Pipeology - The Fine Art of Pipe Smoking and Thought

 It's New Year's Eve, which has me thinking about the past year and this blog.  I decided to conclude the year with a sumarry of my Spirituality.  I write a lot about my Spirituality aligning it a lot with Buddhism.  It's not that I don't care, but I feel that a balanced life cares just enough but not too much.  This is balance.  If I were a Cult leader, I wondered what I'd call my Cult.  Of course, there are things I care about.  I've given a lot of thought to this as I've relied heavily on my Spirit Guides.  I wrote the other day about sports betting and it got me thinking.  If I were to bet on sports I'd care way too much about outcomes. I decided already that I can't bet on sports, play the lottery or take extreme chances.  Why?  I'd care too much about outcomes.  One of the things Spiritual people learn is to rely heavily on the Spirit Guides.  When I do this, I've found that I simply don't care.  My Spirit ...

I began this article yesterday afternoon in the midst of a college football game.  I updated it this morning.   I have to admit that I have been tempted to bet on college football games.  I have been thinking about it since the OSU/Michigan game.  But was that game just a lucky guess?  I simply don't know how well I'd do in sports betting, but betting on games makes them more interesting.  I just don't know if I could ever become a sports bettor, because I don't follow the teams close enough, but Vegas will set odds on all 130 teams.   College football requires a lot of research particularly in this new NIL standard of the NCAA.  I just don't know.  And some people are good at guessing outcomes of upsets.  There are always upsets every week, with some weeks having fewer than others.  Betting on odds is just an educated guessing game.  But again, I have been tempted.  I was in the middle of the Clemson/Kentucky ga...

 Loneliness is a killer.  I mentioned to my wife this morning that Matt Lauer was spotted in the Hamptons doing some shopping.  He hadn't been seen in public for six years.  Some people are forced into loneliness as he was and some people choose loneliness or for them it is more about wanting to be left alone.  I am somewhere in the middle, but I know if my wife needs to go somewhere, I need to take her.  Otherwise, I tend to prefer to be left alone. I am sort of semi-reclusive having chosen to avoid social media and not have a lot of social contact.  But that is MY choice.  Otherwise, for many loneliness kills.  It contributes to heart disease and a shortened life-span.  But it is said the loneliest group of people are those in their teens to those in the 30's.  Why are they lonely?  Social media has a tendency to make people isolated. With many people working from home these days, social contacts they might have have in offic...

 I know at least one of my readers is not into college football.  I could review the upcoming games, but I'll spare the details.  New Year's Day will bring us the two semi-final games, which should be some great college football.  I root for all the B1G teams regardless of who they are playing.  The Cotton Bowl might be more interesting than anticipated with OSU favored by 3.5 at last line issued by Vegas with Missouri having been favored by as much as 2.0.  That just might be the best of the games depending on who shows up for OSU. The Michigan/Alabama game has a tight win margin with last reports from Vegas giving Michigan a 2.5 point edge with the betting on that game fluctuating between Michigan and Alabama.  I love to see how well Vegas does when it comes to predicting outcome of games.  As I have said before, I don't bet, but I enjoy watching the spreads as game time nears.   These two games might be the best of the lot.  Some...

 Okay, for most everyone Santa arrived on Christmas Eve.  But the Season actually ends on New Year's particularly since both days are on a Monday this year.  I won't argue the point, because I hate to see Christmas come to a screeching halt at noon on Christmas Day.  Christmas night is a huge night for those who want to go to the movies, but too, this is a huge week for college football.   I had a few posts written for yesterday and today, but decided that Christmas really should not come to a screeching halt after Christmas dinner is served and dishes need to be loaded in the dishwasher.  We need some time to adjust to a season that is nearly a month and half long starting with Halloween.  We need time to adjust before the bills arrive. Really, I'm thinking Christmas season needs to come to an end about Valentine's Day.  Some people don't take their lights down until Easter!  I think that is a little long.  A lot of northerners in ...

