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TheKSmith's 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee WJ Limited 4.7 H.O. - The Do-It-All Rig

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So back early in 2008 I decided to sell my XJ and move up to a WJ for more room and towing power. I looked around for a while and finally found a clean one with all the trimmings, including the HO motor, for a good deal and it was a local vehicle that had spent all it's life in AZ... the only problem was it was black! I'd never had a black vehicle before and all I could imagine was it always looking dirty and being too hot in the summer.

I decided to go have a look anyway and I'm glad I did... it turned out to be a deep metallic pearl black that actually looked stunning. So I snapped it up! And yeah, it's hot in the summer, but everything here in Phoenix is. And yeah, it looks dirty, but that's because it's always been on a trail within the past few days, so it's more of a badge than something to be ashamed of!

Here's what she looked like a couple weeks after the purchase. I de-badged her and added a roof rack day 1 - other than that she was bone stock with 75k miles, bald street tires, and no skidplates... but of course I took her off road anyway!

Currently she's on a 4.5" Clayton Long Arm lift with 33's:

UPDATE 10/2009: make that with 6" now!

UPDATE 9/2010: make that 35's now!

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Check back soon as I'll be posting a full build thread detailing her evolution to a great do-it-all daily driver, expedition machine, and occasional rock crawler.

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This is an impressive vehicle as I have been out with you several times and can attest to it. I am envious of your rear plastic bumper as I have seen it knocked in and then popped back out with one hand!

Very nice, clean and trail worthy rig.

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was this picture taken at Anza Borrega last year? I didn't see that view from in front, it looks awesome. Isn't that right before we turned George loose in her? :eek:

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was this picture taken at Anza Borrega last year? I didn't see that view from in front, it looks awesome. Isn't that right before we turned George loose in her? :eek:

indeed that is Anza and was just before we swapped rides!

here's the view from the other side... yup, the rear flex is crap! i am still running a rear swaybar because for a long time i was more concerned about on-road handling than extreme flex. now that i wheel it more, i plan to remove the rear sway bar soon... however, first i have to put in a couple of slightly longer bump-stop extensions to keep the tires out of the wheel wells, currently the sway bar is the only thing limiting them for me. just another item on the long list of to-do's!

i have to say, 90% of the time, the excellent front flex has made up for the lack of rear ability.

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I guess i'll start out the mod details with something many people do before they even lift it... communications.

i did the same tail light area mount as several other people with WJs, but with a couple variations to clean it up a bit. for the mount i went with the firestik SS-134 which is a little narrower than i've seen others using... we'll see how it holds up: http://www.firestik.com/Catalog/SS-13.htm

then for the cable and stud, i used the firstik K4-8R18 firering style connector so that it wouldn't hang down into the light as much: http://www.firestik.com/Catalog/k4-8r18.htm

here's a pic of where i routed the wire into the cabin. from there, i then ran along the door jam, then under the carpet beneath the passenger seat (had to remove the seat to manage), then up into the center console and to the CB unit:

here is a shot from outside with the tail light removed. i used some industrial aluminum tape to secure the cable, and 3 screws along with JB Weld to secure the mount. the yellow thing in the picture is unrelated, just a load-equalizing resistor for my LED blinkers:

another difference, i used a dremel to notch out the tail light to have room for the mount and cable, so that it would sit in the exact same location as stock instead of with a slight down-angle:

here you can see the final result:

for an antenna, i'm using a 3' FireFly (FL3-B) that i already had, i'll probably switch to 4ft when i get around to buying one. the FireFly series is just a little lighter than the FireStik series and works fine unless you are running a linear amp with high wattage.

[i need to update this later with a pic of the antenna actually installed]

i also went ahead and ran a mount and cable for a HAM radio even though i don't yet have one (figured as long as everything was torn apart!). i did the exact same wire routing and mounting bar, but used a Diamond Antenna C213 cable. i'll probably go with the Diamond NR770HB antenna once i get a HAM rig and license:

one final shot from the back showing both mounts:

now for the headunit i went with my trusty Midland 75-822 that has been a handheld, been in my XJ, been dropped in a freezing river, and finally ended up here, still tickin!

If it ever dies, I'll probably replace it with the Cobra 75 WXST just because it has an external speaker connector on it's base. Check out my other post here regarding these 2 small units.

for a mount/hanger i went with a PanaVise 75122-201 In-Dash Cell/iPod Mount. I then cut down the width of the mount to match that of a plastic button style universal cell phone hanger i found on ebay. I use one hanger for the CB and one for my GPS:

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As long as we're on the subject of electronics, here are some related details...

here you can see my Garmin GPS 60 CSX hangin out on the other mount:

i wired in an additional set of cigarette lighter receptacles and tucked them under the little tray. then i dremmeled out the 4 half-moon shapes you see below in order to easily run wires to the hidden cigarette lighter receptacles:

here's a shot of the mess, all tucked neatly out of site:

finally, the little switch you see just above the tray with the red indicator LED is wired in to control the extra cigarette lighter receptacles.....

normally those extra receptacles are powerd only when the Jeep is on. this is good as i don't usually want to leave everything on all the time slowly killing the battery.

however, when you are on a trail run, you often turn on and off the Jeep a bunch of times as you stop and have lunch, get out for pics, etc... for those times i didn't want to keep having to turn back on everything that has soft power buttons like the GPS and iPod... so if you flip the little switch then everything is now powered all of the time, even when the jeep is off.

small detail, but it's nice to have and only took an extra 15 minutes to dremel out the hole for the switch and wire it up while doing everything else.

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so back in 2/2008 i was all set to go with the following for my "phase 1":

Clayton front & rear long-arms (bare bones kit) (from kolak)

Teraflex front & rear springs 4.5" springs (sit more like ~ 4.75" I'm told)(from kolak)

Teraflex front & rear bump-stop extensions (from kolak)

4 Rubicon Express Monotube shocks (from kolak)

JKS front adjustable trackbar (from kolak)

JKS heavy duty tierod (from kolak)

(plus 2 new ends from dealer to replace worn ones and allow old ones to become spares)

JKS front swaybar quick disconnects (from kolak)

Rear extended length sway-bar links (from IRO)

Tenneco Heavy Duty Steering Stabilizer (from IRO)

JKS SuperNerfs (from kolak)

Gas tank skid (came with 1/8th inch factory skid, good FOR NOW)

Have someone local custom make a transfercase skid / belly pan (probably http://www.hunteroffroad.com) I've got conficting reports as to whether the IRO works with clayton's kit without mod, and I'd rather have a nice full-belly skid similiar to what I have on my XJ...

Mopar front tow hook kit, black #82207552 (from dealer)

Rear towpoint - jeep came with towing package and I have one of these...

Exhaust (mainly from kolak, have someone local weld up everything):

Section of 3" mid pipe, Magnaflow high flow 3" converter, Flowmaster 50 Delta Flow muffler (3" center inlet/offset outlet), 3" turn-down tip

Wheels/Tires - to be decided this week. Will probably go with 33x11ish on 16's, or maybe keep the stock 17's and get spacers to save some money for right now.

Mine being and 03 has a double-cardan style front shaft already, so shouldn't need to change that right now.

I posted that up on some forums and the only feedback i got really was that the Teraflex bumpstop extension were going to be to short and that i shouldn't get them. Well I had already ordered them so oh well, turns out they were right... so after getting everything else installed i had to order some custom length extensions from IRO.

While waiting on they Clayton Kit (backordered for months!), i had to make a decision on wheels tires.

Originally I was going with the Toyo MT, but becuase of the Clayton backorder, the new KM2's came out in time... so a friend that works for a tire distributor hooked me up and I got 5 of these at a great deal:

They were:

BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain T/A KM2 Tires - LT285/70R17

and Eagle Alloy Series 140 Black Wheels- 17"x8", 5 on 5, +2 mm offset, 4.517" BS, 29 lbs

I couldn't stand looking at them sitting in the garage everyday for another month while still waiting on the Clayton backorder!

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After finally gettting the Clayon Kit in, I had Absolute Offroad in west phoenix do the majority of the install (since i didn't have any welding ability):

here was a before shot (bumper is off for trimming and to put on tow-hooks):

and now, from front:

from behind:

i did a quick run up a drainage ditch just to see how/where the rear will rub:

"the last pic is where i stopped when i heard rubbing... still no-where near the bump-stop. Just by eye-balling it, i think i will need 4" extensions if i don't want to trim alot... obvisously i have to run it up and take some real measurements."

