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Taco ‘Bout Slacking

Phil

There I was, there I was, there I was. Minding my own bid-nez, when this guy sez to me, he sez. “Hey, chump! What’s up with those Blobs, haven’t seen one in about six weeks?” I put down my pipe and turned off the Waffle House Fight videos I like to watch and thought about it for a minute. You know, I think that guy might be right. 

How can I be a powerful, influential member of the pipe smoking news media if I don’t even meet the high standards such a position demands? Sure, I’m the only one in that position, so the bar is pretty low. Plus I didn’t think but a few people actually read this Blob, but that doesn’t matter. Even if no body reads it, that’s no excuse to rest on my laurels. 

What have I been doing? Well, I’ve been spending a lot of time waiting for Briar Blues Mike to come back from Italy. I had a terrible fear he wouldn’t. Yesterday he came out with a behind the scenes look at the Castello Factory. Wow! You can see snippets of him superintending in the background. 

The thing that stood out to me the most was the pipe getting the Le Dune finish. I just assumed it was made with some rotary power tool. It is hand made! A hammer and chisel, now I’m totally impressed. A few seconds of video and my view of that particular pipe finish has totally changed. 

I hope Mike stuck a Collection Fiammata Great Line in his bag for me as a souvenir. Last time he went he got me a key chain shaped like prosciutto.

OK, Enough of That

What else has been going on? Mr. Southern Piper has kicked off his 800 subscriber give away. I mentioned it in the newsletter, which is the fastest declining publication in the pipe smoking world. I expect to see a lot of video responses since he’s offering a really nice pipe that is being supplied from MBSD Pipes. 

Not to get off subject, but I have mentioned the new MBSD Pipes website, but I’m sure people are thinking that just because they have a couple advertising spots on our websites, that I might just be hyping a bit. That is not true at all. Not only is that website fantastic, but his business model is second to none. 

I spent a little time talking with Mitch, the owner a month or so ago, and his vision of the pipe hobby is inspiring. It’s like my good attitude times twenty. He is so optimistic and he’s pouring so much into that online pipe store it really makes me feel good. He totally ignores what some say is a decline in pipe smoking and turns it right around. 

He’s got a Blog too, so if you come here and I got lazy, you can go over there to read something if you’re in the mood for pipe info. Who spreads the love more than me?

ParsimoniousPiper

Well, maybe Mr. Parsimonious Piper Ethan might. He does a lot, that’s for sure. He just put up an interview with one of the new presenters, Mr. Mad Piper. Tom. One of those new pipe smokers I hear so much about. It’s the future, no doubt about it, just like Mitch said to me. Hope these guys stick around and not just a flash in the pan. 

Parsimonious Piper has more of these videos lined up and ready to go. Look for interviews of Night Train Piper and then So-Cal Piper to drop on each of the next couple of Thursdays. You might have noticed that So-Cal Piper has been cranking out the videos if you follow him. 

Codger

I had said that I was going to join Mr. Paladin Piper in mentioning the people who are participating in The Great Codger Challenge of 2023. So let’s do that by starting with Mr. Michigan Piper who talks about what a codger really is. 

Check them all out as they compete to see who is the most codgery of them all. 

Schedule

I could keep writing for at lest the next three minutes, but that would leave me nothing for tomorrow. Let’s just take a quick peek at what’s happening today in the YTPC. At least the stuff I know about.

  • Tumultuous Tuesday with All Briar’d Up and I’m just Chris. A Google Meet session. Used to be at 8 pm, but last week was at 3. If they do it, check for times and links. 
  • All Briar’d Up has his own show starting at 11:00 Eastern. This is also up in the air as he gets back on schedule. 
  • Yardism Live Chat from the steps. 7 pm Eastern, 4 Pacific and midnight UTC. If he’s late, don’t be surprised, just go to bed and catch it tomorrow. That’s what I do. 

By the way, I was just joking about resting on my laurels. I don’t even have any laurels.