  I was going to write about Boxing Day, but decided on this post instead.  I thought I might get a pipe for Christmas, but imagine my surprise upon seeing this!  The above pipe is a Christmas gift from the family.  It is a 1982 refurbished Dunhill Bent Rhodesian pipe.  Brand new this pipe is around $1200, but it is an Estate pipe.  My wife says I can now go to the cigar bar with a Dunhill pipe.  I was instructed to open this gift as the last of all the gifts yesterday, as this was from my wife and my two sons.  I knew it was a special gift before I opened it. This pipe came in its own Dunhill box and I knew it was indeed a very special gift.  I was careful to open the box and of course, when seeing it, I knew what to expect.  They didn't pay close to the amount it would cost new, but knew it was expensive, regardless.  It has been carefully restored to like-new condition and my wife said I can now show off the white Dunhill dot....

 What can be said about Christmas that has not been said?  Even in regard to Santa there is nothing new.  Christmas is really more about the past than it is about the future.  We probably spend more time remembering and reminiscing than we spend looking forward.  What's new at Christmas is what's old.  Maybe except for that hot new toy every kid wants for Christmas.  There is always that one special gift every kid seems to want.   Although now it might be a game for an XBox or Playstation.  Or that new gaming system that just came out.  But as Christmas sermons are being prepared and words about Christmas being crafted, many are wondering about what can be said that has not been said.  Maybe the best about Christmas is that nothing new needs to be said.  We want to remember, not forget.  We want to be reminded of what Christmas is.  Remind us with words that have been said. We don't want a new or different Santa....

 There are those who keep their homes decorated for Christmas the whole year round.  There are those who say Christmas music makes them sad.  But like those who keep their homes decorated for Christmas the year round, there are those who listen to Christmas music throughput the year.  But what is it about Christmas that stirs our memories?  It's the nostalgia of Christmas.  But why does Christmas stir memories both happy and sad? We can be sad about Christmas, because it seems we recall our early memories of Christmases past.  Those memories can be about people who are no longer with us.  Christmas time is all about memories.  Some people don't want to forget and there are those who don't want to remember.  It's the music that stirs memories the most.  One might listen to a song from years ago and remember the first time they heard that song. Music especially stirs our strongest emotions either positively or negatively.  Christ...

It is already past midnight Christmas Eve in some parts of the world as I post this morning.  Santa has already begun.  He gets an extra 10 hours due to the various time changes.  But it is said that if the children aren't in bed by 9:00PM, he will return and has all presents delivered by midnight.  So, the time zones allow for some extra time, but as I said the other day, Santa controls time anyway.   Today is kind of a day to prepare for Christmas.  My mom used to say the day before Christmas Eve is Christmas Eve Eve.   It's the one day before all the festivities begin.  Santa will have begun by evening on this day.  It is our day to make sure all the food is ready and many people will be up late into the night making sure the preparations have been made   As far as I am concerned today, I'll make sure all my gifts are wrapped and that at least I am ready for Christmas.  I'll help my wife with final preparations and...

  I don't believe I have written about a pipe tobacco as a review without having tried it.  The retail price on this above tin of Seattle PIpe Club Plum Pudding Christmas Spirit is $56 for four ounces of tobacco with an exclusive Smoking Pipes offering of $42.99.  I read all the reviews of this tobacco and it gets poor reviews for one reason and mostly one reason:  The price.  One reviewer said he's a retiree on a budget and his budget doesn't allow for it.  But not one review was posted that didn't mention price.   To give you some idea about pricing averages, four ounces of a bulk tobacco is around $10.  Four ounces of pipe tobacco is about ten to twelve bowls per ounce or around 40 bowls for about four ounces.  Yes, cigars can average $18-20 per cigar.  But most guys smoke a pipe because it is so much cheaper than cigars.  Then there are shipping costs added for orders under $95 at Smoking Pipes,  so it all adds up rath...

 There is a Twilight Zone episode when a man acquires a pocket watch that stops time except for the owner of the watch.  I won't go into detail about the episode, but this is how Santa does it.  He is able to stop time.  And we don't know it because we are totally unaware that he does this.  But how do I know this?  Logic.  It's the only way, plus my wife reminded me of the movie in which Santa does this.  Some say he stops time until all the presents are delivered.  Or time travels with him. So, Santa is never seen delivering presents.  His movements are far too fast for those of us who are controlled by time.  So, there you go.  Santa controls time.  It's in a movie.  And that settles it.  According to my wife.  Some might have other theories, but Santa being able to stop time is by far the best theory, because there was a Twilight Zone episode about a pocket watch that did this very thing.   I g...