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here's another old post from back in 6/2008:

original tires:

235/65/17 = 29.02755905511811"

(circumference 91.1927663")

new tires:

285/70/17 = 32.70866141732284"

(circumference 102.75729")

original gears: 3.73

suggested new gears: 4.2030164112301644

speedometer discrepancy:

40 is really 45

50 is really 56

60 is really 68

70 is really 79

75 is really 85

never had really thought about the math on the speedo before to realize that the amount you are off by gets worse as you go faster!

all calcs came from: http://www.4lo.com/4LoCalc.htm

UPDATE after lift install 6-29-08:

the computer says i am now averaging 12.5 mpg, which i calculate would really be 14.1 mpg if the computer was adjusted for the new tires. before tires and lift, i averaged 16mpg, so it looks like just the change in weight and aerodynamics has lost me 2mpg!!

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8th Grade ESL students to visit OGHS
On March 9th, the 8th grade ESL students at OGM will be bussed over to the high school for an orientation session in view of their fall enrollment as 9th graders. They will be greeted by administrators, given a tour of the high school by EL upperclassmen, and have a pizza party with their high school counterparts. It will also be a chance for Mrs. Howard's former students to say goodbye to her before she leaves the area.
Hattiesburg, MS

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June Top 10 (Mike)

[For previous Top 10 lists, please click on the Incense Review Index tab above or the Top Ten Lists category on the left down the page a bit. Please also check the Reviews Index for reviews of some of these incenses]

Yamadamatsu Kumoi Koh – There are still lots of fabulous Yamadamatsu incenses that are likely on their way over the Pacific at some point and I think we’re practically bursting to talk about some of these, but of the ones that have made it, Kumoi Koh is probably my favorite, in fact it would be in the running for the top spot of the year. While we’ve discussed some of the company’s incenses in the past, this is really one of the first that gives an idea of what these creators can accomplish. It’s really hard to explain because while this does have a wood presence, there’s a spicy/musky oil on this one that is addictive and stupendous, in fact the first time I had a box of this, I spent maybe a day or two just burning stick after stick of this. It has a deep redolence that partakes of a wide palette of incense materials. This company is truly a marvel.

Tibetan Medical College Holy Land – This one may take a back seat for a few weeks but as soon as I get back into the box I tend to burn several sticks. I still think this has a depth and complexity that few Tibetan incenses really exhibit and I constantly marvel at what I might call its salty qualities. I think perhaps I have some childhood memories that this scent triggers, because I just find it endlessly fascinating.

Myrrh – Thanks to my cohort Anne, I’m in possession of some really quality myrrh. This is a resin that can vary so wildly in quality that I’ve smelled some really nasty stuff in the past, but this gorgeous pinkish/orange premium stuff is so fantastic you can actually smell it off the resin. I think in one of the Baieido ingredient pages it mentions that the really good stuff breaks up really sticky rather than crystalline, and this is indeed really sticky. I spent a few days after getting it heating little pieces. Now I’ve got to grind some of this and Mermade’s hougary together and see how that works out.

Mother’s India Fragrances/Agni Nagchampa – I’m picking just one of the dozen or so newest Mothers that could easily make this list, because really in the end what makes them so good is their bases, the top fragrances really just end up reacting off these in many different ways. And I’ve gotten my notes written up for this one. Perhaps in the spirit of Ross’s recent posts, this is the musk version of the series and it’s got that sweet, rich and decadent French musk sitting right on top of the usual spicy base. Anyway I couldn’t be more glad Mother’s decided to expand their original five because essentially this is now by far the best champa line on the market.

Gyokushodo/Saishuko – Like many of the Gyokushodo scents that can blow you away just with a sniff of the fresh box, the most premium in the latest line is perhaps the only one of them that has much of a fresh smell, you get the distinct impression these are definitely more in the raw materials area. Still this does have a lot of similarity with Saimei Koh, with that sort of orange spicy mix, although it’s now at a level where it’s more of a hint and mixed in with a real fresh scented aloeswood goodness.

Gyokushodo/Shunsui is the next step down and could be the most fascinating of all of them as it mixes in whelk operculum with the wood base. Perhaps by association or perhaps not, I was definitely reminded of the seaside with this one, although it also seems to have some muskier hints as well. Overall while it’s still fairly new to me and I’ve had to pass up on it for a week or so due to reviews stuff, it hints at a really impressive complexity that I’m looking forward to getting back to.

Mentsi Khang/Mih Bhutanese – Superficially this incense seems to have a lot in common with most of the Bhutanese makers, but the creators have seemed to make this with a bit of fire in the mix and for some reason it always stands out when I reach for the box. Very woody and although I’m not sure I could really explain the constituents it stands out intuitively to me as if it has some sort of mild psychoactive element to it, or I guess that would be my way of saying that it’s quite evocative in its own way.

Baieido Hakusui (or Ogurayama) Aloeswood – Either of these could almost be considered a top 10 incense experience perenially. Not only are chips of this astounding on a heater, but there’s a definitely aesthetic pleasure in both the packaging and the slices of wood.

Highland Incense (Sticks) – The close number 2 to Holy Land, there’s just a really wild and feral musky scent to this Tibetan classic that’s hard not to love.

Pure Incense / Absolute Kevda – In working on the next batch of PI reviews, this one stuck out pretty strong. It’s sort of a mix of woodies qualities and patchouli greenness, all merging together with a touch of floral. In the end I was thinking I’d probably dig more than a sample of it.

As always, feel free to share your own favorites of the last month in the comments section…

Musk Scented Incenses-Japan (Ross)

In keeping with the musk theme for the Natural Perfumers Guild “Mystery of Musk” project( and ORS being an incense review site) I was thinking of bring out an all inclusive list of incense with a musk scent in them. Then Mike mentioned “Ross, you might find it an easier to job to list the incenses WITHOUT musk of
some sort in them. 🙂 “ after doing a quick search at Essence of the Ages I realized that he was totally right. So instead I will break this down into at least two, maybe 3 parts.

We are starting our aromatic and musky journey with the Japanese side of things and I am listing incenses that I personally know have a musk scent in them. They are also available in the US. Some might use the real deal, while others have opted to use botanical sources for the musk scent, or possibly an “aroma chemical”.

In the history of Japanese incense it seems to me from what I have read that musk has played a very large role as both a primary scent and also as a scent fixative, much like in perfumes. Musk has a tremendous amount of staying power and can help to anchor other scents as well. In Chinese Medicine it also has many therapeutic properties so it has been popular for ages. I have seen very old receipts for kneaded incense balls where it became obvious that it was more a question of how much musk rather then if it was in there or not. Some companies still make this style (not available in the US through) and the price reflects the scarcity of the ingredients. The use of Kyara, high quality Aloeswoods and musk can really put a dent in ones bank account 🙂 I can only imagine the scent, but given the sophistication and esthetics of those times I am sure it is amazing. Shoyeido does make the kneaded style, but I have not had a chance to try them. I have tried some from Yamada Matsu (Kurogata & Genmyo) and these do have a musky scent to them, mixed in with the woods and spices, quite nice and perfect for those who cannot deal with smoke.

In the world of incense sticks from Japan I am going to talk about the ones I know and think are in the “best of class” category as far as musk scented.

Shoyeido’s Kyara blends (Sho-Kaku, Myo-ho and Go-un) all have that quality to them, besides the great wood notes, it is one of the major aspects that makes them so good. The musk helps round out and sort of lifts the scent up.

Shunkodoh’s Ranjatai and Kyara Seikan are both two of my all time favorites. They are somewhat similar but the addition of the Kyara wood in the Seikan produces a smoother scent. Personally I think Ranjatai is one of the best deals in incense, the initial outlay for a bundle is not cheap but you get a very large amount of incense and if you do like musk scents, it’s here in spades.

Kohshi’s Japanese Musk, which is actually made by Daihatsu is inexpensive yet has a tremendous amount of smooth musk scent. Leaving the box out in the room will fragrance the room all by itself.

Seijudo’s collection of Kyara’s (Kyara Horen, Kyara Seiran and Kyara Enju all have a musk scent bonded with the Kyara aspect, they are all quite good and considered some of the very best in Japan.

Tennendo’s Shingon apparently uses a botanical musk as its scent, it’s nice, not in the same class as Ranjatai, but it also only costs around $6.00

You can check out the reviews in the side bar on the left, every one of these is in there, there is also a list of stores that we have had good experiences with that tend to carry at least some of these.

Many of the more expensive one’s are available in sampler packs. If you have some favorits be sure and write about them. Enjoy –Ross

Gyokushodo: Seidaiko, Buntoku (Ross)

You can see the first two sections about this entire grouping here and here.

Seidaiko:  This is listed as using Vietnam Aloeswood. It is  somewhat spicy, yet with some sweet, almost musky undertones. I am thinking that this maybe caused by the Reiryo koh (also listed as an ingredient) and perhaps some benzoin resin. Nice woody notes in this one, not super strong but nicely done. Much more distinct then the Buntoku.

Buntoku:  An Aloeswood blend with some Sandalwood and also with Spikenard listed in the ingredients. There is a bit of sweetness mixed in with the woods, faint, but there. The scent seems to sort of balance on that knife edge between the Aloeswoods and Sandalwoods, neither quite making a solid appearance nor playing a leading role  I find this one to be the least satisfying of the line. Not that it’s bad, it’s just not a standout like most of their other products tend to be.

