To try a FREE sample of our pipe tobacco
send your name, street address, age,
and brand of tobacco you now smoke to,
Sterling Tobacco Co. PO Box 1151, Sterling, IL 61081
Limit, one per customer;
This offer is not valid in locations that prohibit the import of tobacco

Tin decryption: Cornell & Diehl pays tribute to America’s African American soldiers with Buffalo Soldier, the first in a new series. We’ve applied just the right proportion of Latakia and Perique to a base of naturally sweet Virginias to create a well rounded, all day blend.

In order to participate in this giveaway simply place a comment below and on June 12th I’ll announce the winner. Thanks to everyone for making pipe blogging so fun and for visiting pipe-smokers.net

G.L. Pease is currently on the brink of releasing his latest creation, an answer of sorts to Chelsea Morning which he tentatively named Quiet Nights. It turns out that the name for some reason was not as well received as he had hoped. So here is your chance to weigh in and lend a suggestion to his latest blend. So get the creative juices flowing and head over to G.L. Pease and give him a suggestion for this latest blend. Cheers and happy smoking.

**Update the naming suggestions are currently closed, but its still a fun read to look through all the suggestions.

From Harold:

I am a young (I find that at 26 I am young to be pursuing pipe smoking) pipe smoking enthusiast who is still learning to understand the finer points of the craft. Currently I am the executive officer of an Army Infantry company stationed in Iraq. After noticing that my Commander and First Sergeant were developing an interest in pipe smoking, I decided to order some blends from Boswell’s so they could experience something more enjoyable than Captain Black. I ordered Mild English, Cherry Smash, Bear blend, Hunter’s Choice and Northwoods. So far, we are all dazzled by Boswell’s blends! As you mentioned with Berry Cobler, the Cherry Smash actually TASTES of cherries, which I’ve never experienced before. It’s very subtle, however, and amazingly smooth. Prior to the Cherry Smash we smoked a great deal of the Mild English, which was very good as well. As you can imagine, the transition from a purely smoking-oriented tobacco to an aromatic cherry blend was really something. The difference in character was astounding. We’re slowly rotating through them all, so when we have finished the Cherry Smash we’re moving on to the Bear Blend. I must admit, however, that I look forward to Hunter’s Choice more than the rest. You’ve got to smell the stuff to believe it… it’s going to make for a great smoke in my churchwarden!

My work in progress cellar (by no means finished yet): http://tobaccocellar.org

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Author John From Seven Bridges Road

While tending to some business in Morganton, NC I wanted to stop at a local store to pick up some pipe tobacco. It hit me that I was in the home town of Cornell & Diehl one of the major blenders in the world for pipe tobaccos. Some call them micro blenders regardless, there top of their game. I grabbed my smart phone and looked up the website and got their number. A very nice fella answered the phone and I stated that I was interested in his blends and could he recommend an outlet or do they sell out of the plant. He kindly stated they did not and asked what I was interested in. I stated I was wanting Haunted Book shop and to browse some of his others as well.

He told me to stop by and see him. I thought wow what an opportunity to visit a blender with such a reputation, I jumped on it and said I would be right there.

Upon arriving at the drive way to the plant I noticed one thing, it was modest place surrounded by farm land and several Ostrich that had an equal interest in me as I drove in. Upon entering the sweet aroma of blends was delightful. I was greeted by a beautiful (and protective) hound who went by the name of Con. An employee greeted me and took me to the gentleman who spoke to me. I was floored at what a small operation this was but it was nice, you felt an American quality about the place. No robots, no fancy conveyor belts and all that plant jazz, just simple hand run packaging, labeling and tons of tobacco. One thing that really stood out was how polite everyone was and how happy they appeared. I mean these guys looked like they loved their work, it was refreshing.

The fella asked me what I wanted and that they don’t sell directly but he would help me out. Wow these guys got some blends, there must have been several hundred. Now keep in mind these blends are organic and still blended by hand! He stepped away shortly and arrived back with two tins. After thanking him for letting me stop by I asked if I could take a picture or two of outside of the building, he stated sure no problem. On the way out I said good bye to Con and the delightful lady at the desk who I believe to be Mrs. Patty Tarler the owners wife now that I seen her on the website.

As I was almost out the door the gentleman yelled out to me and tossed me a can and said, “Here try this one too!” Sure I said feeling like the kid in the old Mean Joe Green Coke commercial. These guys are top notch stand up kinda guys. I liked what I seen, I liked how I was treated and I love their blends. I will return, here is their website, take a moment and read about them and if in the need, call them for a Tin or two. These guys should be supported and respected for keeping an American tradition alive!

http://www.cornellanddiehl.com/

The Photo Tour:

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Curious George 70 years later

A few months ago we found a copy of the original Curious George book in a used bookstore. The girl loves Curious George—she watched the PBS cartoon pretty often and has her own stuffed Curious George that she sleeps with sometimes. Naturally, Curious George has been a frequent request for bedtime stories, so I’ve read it quite a few times now.

The Curious George stories are fun and whimiscal for children, but somewhat disturbing for adults. The Man with the Yellow Hat is by far the most irresponsible guardian I have ever encountered. His general supervisory approach consists of taking George to new situations and then leaving for extended periods of time. His sole attempt at responsibility consists of his oft-ignored admonition to George: “Be a good little monkey and don’t get into trouble.”

The newer incarnations of the Curious George paint the Man with the Yellow Hat as an innocent, cheerful fellow who works in a museum. But the original Man in the Yellow Hat of 1940 was cut from a distinctly different cloth. Rather than a naïve museum curator, he’s a shotgun-toting, pipe-smoking explorer with a square jaw, ruddy complexion, and perpetual five o’clock shadow. The Man with the Yellow Hat oozes post-colonial paternalism as he tells George that he is going to live in a zoo and that he will like it there. (That’s right! You’ll live in a cage, and you’ll like it!) This version of the Man with the Yellow Hat would be voiced by Clint Eastwood before Will Farrell.

The Man’s parenting skills wouldn’t come across so well today. George becomes a simian juvenile delinquent, complete with run-ins with the law, substance abuse habits, and incarceration. Of course, those behaviors were all much more tolerated in 1940 among children, so why not a monkey?

In the original book the Man with the Yellow Hat leaves George unattended, resulting in a false 911 call, George’s imprisonment, and a prison escape via stolen balloons that ends up gridlocking the traffic in the city. The Man then shows up, tucks the offending primate under his arm, casually tosses the balloon man a few coins, and hauls George off to the zoo. Not exactly a happy ending by today’s standards.

But the mischievous chimp was such an enduring character that he returned for many more exploits. Along the way, the Man with the Yellow Hat morphed from über-masculine Safari man to a wide-eyed and wimpy museum nerd. It’s probably a change for the better, and it appears to have had a positive effect on George, who managed to kick his smoking habit. There are still quite a few issues regarding insufficient supervision, much to PETA’s dismay, but without the Man’s inattentiveness, Curious George wouldn’t be nearly as fun.

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Note on copyrights: Unlike most posts on this blog, the copyright holder of the images used in this post has presumably retained all rights. These images are used pursuant to 17 U.S.C. § 107, and the author has concluded in good faith that this use complies with the requirements of fair use. Specifically, the purpose and character of the use is transformative, intended to use the lens of time to critique a work created nearly 70 years ago. The images have previously been published many times, and only small, low-quality portions of the original work (Curious George) have been reproduced here. These low-quality images are not direct market substitutes and will not have a negative effect on the marketability of the images or associated creative works. See Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc., 510 U.S. 569 (1994).