  This isn't really a Christmas post today, but it seems I have a smoking buddy.  My wife suggested I write about the above photo today.  Rascal is his name and it's taken a while, plus just a bit of people food for Rascal to feel comfortable with me.  He is the dog of a houseguest, but it seems Rascal has become comfortable with me.  We listen to Christmas music together as I smoke my pipe and it seems when I come out to the patio to smoke my pipe, he wants to come out with me and lounge around in his favorite chair. He now let's me approach him and allows me to pet him at will.  He welcomes my touch, but it's taken a while for him to be this comfortable with me.  According to his owner, he thinks Rascal was abused by a previous owner, but even from the beginning he would approach me, but was shy about me petting him.  But no more.   Rascal has become my buddy as his owner is often away during the day.  But in the past few days now...

 Is Christmas just another day on the calendar?  The Holiday Season generally starts on Thanksgiving and continues through New Year's Day.  But Christmas Day is THE highlight of the Season.  I enjoy thinking about Santa lounging on a Florida beach in his red Speedo after the Holidays are over.  But why?  Because Santa is relaxing.  The Holiday's can bring out the best in people, but at times it can bring out the worst.   Maybe for me, at least, there is something appealing about lounging on a secluded beach in a red Speedo as my idea of total relaxation.  That image appeals to me.  But I know that I can't spend all my time lounging on a secluded beach.  But it seems to me that no one is more stressed by the Holiday's than Santa.  We can think of him as this jolly old elf who lives for Christmas.   Of course, Santa is a myth.  I understand this perfectly.  But most everyone has images of Santa at this ti...

 Only the Nativity and Biblical adaptations have been made more than The Christmas Carol by Dickens.  Why is Scrooge the perennial Christmas figure other the Christ child at Christmas?  I have wondered about this as already I have the watched the Muppet version.  One recent year I listened to the book being read.  What is it about this story that holds our fascination year after year? First of all, it is so well-written.  Dickens is just a great story teller as Twain was in his day.  A story isn't just told.  But that we are drawn into all the emotions of Christmas.  And it is a Christmas story, perhaps unlike any Christmas story that has been told except for the Biblical account.  Why does Scrooge become our favorite character at Christmas? I pondered this the other day in preparation for this article.  Scrooge is the perfect example of redemption.  What is most frightening aspect of his life is his grave.  He is going to...

 There are a lot of aromas associated with Christmas.  I was looking for tobacco that as an Aromatic might have a kind of Christmas-y aroma.  One might associate a pipe with Christmas aa uncle Bob always smoked his pipe at Christmas.  He probably smoked year round but you remember Christmas because you were always around him then.  I have smoked the last of my Christmas Spice tobacco, but wondered what others tobacco blends might be suitable for Christmas. The aromas of Christmas are plentiful, like Hazelnuts, Cinnamon, pine, fresh baked cookies, Vanilla, and others.  I went through the list of tobaccos on Smoking Pipes and found a few tobaccos other than Christmas Spice with its Cimamon aroma.  I could create a list that I think are good seasonal tobaccos, but the problem is that they aren't just seasonal.   One tobacco comes to mind.  It's Mac Baren's Vanilla Cream.  It has a very rich Vanilla flavor that is suitable the year roun...

Warner Mummert is a German pipe maker who goes to art and museum exhibits in search of ideas for his pipe designs.  When I first saw this photo of this pipe I actually thought it to be made from LEGO's, but then realized it was a pipe design made from Briar to look as though it was made from LEGO's.   The design with the round pegs are to the exact dimensions of LEGO pieces.   The pipe is only 4.74 inches long, which is relatively short for a pipe, but the outside bowl is two inches to give it a lot of room in its 1.69 inch depth for a good quantity of tobacco.  The style is still a poker style that sits when it is set down.  This is an example of a Briar pipe that is a work of art.  It is a whimsical idea that gives one the impression that the potential buyer might not smoke this pipe.  Smoking Pipes has this pipe listed for sale at $1,100.  If one were to ask me if it would be a great smoking pipe, my thinking is that pipe designs as w...