Keiunko is also listed in this grouping, it has also be around longer then the others and you can see Mikes review of it here.

All in all, these incense from Gyokushodo are quite good, some of them are truly outstanding and reflect a very well established and knowledgeable company with a lot of expertise in incense. My own feelings as to what to get would probably be that the prices tell the story, or, you get what you pay for. Given the prices and availability of materials that the incense makers are dealing with right now this makes sense.  -Ross

Incensum FAQ

I dug up this page doing some research today. A highly recommended FAQ page that busts some misinformation on Indian incense, in particular some bits on the Nag Champa Wikipedia page.

Mystery of Musk Part 1

There are some great sources of information about musk from many of the blogs of people involved in this project that is being put on by the Natural Perfumers Guild. One of the main people orchestrating this is Elena at Perfume Shrine. Besides having a tremendous amount or articles about musk she has also written much about Aloeswood and Oud and is, in general, just a tremendous storehouse of information about perfumes and scents, all of which are well written and oh so well researched.

Be sure to check out the blogs of the various perfumers(at the Perfume Shrine link above), many who have writings on their journeys with the use of musks.  Ambrosia Jones come to mind. If you have not read  Avery Gilbert’s blog, or better yet, read his book “What the Nose Knows” you are missing a great resource on scents written from the science side. Very real, with tongue firmly in cheek, lots of humor and backed up with real world knowledge. Something of a rare combination in this very PR driven field of perfumes and scents in general. Anya McCoy ‘s blog has tons of information and much about the behind the scenes fight to save the use of the basic building blocks of perfume from way too many assorted government agency’s. She is also the guiding light of the Guild and has a tremendous amount of information on natural perfumes.

I am hoping to get together a listing of musk scented incense early next week (of which there are many) that range in price from the very reasonable to the not at all reasonable. One thing about musk in incense that I have found is that it really depends as to what else it is mixed with as to how it’s going to affect the overall scent of the incense. Pretty much all the classic kneaded styles from ancient Japan  used musk as an ingredient, but given the different proportions in each formula that might not be obvious. Also many of the high end sticks of today imitate (to a degree) those older scents. So the musk can act as a fixative or base to anchor all the other scents or it might be used in such a way as to take center stage. I am not at all sure how it works in the Tibetan style incenses, but I do know it’s in some and hopefully Mike and Steve will chime in. Oh yes, real musk, and pretty much anything that has that quality of scent is expensive. So it can add a lot to the price of incense. This means that while, yes indeed, you are paying for that oh so nice Kyara/Aloeswood scent in the mix, you are also paying for the addition of musk or perhaps ambergris and a few other olfactory  gems. All of which are getting harder to source as old stocks run out. Price goes up.

OK, back to sitting in the sun at the ORS High Altitude Mobile Research Station here in Lake Tahoe. Now, if I could just remember where I left the BBQ sauce….Ross

Incense Trading Wiki

For those who have wanted to trade incense with others, Kristin of Sprays of Blossoms, Curls of Smoke has set up a very nice site. Here’s the announcement (please read first).

African Aromatics (Ross)

This is a blog about resins and such used in African incenses and perfumes. I have had a chance to sample some of these and can say that they are quite good. Somewhat along the lines of frankincense and myrrh , but also different. I have a feeling after reading this blog that you can expect to see them showing up soon as notes in some higher end perfumes. The search for new scents is never ending and right now there is a big push on for the use of more natural ingredients by a lot of perfumer companies. New things are always sought after. It would be nice if the people of these tribes benefited from all this.    Enjoy -Ross

Gyokushodo: Saishuko & Shunsui (Ross)

Gyokushodo is a very old incense company who has only recently come to light in the US. They have actually had some of their offerings available here for some years but never seemed to have their name mentioned.

They have a number of lines, each of which are pretty tightly grouped as to a style. Their woods and oils lie have been here the longest and you can see our reviews on them here. The new group to come in seems to be centered on the use of traditional woods and herbs/spices without the addition of oils, at least to my nose. The first two to come in were Saimei koh and Umeshoin. I personally find them to be very well done as well as very traditional style scents. They are not particularly strong and are much more geared to setting quietly nearby rather then doing up a large space(unless, of course, like some of us; you burn a bunch at one shot 🙂  ) .

Saishuko uses a good grade of Aloeswood mixed with what is labeled as Lysimachiae herba (Reiryo-koh). So given that, I was expecting something along the lines of one of the incenses from Kunmeido. This is not the case. Instead I find an almost musky scent, with some additional sweet notes as well an occasional hint of clove and/or cinnamon. Way in the background there seems to be a slight green note. Again this is all pretty subtle, refined and elegant but not something that would be considered overpowering or overwhelming. It would be equally at home during meditation or even during a meal.

Shunsui also uses a good grade of Aloeswood as well as a part of a marine mollusk. I am sure there are other spices at work here also. It has a sort of bitter sweet scent to it that is stronger in delivery then the Saishuko mentioned above. Again this has a seemingly very traditional scent to it, yet it is also not a very common scent in the incenses that have come into this country (so far). As a side note the mollusk used as a main ingredient here is usually used as a fixative (something to prevent the other scents from going away too fast) This is a pretty unusual use of it and it works out well.

One thing about all of these is that they pretty much need to be first on the nights “burn list”.  So trying to taste a bunch at one sitting can be pretty difficult. Also, they all seem to have a pretty deep learning curve with many layers residing within each stick Oh yes, all of this line seem to come in a rather heavy plastic wrapper as well as in their own box. This means that they are going to hold onto their aromatics for quite a while, nice touch.

Right this moment the only place I know of where you can get these in this country is at Japan Incense. I would assume this will change but who knows.

I will be reviewing another three of these within a day or two.    -Ross

Upcoming from Ross

Lots of new scents to sample over at Japan Incense when I went over there this last weekend. A review of 5 new scents from Gyokushodo by this weekend (these guys are the master of the subtle, multi-layered approach). Plus at some point some new floral/spice sticks (about 6-7 different ones) from a smallish maker(who shall remain nameless at the moment).

The first week in July I will be part of a 10 blog and 12 perfumers event called the “The Mystery of Musk” which is being organized by the Natural Perfumers Guild. You can read more about it at the above link. It should be great fun and provide some real insight into what is one of the most sought after scents in both perfume and incense. The list of perfumers and bloggers is pretty amazing. I invite you to check out the differnt blogs as these people have a lot of experience and know how in the olfactory arts.

I/we will be doing a post on incenses that feature the scent of musk in June as a sort of companion piece. Actually I just now thought of this so we will be headed to the secret Lab to figure it out 🙂


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Nippon Kodo / Kurobo Nerikoh

Today I decided to open up my container of Nippon Kodo‘s “Kurobo” Nerikoh and give it a review. Upon first impressions I am confronted with a sweet, woody and spicy mix of scents, straight from the package. It is slated as having aloes wood and sandalwood, while its name is a phrase meaning “Black Priest” in Japanese. I was initially confronted with a base note of a salty/bitter aloes wood scent, alongside cassia and clove and a sweet floral smell I was unable to identify. I also noticed a slight undertone of a soapy smell (barely noticeable, similar to bar soap). After the initial burn in on charcoal in a traditional koro, (and slight heat increase), the overtones faded to a more woody, bitter aloes wood, and the sweetness tapered off. In my personal opinion, I liked this blend a tad more than the previously reviewed Hatsune, And believe that it will appeal to almost anyone, especially those who love sweet woods.

Nippon Kodo / Hatsune Nerikoh

Today I will be reviewing Nippon Kodo’s “Hatsune” Nerikoh. This kneaded blend tends to be a strong, syrupy sweet mix. I ordered a ceramic container of this, and was pleasantly surprised when I received it. It is slated as having aloeswood and sandalwood, while its name is a phrase meaning “the first bird warbles of spring” in japanese. Although slated as having aloeswood in the ingredients, I was initially confronted with overtones/base note of sweet apricot, with a background note of talcum powder and sandalwood. After the initial burn in on charcoal in a traditional koro, (and slight heat increase), the overtones faded to a more woody, sweet and bitter sandalwood, and the apricot faded into the background. Overall I believe this to be a very approachable nerikoh that will definitely appeal to those who love sweet incense.

November Top Ten

Welcome to the November Top Ten. As is usually the case for me these are not necessarily laid out in any kind of  “order of wonderfulness”! I like to use many different styles and types of incense so getting it down to ten is an interesting endeavor and something of a difficult task. I would also like to mention we try and hold these to ten selections so if you current favorite is not listed, remain calm and perhaps light another stick 🙂

Next months Top Ten will turn into our “end of the year, completely over the top, blow out list” which we hope to get up by mid December. We are holed up in the secret ORS testing lab wildly waving sticks at each other to back up our various favorites. It’s getting a little smoky in here and I hope the extra fire extinguishers show up soon.

