By admin
Good cigars have been trendy for over a dozen years now. This is another one of those fads that seem to have staying power. I for one am glad about it, as Papa Riah enjoys a nice Romeo and Julieta after a good meal (or sometimes just when kicking back in the outdoors) once in a while. I definitely consider them to be a life-enhancing product. Cigarettes on the other hand, have been a scourge upon society for almost a century.
If that sounds like a harsh statement, you must not be a smoker! Most cigarette smokers will agree in a heartbeat (those who have one left anyway) that they are a horrible plague upon the Earth and wish they never took their first puff. That’s quite a contrast to the way I feel about cigars. Cigar smokers tend to think happy thoughts about their chosen method of tobacco enjoyment, while cigarette smokers tend to swear the next smoke will be their last.
The difference in attitude towards the two products from their individual consumer groups is interesting, to say the least. To understand the reason behind it, you would need to think back to the 19th century before cigarettes became mainstream. Pipes and cigars were the tobacco products of old, and they had a different stigma about them. They were somehow dignified and respected, and the number of smokers who resembled a human chimney were quite a small percentage of tobacco users.
Even in the 1950’s many people smoked cigarettes only recreationally, after a meal perhaps or while enjoying cocktails. Think about the television show I Love Lucy. Do you consider Lucy, Ricky, Fred, and Ethel to be cigarette smokers? Certainly not by modern society standards, but on that show they all were. (This was before it was discovered that they kill you.) Notice how they didn’t have to have one at every work break or whenever they were driving.
There are two basic reasons that cigarettes have become a negative element in our culture:
1. People in modern society are gluttons. Consequently anything even mildly addictive will be abused as much as humanly possible.
2. People in modern society are oblivious. Especially cigarette smokers. Consequently smokers are in the habit of greatly inconveniencing non-smokers, even to the point of endangering their health.
Have you ever sat next to a smoker at a bar? If you have, chances are that you got to know their brand of smokes up close and personal as they held their cigarette in your face. After all they don’t want it in their face, so they hold it off to their side at head level - which is right smack in your eyes and nose. It’s absolutely amazing.
When I was younger I had an aunt that died of lung cancer. On her death bed my other aunt (her sister) held a cigarette up to her lips so she could get a few last puffs of the thing that killed her before she died. So she was loyal to her killer right to the end.
Cigars are not without health risks. President Grant, better known as General Grant, died from throat cancer as a result of his obsession with them. However most cigar smokers indulge in less than half a dozen stogies per month, if that many. And as a rule they are very courteous to non-smokers, seeking solitude in an outdoor area to enjoy their fine tobacco. Perhaps that is why (in their modern trendiness) cigars once again enjoy an image associated with a certain stigma.
Technorati Tags: cigar, cigarrette, smoking, tobacco
By admin
Popular culture is a fascinating thing to observe. And while it’s easy for a commentator like me to make fun of it all, I’m probably doing it just before indulging myself in something trendy that I happen to enjoy. Times change and so fads come and go, but people never change. We are the same knuckleheads who have been exhibiting the same repeating patterns for centuries; we just find new niches to exhibit them in. That’s cool and all, but some trends in society are definitely better for us than others. Let’s look at a few examples.
Movie Remakes: Bad. With the incredible budgets that movie studios have to work with nowadays you’d think they could produce a lot of excellent original material. After all there are only a zillion good books and screenplays just waiting for this. But no, we get stuck with remakes of Fun with Dick and Jane and the 84th version of King Kong. The worst thing is when they decide to butcher great classics which should never be touched. Think Planet of the Apes, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and now I guess they are going to destroy The Day the Earth Stood Still. Some of these shoddy remakes bear no resemblance to the original plot, so why not just give them a new title?
Poker: Good. The poker trend is very healthy for society as a whole, despite the fact that some people discover they have a gambling addiction through it. Poker is a game of both basic strategy and deeper 3-level thinking strategy. If you dedicate yourself to becoming a student of the game it will make you smarter. Some of the top ivy league college campuses have known this for decades and actually have encouraged poker sub-cultures to develop within both the student and faculty member populations. When you get good at poker you become skilled at making good risk versus reward analysis decisions in all areas of your life (a topic that is dear to Papa Riah’s heart).
Reality TV Shows: Bad. Prime-time network television has always taken any successful concept and beaten it to death. It’s what they do. They feel a need to discover just how bad of a mutation of the original idea they can get away with marketing. And they always discover it. In the case of reality television, recent years have seen the most horrible, low budget ideas popup and fail miserably. But the main problem with reality shows as a whole is the numbing of your brain. They are not educational, and in fact not helpful in any conceivable way. They are second rate entertainment at best. Is what you want to do with the few spare hours you have everyday sit down and watch other people whose pathetic lives have lead them to compete in a meaningless exercise which rewards bad behavior? Really???
Microbreweries: Good. If you are going to drink beer, drink good beer. Two decades ago that wasn’t possible to do in most of America. Large corporations had our society duped into drinking fizzy yellow alcoholic water and thinking that was beer. This was great for them. The corner-cutting practice of using 20% to 35% rice or corn in place of malted barley allowed them to make huge profits peddling that budcoorsmiller crap on us, which is still popular among the uncultured. As travel to Europe became more affordable people discovered what beer really is and the microbrewery revolution was born (thank God). Now you can hardly find a restaurant or pub without at least one decent offering on the beer list. With all the stupidity in society that Papa Riah is forced to constantly observe, at least I can refresh myself with a good ale at the end of the day.
Papa Riah
Technorati Tags: microbreweries, poker, society, trends
Good cigars have been trendy for over a dozen years now. This is another one of those fads that seem to have staying power. I for one am glad about it, as Papa Riah enjoys a nice Romeo and Julieta after a good meal (or sometimes just when kicking back in the outdoors) once in a while. I definitely consider them to be a life-enhancing product. Cigarettes on the other hand, have been a scourge upon society for almost a century.