 There are a couole of things on my mind this morning about Christmas.  One is the song about the Marvelous toy.  It makes noises and scoots around, but does absolutely nothing but delights.  No one knows what it is or what it's supposed to do, but it's just a delightful toy.  There's no name for it but a Marvelous toy.  And the song writer outgrows the toy but is delighted his child enjoys it.  Of course the Marvelous toy is nothing but life or maybe it's just the delight of Christmas.   Another toy that can be used as an anology is Mr. Machine from the late 60's.  It was a real toy that one wound up with a real turning key and as it walked and moved it's mouth and arms, one could see the gears working.  He came with his own tools for assembly and could be assembled, disassembled, and assembled over and over.  But what did Mr. Machine do?  Absolutely nothing, liike that Marvelous toy. But Mr. Machine was real and delighte...

  The pipe above is a Peterson Ststem pipe for celebrating Peterson's 125 year anniversary of pipe making.  Mark Twain once said that as far as he was concerned Peterson pipes were the best.  Mark Twain said a lot about pipes and smoking pipes.  Smoking Pipes has a large selection of Peterson pipes marking the 125 years of pipe making.  Peterson pipes have not changed much, if at all, since the days of Mark Twain. The above pipe is a bit unusual from most Peterson pipes as it is called a sitter for good reason.  It has a flattened bottom to allow it to sit upright on a table.  The above pipe is called an Ebony as many of Peterson pipes are a rich almost black in color pipes.  The above pipe is numbered and is 90 out of 150 made.  Anyone who has the number 1 of this pipe series has a rare collector's edition pipe. The price on Smoking Pipes is $190 with my 5% discount.  As for the pipe itself, it most likely will be smoked by the buyer un...

 I could have a lot of stress today, but I'm too tired to be stressed.  I didn't realize how much stuff we had in the condo.  Stuff was taken there a little at a time, but the stuff was moved out in one day.  We just have a few things to pick up and do to finish up.  I didn't need the hassle we had as we are planning a short trip across state.  I had a nail in a tire.  Construction is everywhere down here and nails on roadways are a huge problem for car owners. I wanted to repair a tire and instead bought a set of four with a road hazzard guarantee.  The repair was on my to-do list, but not a set of four tires, but I had looked at tires this past summer thinking my tires probably needed replacement.  The tires we bought were within the price range of the prices I saw.  So, I'm satisfied with no complaints.  But the fact is cars need tires.   I got a haircut the other day that now makes me look like a Florida man, as my wif...

  According to the historians of Facebook, it has been twelve years since my heart attack.  I'm a couple of days late.  But I got to thinking about those dozen years and how close to death I came then.  All I really remember is the pain.  And the fact I could hardly breathe.  I was told later that in another five minutes I wouldn't be here.  Same is true of my appendicitis.  They said I had about five minutes then too.  Maybe five minutes is all they give anyone, but for me it happened twice. I say twice is enough.  Both times the right surgeons just happened to be there.  But really, it's by Providence I'm even here.  This old body can't take any more close brushes with death.  But looking over the past 72 years of my life, I've had more brushes with death, but at those times, I didn't think anything of it.  Parts were just being a kid and parts were just being lucky.  But I know a lot of people born in 1951 did...

 My YouTube algorithm has included a lot of classical music for Christmas including such hits at the Nutcracker and selections from Bach.  It seems classical music and Christmas go hand-in-hand. I have been to a number of live performances at this time of year.  I also love listening to many of the old hymns that have been sung in churches for nearly 200 years or more.  But then too there are the old Christmas songs that haven't been around nearly as long, but they are enjoyable to hear. The Messiah is often performed at both Christmas and Easter.  But I can listen to Handel's Water Music most anytime.  The best rendition of Pachelbel's Canon is perhaps the one sung by the boy's choir on a track from The Trans-Siberian Orchestra.  Almost every time I hear that rendition I get misty-eyed because it is simply so well done.  There is a rock version of the Canon, but the one with boy's choir is by far the best. I can go on and on about Christmas Class...