You can find all the incenses listed below in past reviews at ORS unless I have added a link as they are too new to have a review. Enjoy  -Ross

Baieido’s: Rikkoku Aloeswood Set: Quite simply put this is a work of natural art. It comes in a wonderful presentation box that is stunning all by itself. All the woods are great and at the same time very different. The Kyara is mind bending, but then again, in their own way, so are the others. There is a lot of study potential here. Used in the recommended manner this set will last one for quite awhile. You can also sometimes find this in the “mini” size.

Baieido’s Kokonoe: This is one of my “go to” wood scents. I find it very enjoyable and the cost makes it pretty easy to use. It has a clean aloeswood scent and does a great job of showcasing the Indonesian wood. Its also a good place to start looking at specific examples of regional scents within aloeswood as any extra spices or resins in these sticks is there to highlight the wood.

Nippon Kodo’s: Gokuhin Kyara Taikan: This is the second rung up in NK’s high end Kyara ladder. It features a more distinct wood note as well as more refinement in the top notes then Tokusen Kyara Taikan. It is a very elegant incense and quite potent at the same time. There is a sort of resin/floral/powder feel in the overall scent that is a wonderful counterpart to the wood notes. It’s only draw back is that it makes you start wondering how you can afford to get the next one up, which is much more money.

Kyukyodo’s: Sho ran Koh: This one is on our Top Tens a lot and with good reason. It is a very beautiful scent, an elegant floral that is not overdone and has some quality Aloeswoods backing it all up. Not to mention the roll is very large, just opening the box is a huge treat. Koh Shi in San Francisco tries to have this in stock.

Seijudo’s: Kyara Horen: Seijudo decided to create the best Kyara blends that they could for as long as they can get the materials to do so. The top three in the line up actually use Kyara in their blends while the other 4 have very similar notes but use aloeswood. Sometimes the differences seem very subtle. This one is the third from the top. I find it the easiest to get along with, it has tons of Kyara notes mixed in with spices and maybe a hint of musk. It is refined and elegant, but still friendly. It’s also something to be burned first and savored. There is quite a lot going on here and you will get the most out of it this way.  Not inexpensive but a real treasure as well as a treat for the soul.

Mermade’s Scared Grove: Lighting this will almost instantly surround you in the scent of a very large forest. It is very clean and for this time of the year I find it a great way to sort of “open up” the room it’s burning in. High quality and natural ingredients play a big part in Mermade’s success. I notice that there is a bunch of new offerings listed on their site right now.

Daihatsu’s Kaizan: Not only does this has a very nice amber note but the story I was told is that it was formulated by Daihatsu’s Ko Shi ( Fragrance Master) to mimic the scent that geishas used in their hair. Nice scent and a great price. A strong and long lasting aroma that can easily fill a room. Just the thing for all us amber fans.

Shunkohdo’s Houshou: A quality aloeswood at a very reasonable price. It has subtle top notes of chocolate that play with the aloeswood. Quite a beautiful combination and at the price($20) is a great deal not to be missed. Great gift for the incense people in you life.

Incensio’s Palo Santo Wand: If you like Palo Santo then you will be in heaven. The incense look’s sort of like thin cigars on a stick. They are packed with a wonderful and very woody scent that is particular to Palo Santo. These are available at Mermade and a full review of the line is in the works. By the way, using just a portion of a stick will do the trick; these people did not mess around when they put the woods in! Very interesting and at a good price.

Blue Star’s: Lavender: This is from a small producer in Canada (I can hear Anne getting excited). He uses all natural ingredients and the sticks are done in a sort of Tibetan Japanese fusion style, so they are thick and go for around 30-40 minutes. This one stands out for me as it has a nice light wood base note overlaid with a very clean and clear Lavender scent. Just a tiny bit sweet and really beautiful. Lavender Essential Oil is used and then the stick is rolled in Lavender flowers. This one is a winner and a review of the lineup is coming soon. Not to be missed and you get 10 sticks for around $4.00

October Top 10

  1. Mother’s India Fragrances – Om Nag Champa  I don’t mean to take much attention away from all of the other excellent incenses in the Mother’s series, but there’s something about this one that’s hit a bullseye with me, to the point where I ran out my first 20 stick package of this about a month or so after I received it. However in stocking it deeper in the smaller packages, I noticed the batches were a little different and it’s something I’ve been wondering about in terms of aromatic differences as the Om I started with really is something of a triangular balancing act and the small package scent falls perhaps a little short. But generally speaking this works for me because I love an incense with a perfect cinnamon/cassia note and this one, at least in the big package has that to an almost addictive state.
  2. Shoyeido / Premium / Myo-Ho  I find this to be one of the greatest incenses period, definitely my favorite of the top 3 premiums and I love the effect it has on company when they first get the aroma. The liquerish sweetness and dark kyara and aloeswood notes mesh just about perfectly in this one.
  3. Baieido / Ogurayama Aloeswood  I still find this a natural miracle, it just never ceases to astound me that you can get this much aroma from a small piece of this wood. I mean you can literally get 3-4 hours of it when you get the right temperature and I spend most of it double taking, going yeah it really is that little chip doing that. I might actually slightly prefer the Hakusui in terms of its spiciness but I think the resin might actually be a bit more intense in the Ogurayama. Anyway this is about as close to incense nirvana as it gets for me.
  4. Fred Soll / Red Sandalwood  Like many Solls this does have the penchant to not stay lit, but that’s really its only weakness. Like Shroff’s Red Sandal, this is a spicier take on a sandalwood incense, showing a totally different facet of the wood due to the cinnamon-ish notes. With Soll’s version you get that combination mixed in with that southwestern woodsy/resiny vibe to great effect. It’s also one of the mellower Solls and seems to have less powerful oils than they usually do.
  5. Tennendo / Enkuu  This is always a perennial favorite in my book, in fact long time readers might know that this is one of the most common incenses in the top ten lists here. I think that’s largely because so many of the top end incenses have kyara and are thus very sweet, Enkuu is more at the apex of the drier spicy end, for its kind there are really few better incenses. And even after a year or two since I first tried it, I still find it strikingly original and only find it mildly comparative to other high end aloeswood/spikenard mixes.
  6. Fred Soll / Nag Champa with Amber and Vanilla  I don’t bring out the Soll champas very often as for a couple of years now they’ve shown nothing but delays in terms of restocking these scents, no doubt due to the usual shortages. But when I do I’m always completely bowled over by how great these are, particularly in the realms of the sugary sweet. This one’s about as rich and amazing as you can imagine, perhaps even too much so for a small room, but perfect for these late warm California summers outside where it can penetrate with even a small wind.
  7. Yamadamatsu / Kumoi Koh  Another absolute classic in my book, an oil and woods mix that is rich, spicy and animalistic, so strong that you can get an idea of its scent just from the fresh stick. It’s similar to one or two of the coils that haven’t been imported here yet that clearly use some ingredients you don’t usually find in incenses at this level of strength. Very exotic and heady.
  8. Kyukyodo / (several)  Clearly the top catalog whose entry to US shores seems to be problematic at the very least. Sure you can find Sho-Ran-Koh and Azusa these days, but there are just a good dozen incenses or so that just badly need to be imported that haven’t ever been over here, such as the incredible aloeswood Akikaze or even the stunning and much lower end Benizakura or one of the really great high quality sandalwood based incenses Gyokurankoh. Oh and RIP Shiun and Yumemachi, what a pair to be deleted!
  9. Nippon Kodo / Tokusen Kyara Taikan  Readers may not fully be aware that if you don’t count the regular Kyara Taikan or Kongo, which I don’t, this is actually the lowest incense on a scale that goes up to what seems like the world’s most expensive stick incense, the $2500 Gokujyo Kyara Fugaku. I think you’d only have to pay $120 something for the Tokusen Kyara Taikan, which is actually an excellent stick in that it drops some of the more perfumy sweet aspects of the straight Kyara Taikan for a more elegant result. It’s a shame these are so breakable and thin, but they do pack quite a wallop.
  10. Shroff / Akash Ganga  I’ve always found this an odd scent because it’s one if not the only incenses in the Dry Masala range that shares the yellow boxes with the Semi-Drys, and I can see why as it seems to fall somewhere in the middle. I find this a very unusual variant on the “desert flower” sort of scents in that it doesn’t have the heavy camphorous notes they usually have or the sort of sickly sweet perfumes. And as a result it strikes me as a very mysterious scent with a depth that continues to make me go through my supplies very fast.

As always feel free to share with us what amazed you this month!

