the cigar designation. The pack size was reduced from 20 to 12. Tobacconists continue to carry them today for around $5-$7 a pack.

Internet ordering is generally cheaper and limits steep taxes.

The Best Fuzz Pedals

The greatest fuzz pedals on the market * ^ # %

* As experienced and researched by tone heads

^ That do darn-near-everything reeeaallly well

# Make war widows feint and are technically complex (quality design = quality outputs)
% And are available (sorry, Spaceman Sputnik)

The Industry Hates You - Getting Started or Restarted with Guitar

I boiled down the guitar industry to get you (re)started on the guitar and get the best value.

1. The industry has eaten itself. Sellers and producers are one step up from mattress salesmen.

2. Background
2.A. Fender owns Ovation and essentially owns Gretsch.

2.A.1. Gibson owns Epiphone and has sued darn-near everyone else at some point.

2.A.2. G+L, PRS guitars, Martin, and Ibanez (and many others) are private but essentially produce the same product with the latest window dressing.

The Best Tattoo Aftercare Lotions and Creams

So you are about to get a tattoo and you want to care for it. Doesn't matter whether it is a small ladybug or a dragon that mounts the world - you want the ink to stay in the skin and minimal pain during the healing process. As a proud graduate of the 6x Tattoo School (medium and large) here is the best answer on the internet:

 1. Do NOT use a petroleum based product. Why? Because the AAD says so. Note, this isn't your cousin Ted. This is the dermatological doctors' body of knowledge.

 1.A. So DO NOT use Vaseline, most of the Aquaphor sub-brands (read the labels and see the paraffin), and any other derivative of petroleum jelly.
 1.B. Do NOT use products with various alcohols and numbing solutions. These burn quite mightily! The AAD doesn't say anything about them, but for goodness sake - why suffer?!

 2. That leaves us with two big options:

 2.A. The half-hour search at the grocery store for something that isn't mentioned in 1...OR...