Getting away from a Holiday theme this morning, I was sitting here smoking my pipe thinking about something one of my sons once said about me.  Maybe in a previous life I was once a pipe smoking sea captain on a sailing vessel.  I think about that once in a great while whenever I am lighting my pipe.  We have so many romantic images of life at sea during the 18th and 19th centuries.  I have many nautical themed images from that time period in the world's history. Then I got to thinking that maybe I might have been a captain on a pirate ship from that time period, but rather doubt that as a possibility, although the romance of the sea runs deep in my thinking, even though I haven't spent a lot of time on the water.  But according to my son that possibility exists. Which is why I smoke a pipe.  I have to admit that I like Hollywood's imagery of the life of sea captains. Then I decided to ask Google about how pirates talked back then.  Much of our imagery...

  Some might guess I have some special connection to Santa Cjaus.  I don't.  Now, back when, Santa smoked a clay pipe.  But in my thinking with Frosty the Snowman and other myths about Christmas, Santa might decide on a cob pipe.  So, Santa told me to shop for a pretty cheap cob pipe for Christmas.  He thought if he were to smoke tobacco, Christmas Spice would seem like a good choice. I like the name of the cob above.  It's called King's Laughter.  Santa thought the name fitting, but he's not a king or anything like one.  But he says laughter just sounds perfect for Christmas.  He asked how much it is and I asked him if $16.14 was cheap enough for a cob pipe.  He said it would last through Christmas Eve.  I told him the makers scoured an old pipe site where old discarded pioes were found and said the design goes back to the 1700's.   He said he vaguely remembers cob pipes from back then.  He said the design, pric...

  I have plenty of time to write sentimental thoughts about Chrisrmas.  Early in the week, I had this post ready and had a hard time choosing between that one and another.  I deleted one post I wrote that I thought was pretty good.  But I deleted it because I just thought it too...  Well, it was too Christmas-y and maybe just too sentimental.  I'll wait until it's closer to Christmas.  There is nothing personal about the pipe above, but I saw this pipe on Smoking Pipes and at first I just scrolled by it thinking it was just another Meerschaum pipe.   Then the more I looked at it and read about it, I thought to myself that this looks like a pipe Santa would smoke after a hard day in the workshop.  It just seemed to me that this pipe would look good with Santa smoking it.  And the more I looked at it and read about it, the more I liked it.  Santa wouldn't want anyone to buy this for him.  He would buy it for one reason....

 My wife says I seem to be obsessed with a red Speedo.  I have to admit we haven't spent much time at the beaches here in Florida.  I just have this image of old guys with these huge beer bellies wearing red Speedos on the beach.  But where does this image come from?  It's like once seen I just can't unsee it.  And it's a gross image.  It's like a car wreck.  Once seen it's not unseen.  A lot of things in life are like that.  And maybe secretly, I want to be that old guy on the beach in a red Speedo.  But why? I have no idea.  I think it was last year when visiting Del Ray Beach.  There I was without a tan in my basketball style swim trunks and there was some overweight old guy lounging in a beach chair wearing what else?  A red Speedo.  All I can say is that he looked rather grotesque, but he was tan.  All I remember is that he looked at me and I knew what he was thinking:  Tourist.   We live...

 Well, I can't be.  But it's a nice thought.  I just love the Santa Claus myth, especially this time of year.  My wife says it doesn't seem like the season, because she hasn't decorated yet.  She says she'll do that at my son's house.  I'm giving my son fair warning.  But I got to thinking that giving gifts is best.  I'd just rather be Santa.  If I didn't smoke a pipe or imbibe in alcohol, I wouldn't have much of a Christmas list as most dads don't.  Dads are so hard to buy for.  I used to be involved in buying Christmas gifts for the kids, but like most parents who give gifts to their kids; dad's are clueless until the kids open their gifts.  Dad's have this kind of fake knowing expression while moms grin ear to ear. It's a lot of work for Santa to deliver all those gifts in 24 hours.  It's funny, but in my own way I STILL want to believe in Santa.  It was enjoyable until an older brother told me Santa wasn't real....