SAMPLER NOTES: Nippon Kodo, Men-Tsee-Khang, Lhundup

Nippon Kodo were apparently started in New York, or at least I read that on Wikipedia once, so I suppose a grain of salt is in order, but I take such a statement as part of a rationalization that helps me separate the company from the big group of other Japanese incense companies. But to be fair the major separation here is that Nippon Kodo are more of an incense company for the masses, creating many of their lines so that they’re modern in tone and cheap in price, meaning that there are obviously a lot of synthetic perfumes at work in these, a fact we can infer from a couple of their lines being marketed as pure or all-natural. So it has been difficult from my end to really sing the praises of Nippon Kodo’s incenses, although to be sure in some cases they really do succeed.

For one thing, Nippon Kodo, like most Japanese companies have a line of aloeswood incenses that could have the widest range in the world, starting down in the cheaper categories covered here a while back with Kangetsu. Shuin and others and apparently moving all the way to kyara sticks in the 5 digit range, well beyond the standards of all but the truly wealthy. In the US, we’ve seen as high as the $420 box Tokusen Kyara Kayou. More common (and covered by Ross a while back) are the next two in the series, the Tokusen Kyara Taikan and the Gokuhin Kyara Taikan at $146 and $250, both of which are excellent incenses if, perhaps, overpriced compared to what you might find from a different company in the same range. After these scents, the Nippon Kodo aloeswoods drop to the Kyara Taikan and Kyara Kongo, two incenses that seem to mimic a certain type of stylized kyara scent that may be considered too perfumed from a traditional perspective.

And for a long time here is where I stopped, not realizing that when the range drops to Jinkoh Juzan, it has actually come up with a startingly decent and fairly affordable aloeswood incense. Like with the higher ends, it does retain a certain perfumed characteristic that’s common to all Nippon Kodos, however, the Juzan is not nearly as rich as the two Kyaras above it and somehow a distinct woodiness that is common to most aloeswoods is not lost at all, giving the perfume and oil quite the decent balance. That Nippon Kodo could get away with an aloeswood having this resiny a subscent at this range is quite a surprise in my book. However, the crux of the issue is whether I’m enjoying the sample or would go on to like a full box of Juzan without getting tired of it. Honestly I’m more inclined to thinking it would be quite good, as it has a similar balance to the Tokusen Kyara Taikan, which I do like quite a bit.

On the other hand Nippon Kodo’s Jinko Seiun is perhaps more what you’d expect from a low end Nippon Kodo incense. Despite the $36 asking price, you’re still getting 170 sticks which sort of belies the idea this is a deluxe aloeswood and implies this probably fits better with the low ends. I’ve not, nor plan to try any of the other Seiuns, so I’m not totally sure what the characteristic is of the line across Amore, Violet and Chrysanthemum incenses, but the Jinkoh is certainly floral enough to where its nature as an aloeswood is somewhat trivial. Certainly this seems to have more of an aloeswood approximation than definition and as such it seems like it’s crossing a modern/traditional divide that’s likely going to appeal more to the modern-inclined.

So now over to the continent to the Men-Tsee-Khang medical center that appears to operate in two different countries (Tibet and India), however from the constituency of the incenses (that is, lacking the sorts of animalistic scents found in incenses from the Tibetan Autonomous Region) I think we can assume these scents follow alongside traditional Nepalese and Indian styles. Men-Tsee-Khang produce two stick incenses and two powders. I’ve not tried the powders, but the sticks certainly seem akin to incenses found at the Dhoop Factory and other Nepalese outfits, with heavy Himalayan woods and herbs at the center. The regular Sorig Incense, like many Nepalese or Indian monastery incenses, has a number of ingredients (listed by Latin name at the above link) that impart herbal and berry-ish tones to the scent, but overall is distinguished by a large amount of woods and binder that give the typical campfire smell associated with these types of incenses. While I only had enough of a sample to touch the surface, it did seem that this seemed to be one of the better in the style, with a bit of complexity and an unsual wild note in the mix. While I probably have enough incenses in this style not to immediately pursue a box, I can imagine I might eventually replace something else similar to this in the future.

The Sorig Healing stick is much thicker and resembles Dhoop Factory’s Agar 31/Medicine Buddha line in a couple of ways. It definitely seems to be akin to the common scents in this style, with a mix of woods, herbs and a very slight agarwood tang to it, but most importantly it doesn’t seem to have a great deal of filler to it and few if any off scents. It’s perhaps a bit hard to get lit, but for such a thick stick it doesn’t put out a lot of smoke and seems to have a gentle calming effect.

There are a couple grades to Bhutanese creator Lhundup, however I only received a sampler of the top A grade. Naturally this is sort of the typical Bhutanese style stick, roughly similar to Nado Poizokhang’s incenses or World Peace Grade B or Kuenzang Chodtin, with a pinkish hue and a similar berry-like tang to it. The consistency isn’t quite as snappy or plastic-like as some of these other incenses and there’s a bit deeper of a tone to it. Overall there’s a lot of sandalwood, both white and red, spice, cherry, musk and at times a slight unique gentle floral that sets this apart from other Bhutanese sticks. Quite interesting overall, although it’s difficult to tell whether it earns its $18.50 asking price or not.

Next up in the Sampler Notes series, the bad news, a very rough sample of a few Maroma Indian charcoals and perhaps another incense or two as a late addition…

Nippon Kodo / Ka-Fuh / Hinoki + Naturense / Inspired Mind

Aside from the kyara ladder which Ross reviewed in part a little while back, I’m probably not the biggest appreciator nor perhaps the true end user of Nippon Kodo product. Even their aloeswood incenses strike me as weaker than just about every other Japanese company and their moderns can often be bitter and very synthetic smelling. This latter observation could be a good reason why they tend to have a lot of affordable incense lines, but I’d prefer to shell out for quality in just about every case. Of course with every rule there are exceptions.

I’m setting this up because except for their premium incenses, I’ve not bought a Nippon Kodo incense in a very long time and probably don’t see myself doing so in the future, even to complete the two lines that I’m going to be featuring one incense each from in this post. But fortunately, I think I’ll be able to post this “odd and end” review on a high note as these are two of NK’s more pleasant scents.

I’m also not really the end user for smokeless lines. I’ve tried one other Ka Fuh scent, the Aqua, which I more or less reviewed in its smoke version in the New Morningstar line a while back. It’s a apparently a popular incense, but not really my style, even in its smoky version it’s a bit light and unimpressive, perhaps incense for those who find most incense offputting. The Hinoki (Cypress) blend on the other hand is actually quite good, in fact I’ve found myself enjoying it more with every stick. For one thing, I think Cypress tends to be a lighter, evergreen sort of scent so it works well in smokeless form, in fact the best Hinoki incense, Baieido’s version, is also low smoke. It’s a scent kind of hard to pick up if you’re not close to the burn but very pleasant when you pick it up. In comparison to the Baieido, the Ka Fuh version could possibly be slightly more synthetic but it really doesn’t come off that way overall, in fact it may just be slightly sweeter. Overall it’s difficult to say more, it smells like cypress without much of anything else and while I’d say start with a roll of Baieido Hinoki if you can afford it, this is much cheaper and only barely inferior. Unlike so many Morningstar scents, this seems to have some authenticity to it.

A company says a lot about the contents of their line when they set two aside as being natural incenses, it’s almost as if it explicitly casts the rest of their lines as being at least in part synthetic. The Naturense line is one of the two lines Nippon Kodo have labelled as natural, the other being NK Pure. Based on Inspired Mind, a lemongrass and orange scent, as well as the comparable but higher end Kohden line, Naturense seems to be an essential oil mix on wood base blend that bears a whiff of base as much as the oils, even in an oil blend as strongly scented as lemongrass and orange. It does indeed smell natural, not far from a mix of a standard inexpensive sandalwood incense and what you’d smell if you combined lemongrass and orange essential oils together. The lemongrass is dominant like it always is, but the orange does come through, lessing the pungency of the overall scent, probably a smart move. If you’re like me, you won’t need more than the occasional lemongrass incense every so often to mix things up and Inspired Mind does fit the bill as far as this is concerned.

So I think that wraps up almost every NK incense I own, apart from a Morning Star Gold sampler, a range which could be the posterchild for why the cheaper end of Japanese incense isn’t always a good idea and one that might take some time to build up the urge to comment on. On the other hand it won’t be long before I can resist a box of Tokusen Kyara Taikan.

Nippon Kodo / Mainichi Koh Sandalwood, Mainichi Koh Kyara Deluxe, Kangetsu Aloeswood, Zuiun Selected Aloeswood

The four incenses in question here are among Nippon Kodo’s most traditional scents, a point well worth underlining given the company’s dominant penchant for modern, perfumed based scents. As such, they’re four of the most affordable traditionals on the market and at least one of these is one of the most best selling incenses in Japan and likely on the international market as well.

In many ways these incenses could be considered ground level, “vanilla” type Japanese incenses and given their affordability aren’t bad places to start in terms of getting a quick idea of what the most traditional and perhaps generic scents are. Basically one of these is the ground zero of the green sandalwood style, while the others are aloeswood based, although I type this with slight reservation. It’s quite possible that the use of aloeswood in these incenses comes from blends or oils, as they’re quite different in many ways from the aloeswood based incenses you’ll find from companies like Baieido and Shunkohdo. They’re generally not as heavy or woody and as such are comparable to similar scents in their other lines like Kayuragi or even Morning Star or Morning Star Gold.

At ground zero, the Mainichi Koh Sandalwood (which also appears to be called Viva Sandalwood in roll format) is actually one of the most picture perfect and friendly versions of the “green” every day sandalwood available. This format is basically wood and oil based and the green in this case comes from the color of the stick rather than referring to an herbal nature. That is, sandalwood, probably mixed in with more inexpensive woods, form a base that is touched over with essential oil to form a very mild and pleasant aroma. It’s a style that just about every company touches in some way, from Baieido’s Junenko to Shoyeido’s Sitting Zen to Gyokushodo’s Eisenko to Tennendo’s Yoshino Hills and probably a dozen others or more that all only vary slightly in style/aroma. Amazingly, given that Nippon Kodo doesn’t always fare so well in comparison due to the use of inexpensive perfumes at the base of their incenses, their version of this standard could be the finest of all of them. There’s something about the combination that does not draw out the bitter notes some of these other incenses exhibit with a slight sweet, mintyness that’s gentle and very friendly. This is an incense I often pass up in my collection due to considering it inexpensive and dull, only to occasionally pull it out and realize how wrong I was. And with the 300 stick box going for so little ($7.50!), an up front purchase goes a long way. It’s amazing to think a standard incense could be so surprising, but Mainichi Koh constantly does. And NK deserve due credit for it.

However there’s something entirely misleading pinning “Kyara Deluxe” to their aloeswood version of Mainichi Koh. There’s no legitimate kyara stick in the known universe that charts out to 300 sticks for $18 (if only were it true) amd even if there is actually kyara in this incense it would be like comparing a needle to a haystack, like finding the electron in an atom. While one might recognize a certain aromatic quality that you can find in Kyara Kongo, Kyara Taikan and even Tokusen Kyara Taikan, it couldn’t be considered part of the base, in fact I’d have a hard time saying it’s part of the “and other spices” fraction of the stick.  Mainichi Koh Kyara Deluxe is an incense I’d probably even have a tough time calling an aloeswood, in fact with any affordable Nippon Kodo with aloeswood on tap, there’s an aroma entirely different (I’d even call it whitewashed) to the resinous, acrid heartwood most will be familliar with, as if they were trying to approximate an oil rather than wood. It gives all of the NK aloeswoods an inauthentic feel to them, although in saying that they’re certainly not bad incenses per se. Like Reiryo Koh and Reiryo Koh Aloeswood, one might find the sandalwood Mainichi Koh a more successful incense. MKKD is fairly harsh in a way, with a strong herbal nature and hints of chocolate at core and a hint of spice. It’s not sweetened up or created to be particularly friendly but in the ladder of aloeswoods it’s hard not to see it as a lower rung. Of course, like the sandalwood version, you get a lot of stick for the price and it’s certainly a more pleasant blend than many of the Morning Star lines.

Overall, Kangetsu Aloeswood might be the incense to start with in this vein given it comes in a roll format and has a cheaper start up cost. It’s only vaguely different in aroma from the Mainichi Koh Kyara Deluxe, a bit smoother but also slightly more bitter or sharp. The big difference is there is hints of a slight, legitimate aloeswood aroma in the mix which adds a bit of complexity to the herb, spice and chocolate mix of the MKKD. But it’s generally not enough to move this up from the lower rungs in the style and retains some of the bitterness and harshness that are endemic to cheaper aloeswoods whether legitimate or not.

Zuiun Selected Aloeswood is entirely different to Kangetsu and MKKD. It’s something like an inexpensive variant of incenses like Tennendo Renzan and Kyukyodo Shiun, with a sweet cherry-like aloeswood aroma at center. Zuiun does not have the presence or complexity of either of those classics, at heart it’s a much thinner and airy incense, but it still remains well within friendly territory, as this style is possibly the most accessible of aloeswood incenses. It’s certainly the last one I’d pull out in the style, given that the other two I named are still roughly in the same price range and are far more robust. But I still can’t imagine anyone who would find Zuiun unpleasant based on its own merits.

I’d certainly recommend a number of aloeswoods over any of the three mentioned here, even if you’re paying a few dollars more. But when it comes to green every day sandalwoods it’s hard to mention many that are better without being noticeably more deluxe (such as the finely oiled based Gyokushodo Toshiwa or Shoyeido’s slightly higher end Evening Zen) than the standard Mainichi Koh. It’s really an amazingly friendly and entirely inexpensive Japanese incense that leads the pack of a very standard and common style.

Nippo Kodo Tokusen Kyara Taikan and Gokuhin Kyara Taikan -Ross

Nippon Kodo is considered the number one seller of incense in Japan. Its Morning Star line has been around for ages and may well be what most people in the US consider the standard of Japanese incense just because it is so prevalent. For me personally, most of their lines just don’t do it for me, not sure why, but that’s how it is.
However, they also happen to have a very large selection of Kyara’s including what is considered the most expensive incense stick in the world; Agilawood Superb富嶽, at 210,000 yen ( around $2100.00, tax included! )( why yes, that does amount to a house payment). The Kyara line up starts at the “lower end” with TOKUSEN KYARA TAIKAN Superior and GOKUHIN KYARA TAIKAN Superior. ( 3rd down ) For a long time I have wondered what any of these were like but there were never any samples available and having been burned once in an attempt to get the Gokuhin ( a very bad and dishonest store) I had become a little gun shy about this line.
Then in September Mike put up an announcement from N. K. that there were, for a very limited time, samples. I spent at least 10 seconds of terribly agonizing soul searching before placing an order 🙂 .
The samples came and I tried one of each. The sample sticks are around three inches long and there are eight in a pack, this comes out to about two full sized sticks. They were very different from what I was expecting in a Kyara blend. At the time I thought they were OK but not mind bending. Took about 5 weeks to come back to them and in the last week or so I have gone through many more sticks and also compared them to other Kyara’s and higher end Aloes.
Like most people here at ORS I started in on the world of Kyara with the Shoyeido high end sampler and for quite awhile, in my mind, I assumed that that was how Kyara was supposed to be. These are not along the Shoyeido style at all; in fact if anything, they tend to be more towards the Shunkodo or Kyukyodo high ends scent combinations.
In the full roll there are 55 sticks at 8.5 inches long and they are very thin (then again I have yet to see a thick Kyara stick, which would, of course, hammer your wallet into oblivion, but, oh my, the smell).
The Tokusen Kyara Taikan might best be described as something along the scent lines of Kyyukyodo’s Sho-Ran-Ko, possibly a little sweeter, with Kyara notes coming up from the background. I am also reminded of similarities to the Shunkodo Kyara’s. The stick, when burning, smells much stronger then when unlit, almost surprisingly so, makes me wonder how they can generate all the scent without a huge amount of oil/spice smell in the unlit stick. It is a very clean and, to me, pure oil and spice mix with the Kyara sweet/sour notes drifting through it all. The Kyara notes are not super strong, but they are certainly there. I find it very pleasant and a nice change from the Shoyeido style. Don’t get me wrong here, I love Myo-Ho and Go-Un and such, but this is very nice and also a lot less money. It is not “in your face” Kyara, it also took me many sittings to start to get it, I liked it enough to order a box.
The Gokuhin Kyara Taikan has a lot more wood scents going for it then the Tokusen. It also has oils and spices but they play a much smaller roll in the blend. It seems to be a deeper, woodier take on the theme set up in the Tokusen. It is $100 more expensive and the cost difference is probably in the amount ( or grade ) of Kyara used. I find it to be a more grounded and meditative scent. I do not yet have a box of this one yet but it is on my “to buy soon” list. ( I keep telling myself that that list needs to be a bit more “sane” or restrained but it never seems to happen 🙂  )
Both of these will require some time to sort out, there are, like in any good high end incense, many different levels going on. Aromatic fatigue plays a big factor here and if you got the samples keeping that in mind will get you more for your money.
One thing these incenses have taught me was to evaluate each one on its own merits. Sure, there are some things you are going to expect at certain price ranges or if it says there is Kyara in it, yet the final call comes down to how much you like it by itself, as itself.