  The photo above is the best photo Smoking Pipes has for the most expensive Dunhill pipe they have in stock. It just might be the most expensive Dunhill pipe ever produced.  But a lot of cost is the case, which when closed, looks like a book.  It has the title of The Discovery of    Tutankhaman's Tomb embossed in gold.  The whole set including the pipe itself commemorates the 100th year discovery of Pharoh Tutankhamn's tomb in 1922, by British Egyptollogst, Howard Carver. The book itself is leather bound with the color of the leather a royal blue.  The pipe was chosen as Dunhill's commemorative design of the event.  It is considered to be Dunhill's finest shapes and designs.  The pipe has a silver windscreen fashioned entirely in the shape of the Pharoh's death mask.  The tamper shown is of fine silver, which is included, fashioned from the scale replica of the entire mummy form and face of the Pharoh.     Now, before I g...

 I was thinking about the poem The Night Before Christmas .  Just because Santa smokes a pipe doesn't mean tobacco with nicotine is in his pipe.  I gave some thought to this the other day when I said someone rewrote the poem and removed Santa's pipe.  They didn't get rid of his red suit, his long beard, his rowdy animals, his breaking into homes, or the fact he steals cookies, leaves lumps of coal, and above all else, his a rotund belly.  Who says Santa even smokes pipe tobacco? A few years back, I came across a Forbes article about Santa's wealth.  First of all, Santa gives away more than anyone in the world gives away.  But it seems he keeps enough for his investments to grow year after year.  So, this gets me to the pipe Santa would smoke.  Santa can afford any and all the Dunhill pipes he would want to own.  However every year he buys one pipe:  A long clay pipe to last him for a year. That's it.  And when Christmas is over...

 I never knew what to call it, but I think I always knew I kind of had it.  In Buddhism it is called a Third Eye, but for me it was and still is a gut feeling.  But I've learned there are things that just don't matter.  One of those are sporting events, but as much as I hate to say it, I have a kind of rationale about outcomes, but like Vegas, I'm not always right, which is why I don't take financial risks.  I am not a betting man.   But what is this feeling?  I have no idea.  I can understand it from a Buddism perspective.  They say women have intuition.  But for me, it's what I call a guidance of the Spirit, but I know if I were an Old Testament prophet I would be hung by my thumbs, because I'm not always right.  There are things I can say I know, but a lot of things are guesses. But the more in tune I am with the Spirit it seems the more sensitive these "feelers" are.  I just don't want to boast that I have some special...

  There is one topic I could write about all the time, but the second is about pipes.  I had begun several posts here related to my philosophy and Spirituality and deleted them. Why?  I've said enough about all that.   I could write about the guy in Connecticut who paid $16 for a single meal at McDonald's.  Yes, the hamburger was special on the menu.  But my wife and I have both eaten at the local one here for about the same cost.  I can remember McDonald's advertising that you could eat at McDonald's and get change back from your dollar. Okay, I did write aboit that.  The photo above is that of a Royal Copenhagen Porcelain tobacco pipe.  I had never heard of one until my wife told me about it the other night.  I told her I was low on ideas here and she suggested I look into ii.  I found the above pipe on eBay that I believe is about $65.  But porcelain pipes can be quite pricey costing on average several hundred dollas an...

  Yes, I wrote about another less expensive Dunhill the other day, but referred to this pipe. If there is just one pipe I could own and not worry about cost, the above photo is that pipe.  I get a VIP discount on Smoking Pipes of 15% off all Dunhill pipes, which makes this pipe a measely $964.75 instead of a regular price of $1,134, and a few hundred more than the Dunhill pipe I wrote about the other day.  So this is my Holy Grail of pipes.  Now my wife would say it's just a pipe dream, but if I start saving for it now, I could get it before I'm 90.  But of course I jest.   Number one, I'm not sure I REALLY want it; and secondly, I'd buy it if money were no object, which might be true of most any pipe I write about here.  The above pipe is a luxury item, as anything expensive is a luxury.  First of all, I like bent stem pipes.  Secondly, the band is made from the finest of silver.  And maybe not necessarily is the best feature, but ...