Nippon Kodo / Morning Star / Fig, Lotus + East Meets West / Thai Memory

This write-up is an odds and ends sort of thing and likely to be one of the last Nippon Kodo modern reviews I make here. Most of these incenses come from my early days (which really wasn’t all that long ago) exploring Japanese incense, when I didn’t know quite what I liked yet and it has since dawned on me that I’m just not a Nippon Kodo type of person, at least when it comes to moderns (the jury is still out on their high end aloeswoods). The issue, as I’ve mentioned before, is that most if not all of their moderns are created with what I’d call inexpensive and offputting perfumes, the type of scents that always remind me of what digital technology sounded in the early 80s, bad snapshots better captured in a more authentic setting. An NK modern often starts out OK but like a diet soda (particularly the old saccharine ones), it becomes quickly apparent you’re dealing with a subsitute.

I also haven’t reviewed the very popular Morning Star line before, not only because that line and my pocketbook aren’t intersecting anywhere, but because they’re also inexpensive enough that virtually anyone could try them on their own. And I’d have avoided them entirely except for a trip to a local store where on a whim I decided to give the Fig and Lotus brands a try. That a different trip had me purchasing another East Meets West coil set may have been the last straw for this sort of on the spot purchasing. It’s one thing paying that extra retail price for something you like, another when you get something you don’t. Most if not all these sailed off in the “trading circle” box with the hope someone things my opinions on these are crazy.

To be honest, based on the Fig and Lotus, at least with Morning Star incenses they’re properly priced. One will not be expecting kyara at $2.50 a box. What one will get is a very inexpensive, partially sandalwood based and rather heavy perfume oil on top. This basically means you match your taste to the scent on most of these Morning Star incenses. In both of these cases, the scent captures the most perfume-like and floral natures of the relative scents. Where fig can also be pulpy, damp and, err, Fig Newton-like, here it’s brightly floral and somewhat reminiscent of grape Kool-aid, a memory scent that came welling up from my seven year old head. It’s not initially harsh, but like many synthetic florals the aroma really starts to cloy around a third of the way down the stick.

The Lotus is similar. It’s a scent that varies with just about every permutation, but one aspect that makes a Lotus incense successful is the sultry, shimmering mirage-like quality of the flower, something undeniably exotic and even a little erotic when it’s done right. I’d never had that much of an expectation for this incense, but given the sort of depths the lotus can muster, the results are certainly pale even with low expectations. It’s like a black and white photograph of a flower garden, we can indeed see the Lotus but it’s hard to be affected any more than that.

The problem with some of the more expensive NK moderns is they don’t really improve on the Morning Star formulas, giving the impression they’re quite overpriced. Take the East Meets West line. I covered a different scent from this line a while back (and for more info on the line itself I’d refer you to this same link) and if I’d ever made a mistake going twice to the same dried up well, it was with this line. Like Scandinavian Memory, Thai Memory is fraught with bitter and soapy aromatics. Even in its description we get “sharp citrus,” which even if this was considered a selling point comes off extremely offputting. The key notes are bougainvillea, bamboo, and honey, but like most NK incenses with unusual combinations of three, the result is quite clashing. The honey doesn’t seem to survive the combination too well, dominated by the sharp citrus, which, combined with ginger, is just too much top note for this mellow of a base. Overall it’s not quite as extreme as Scandinavian Memory, but too far into the unpleasant category for me to hang onto.

It’s unlikely I’ll be back to visit these lines any time soon, at least not with my pocketbook. Morning Star incenses aren’t much of a risk for any incense budget, but the East Meets West line, despite the striking presentation, is too highly priced in coil or stick format. At a price of $21.50 you could be diving into Tibetan high enders and quality aloeswoods rather than letting harsh perfumes etch unpleasant memories into your head.

Nippon Kodo / Café Time / Cassia, Mocha; Sakura (Cherry), Green Tea; Lime, Mint Tea; Lotus, Wine

As a creator of a number of different modern lines, it could be said that Nippon Kodo, at least in its American front, leads the market when it comes to user friendly, accessible and modern scents, and as such it’s a company that doesn’t really make a lot of incense that appeals to my personal taste. But even beyond this disclaimer, a lot of modern incenses I have tried in the Nippon Kodo stable have gone beyond just having a different aesthetic into what I find to be unpleasantly perfumed incenses. That is, there’s a difference between not being a big fan of fruity or floral incenses while recognizing that there are times when they are well done and just dismissing anything of the sort. Having reviewed (and not altogether positively) incenses in lines like Free Pure Spirit, East Meets West, Elemense and New Morning Star, it’s time to turn to some incenses that, while not being my thing, are sometimes well done for what they do.

Café Time is a series of cone incenses that come in pairs in cylindrical cardboard containers with five cones for each of two flavors per container, with a theme to tie them together. Café Times are rather small cones and even if they’re quite affordable between $5 and $6 a container, you’re still paying at least 50 cents a cone. Given these cones are done in 15 to 20 minutes, you’re not getting a lot of value for the money, but at least in most of these incenses you’re getting a decent scent, with very few of them showing the off notes and cheap perfume aromatics of some of other NK’s lines. Read the rest of this entry »

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QBSE Review Part 1: An Introduction to QuickBooks Online Self Employed

This introduction to the latest member of the QBO family, QuickBooks Online Self Employed (QBSE) is Part 1 of the full QBSE Review article: QuickBooks Self Employed: An Honest Freelancer’s Review.

Accounting Solutions, they are a plenty.

I’ve been a freelance Graphic Designer for more than a decade, and have tried a variety of budgeting and tax preparation software in that time.

Finding a complete solution that wasn’t bloated beyond my needs has been the largest challenge.

In recent years, as more companies offer SAS (Software as a Service) both reliably and securely, I’ve kept my eye on Intuit’s QuickBooks Online and a this year’s offering, QBSE —QuickBooks Self-Employed for small business owners. Both of these use Cloud Computing as a modern solution to the collection, syncing and securely sharing of client data, and their UX has been updated.

 There are many options today for freelancers to choose from for our personal and business accounting solutions. Finding a complete solution that wasn’t bloated beyond my needs has been the largest challenge.

An honest review of a 30-day free trial.

One 8 Solutions News QBSETrialThis isn’t a direct comparison to any of those products, some of which are themselves Intuit-owned. This is also not an in-depth review of each of QBSE’s features.

This is my honest review of the one-month trial they offer, and how it did and did not work for me — as that complete solution.

What exactly is QuickBooks Self-Employed?

QuickBooks Self-Employed is similar to Intuit’s full QBO product, with a different level of options and customizations, and a focus specifically on self-employed individuals.

One 8 Solutions QBSE Intro

Here’s a few of some of the things you can do with QBSE:

  • Securely import transactions from a variety of bank account types
  • Categorize your income and expenses for Schedule C reporting
  • Calculate and pay quarterly estimated taxes
  • Track business profit and loss (for the last 6+ years)
  • Record business related mileage
  • Sync directly to your Accountant (when they use QBOA)
  • Invoice clients and receive secure payments through QBSE

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Next week in Part 2:

Next week we’ll go over all of these features in more detail — and begin to discuss a little of what QBSE isn’t.
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Why I Don't Fear My Future

Why I Don't Fear My Future

Walking onto a bible college campus as a student for the first time made me feel, although elated, a bit insecure. Why? I mean, I knew God had wanted me to attend, that I was absolutely sure of, and I knew almost the entire student body from previous mission trips, so I wasn't worried about being an outsider so, why was I feeling insecure?

At the time, I had thought that everyone there had their lives together, that they knew exactly what God wanted for them and where God wanted them. And I didn't know either of those things in a long term perspective.

Let's take a few steps back, I gave my life to Christ in the summer of 2009 and I knew it was the best decision of my life. As I matured in my relationship with God, I wanted desperately to know what I was going to be doing for the rest of my life and where I was going to go. I wasn't satisfied because I felt like I didn't really have any passions, I just 'liked' to do things. I just couldn't find something that I was so passionate about that I would want to do that for the rest of my life.

I felt like this for quite a while, probably about three years. I felt a bit worthless and confused and like I was just running in circles. I didn't speak out, though, I kept it inside and just let that frustration build. This is never a good idea. I didn't speak out until I attended Bible college, where I probably felt the most insecure and scared.

While attending bible college, I was in a small group - about three of us with one mentor - where we met and talked about hard things and deal with our past and such. I had never brought up the feeling of worthlessness and confusion until I was having a one-on-one meeting with my mentor. I can remember the day clearly; we were at a duck pond, sitting on a park bench and discussing the booklet. She had asked if I knew where God wanted me and I immediately broke down. I bawled my eyes out from the pent up frustration and told her all the feeling and thoughts I had. She was very understanding and comforted me until I calmed down.

She said,

It's alright if you feel like God hasn't shown you where He wants you to be. It's alright to feel frustrated. God didn't tell me where He wanted me to be right away, either. Just remember, that He does have a plan for you. He knows what is best for you and has the best planned for you, whether you know what that is or not.

How could I possibly forget that? We're reminded of how He has a plan for us with practically every story in the Bible, and with the greatest sacrifice of all, the death and resurrection of Jesus. Maybe I was too blinded with finding what my calling was or I was just being ignorant. Either way, I had forgotten where my sight was suppose to be set; to be looking straight at God and not to be distracted from Him.

Even after the talk I had with my mentor and the months I have had after the reminder of keeping my focus on Jesus, I still struggle with it. But, there are a few verses that help me out every time I feel inadequate or overwhelmed. My favorites are:

"Know that the LORD, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture." Psalms 100:3

"I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth." Psalms 139:14-15

"For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, And He ponders all his paths." Proverbs 5:21

I actually have these verses on post-it notes in my journal and on my phone, so that I will have a constant reminder. I know that one day, God will show me what He has planned and I will be completely satisfied with that. Until then, I will have to be patient, taking it one step and one day at a time.

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Over the past few weeks, I am beginning to grasp the extent of difficultly that men and women experience in the dating arena, but also in committed relationships. Whenever I browse through search engines, engage in dialogue online and discuss relationships offline, it allows me to remain humble and grateful.

Why would I say humble and grateful?  That seems like a weird thing to say, right? I remain humble because in the face of my amazing relationship, it does not make me arrogant in the presence of others.

I remain grateful because in the midst of this amazing relationship, I understand from my past what the opposite of a remarkable relationship feels like.

Simply because I say so, I cannot force you to alter your perspective. However, if the old ways of doing things are not bearing good fruit, it is perhaps time to make a change.

This realization should provide an incentive to change because after all, you are the human resource manager of your dating life.

With that said, I write for others to see a different perspective and ultimately, I encourage each one of us to grasp the importance of the energy that we emit to potential mates.

One of the reasons I continue to write about relationships occurs because of my observation.

In other words, many of the dating woes people continue to encounter, I believe with a few adjustments will allow them to find a sense of dating peace.

Many of the issues I personally encountered during the past or through someone I know intimately, still remain problematic for a number of people.

I write because the answers I often see from dating experts usually involve sugarcoated responses.

The responses rarely cause the one facing the dilemma to alter his or her way of thinking. Ultimately, the very issue that someone wants to correct continues to occur again and again.

This brings me to a question that a number of women pose while dating.

Why do guys stop calling after they have sex with me?

In other words, after sex occurs, he no longer seems to know her name.

Think of me as your brother or close friend, who tells you like it is. I will not provide fluff, or tiptoe around the reality.

Last night we were watching Scandal and I turned to my wife and jokingly pointed at her kitty and said …

This is able to cause wars. If women collectively understood their worth, they would never allow men to take advantage of them sexually (consenually). Heterosexual men, generally do things to please women, yet women do not seem to understand this.

As a disclaimer, the conversation with my wife does not compress the worth or significance of a woman, down to her kitty (vagina). It was simply a joke.

Instead, I want you to understand the lengths men have gone throughout history because of their devotion to women.

Today, I personally know of guys with more sexual partners in their experience than you can count on ten hands. However, they did not have to go to wars with foreign countries.

They did not profess their admiration over a lengthy process of courtship.

Instead, the best the females involved with these guys received, could be summarized by a line from artist/producer/director O’Shea Jackson …

‘Cause all I got is hard d*** and bubblegum.

But that is neither here nor there.

For this explanation, I am specifically focusing on the guys involved with this question. Once again, I am only involving one group of guys. This is definitely not representative of all males.

Your worth to him regardless what he expressed through words and actions, arrives in the form of your kitty. Due to an emotional conditioning, he believes that boys get sex from girls and girls give sex to boys.

This individual has a warped perception, when it involves sexual contact between males and females. Instead, the mutual exchange of sex is akin to a mosquito, retrieving blood from its latest host and flying off to find another.

A mosquito receives blood from humans, and humans give blood.

Think of his buddy (penis) as the mosquito, and your kitty as the latest host. Once he receives what he desires from this host, the host no longer serves a purpose. You have fulfilled your duties, so to speak.

Before sex occurs, this guy will appear as if he is jumping through hoops to receive your attention.

He calls to hear about your day
He sends texts messages that he’s thinking about you
He seems attentive and eager to please you

All of a sudden, after you finally consider commemorating your feelings in a physical manner with him, the energy of his attention deflates once the physical act occurs. That is strange, right?

The multiple calls you once received throughout the day, becomes once a day. Soon after, it becomes once a week. Eventually, reaching him is akin to setting up an appointment with a political figure.

You are left wondering if you did something wrong, and possibly how you can fix it.

Well, you did do something unintentionally wrong and before you jump down my throat, please understand I am simply here to provide a different perspective on this question.

You gave him something for nothing. He said a few nice things and suddenly, he becomes a good candidate to share yourself with. People say nice things to the front attendant at my gym, should she give them a discount?

You feel he is paying attention, so it is obvious he really cares about you.  I pay attention to my best friend, should he write me a check for $25K?

Is one’s entrance into your kitty solidified simply by a guy saying nice things and paying you attention? You have a far greater worth than that, but only you can make this determination.

Wars were fought over your kitty, but he was able to say a few nice things, and he did not even have to argue with someone down the street.

Sex is incredibly important in my perspective, especially when you equate this to the basic principles of what it means for two people to embrace sexually.

As a female, you are allowing another human being to enter your body. Let that seep in because the current era of promoting sexual liberation with females seems to forget this.

You are allowing another human being to insert himself into you. That is a significant decision to make.

Sadly, I see far too many girls taking this decision lightly. Interestingly, the question of this post usually comes from individuals in the process of dating. In other words, they are not in a relationship with the guy.

When you give a guy access into your entire being, without him having to be in a relationship with you, you have undermined your significance and he will also.

Why would he feel the need to give you a relationship title, when he is receiving all of the benefits of being in a relationship without actually having one?

You cannot change these individuals, and they will not change until they decide to do so. Instead, you can change how you convey a specific energy to potential suitors.

As your brother or companion, I recommend being more mindful in the decision you make, as to whom you allow inside your body. You should be more mindful of the criteria, which you use to determine a suitable mate.

Instead of being more meticulous on the makeup brand you wear, apply that energy to your dating and of course sex life.

Before someone considers this as slut shaming, leave your emotions at the door and analyze this critically. There are consequences to having sex in this era of promoting so-called sexual liberation of females.

More females will continue to ask this question, and no amount of sexual liberation will change the reality.

As your brother or your companion, please understand your worth.

Do not allow any guy to receive benefits of being in a relationship with you, without actually having to be in one. When you refuse this, he will have no actual incentive of announcing a relationship title.

Why would he give a title after receiving the benefits, when he has the option of having sex with you and others under the umbrella that we are not exclusive?

Why do guys stop calling after having sex? In other words, he disappears from your life completely.

He received what he came for, and has no need to continue communication. I know it sucks, but if you do not value yourself beyond sex, why would he?

I am not condoning or undermining the role that these guys play. However, this is your life. Because he does not feel a need to change for you, he will not acknowledge your concerns.

Since this is your life, you have more of an incentive for adjustments to occur.

In other words, you cannot control the actions of others, but you can control yours. When you refuse to make changes from within, the outside world is not going to change for you.

Keep in mind, this behavior is not representative of all males. Adjust your energy, be more selective and eventually, this question will become a story you can share with your friends as a lesson.

Your worth does not exist between your legs, what you can perform with your mouth or anything of the sort. Your worth should be so much more.

However, I am a complete stranger and only you can make this realization.

This is of course my perspective. I am interested to know about your experiences with this topic. Did you ever encounter this after a sexual encounter?

Did you learn valuable lessons from the incident? Is this something you have ever done to a woman before?


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Spectacular residence on Lakehurst Avenue

This is artful living. The concept for the Cantoni House was born from the desire to achieve a marriage of great modern architecture with the Cantoni Collection by utilizing all of the resources of the Cantoni Design Studio. Today many homes are built without taking into consideration a design plan for the interiors of the home. The resources of the Cantoni Design Studio and the talented architectural and construction team have provided the perfect solution to building and designing fully furnished homes. This approach is unique in the Dallas area and redefines the way modern homes are built and purchased in this market.

Axis is the name of the house. Axis takes its name from the magnificent architecture. The whole experience of walking through the house reinforces the axis theme. Enter through the large pivot front door and your view is to a dazzling outdoor sculpture. In fact every axis ends with a dramatic focal point, at times a sculpture, another time a fabulous tree, or the pool and gardens.

Axis was designed for living and entertaining. The home is laid out on the plot of land to divide the property in order to create courtyards on either side of the house. Both offer incredible views from inside the home. In the downstairs family area a dramatic 22 foot long counter connects the state-of-the-art Italian kitchen, bar, and family room together for seamless space for entertaining family and friends. In fact the whole family room opens to the pool, courtyard and a peaceful covered terrace. This spectacular home is for sale here while the link lasts.

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8 years ago

I’m guessing they don’t have kids.