i'm a smoker. just enjoy smoking pipe at this point in my life. but i would smoke any form of smokeable tobacco, if given a chance. all different blends, all different pipes just add this form of smoking more interesting.
Pipe Smoking: Hobby? Life Style?
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I feel a minor annoyance when someone calls pipe smoking a "hobby." My dislike of the phrase stems from the hipster fetishization of "authenticity" and "vintage" types of things, such as small batch bourbon, handmade shoes / boots, craft beer, etc. When I hear pipe smoking referred to as a "hobby" I tend to lump it in with hipster bourbon and craft beer hobbyism.
However I must also agree with the other posters who noted that cigarette smokers don't spend hours researching cigarettes or watching videos about cigarette smoking. Pipes for most of us are something more than a mere habit, such as cigarette smoking. Additionally, I am somewhat thankful to the hipster "small batch" "authentic" crowd because they've drawn some attention back to locally produced / made in the U.S.A. high-quality goods, which is a nice break from throwaway consumerism.
That all being said, I don't really consider my pipe smoking or my whiskey drinking to be much of a hobby, though I suppose it could be fairly described as a hobby. I certainly devote more time and energy to it than I would smoking cigarettes and drinking plain old American light beer. Even so, when I think of "my hobbies" I tend to think of activities that take more energy and attention than smoking a pipe, such as fishing, canoeing / kayaking, hunting, and other outdoor activities along those lines.
That's my rambling five cents on the "hobby" issue :
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However I must also agree with the other posters who noted that cigarette smokers don't spend hours researching cigarettes or watching videos about cigarette smoking. Pipes for most of us are something more than a mere habit, such as cigarette smoking. Additionally, I am somewhat thankful to the hipster "small batch" "authentic" crowd because they've drawn some attention back to locally produced / made in the U.S.A. high-quality goods, which is a nice break from throwaway consumerism.
That all being said, I don't really consider my pipe smoking or my whiskey drinking to be much of a hobby, though I suppose it could be fairly described as a hobby. I certainly devote more time and energy to it than I would smoking cigarettes and drinking plain old American light beer. Even so, when I think of "my hobbies" I tend to think of activities that take more energy and attention than smoking a pipe, such as fishing, canoeing / kayaking, hunting, and other outdoor activities along those lines.
That's my rambling five cents on the "hobby" issue :
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This keeps coming up...
I am not sure why someone calling it a hobby or whatever would bother someone else. Hell, I have met so many guys who collect pipes but don't smoke over the years that it makes sense to me. I am going to start referring to it as a "vocation" just to piss off the thin skinned. ::
Call it whatever you want. Haters are gonna hate.
I am not sure why someone calling it a hobby or whatever would bother someone else. Hell, I have met so many guys who collect pipes but don't smoke over the years that it makes sense to me. I am going to start referring to it as a "vocation" just to piss off the thin skinned. :
:Call it whatever you want. Haters are gonna hate.
Cosmic, I can only speak for myself, but I think that the "hobby" approach annoys some of us because it is such a self-conscious approach that it results in making the activity of pipe smoking almost a parody of itself.
I'm not one to support post-modernist philosophy, but there is a French academic who made an argument that modern American culture is essentially non-existent at this point, and that our culture is simply a self-conscious rehash of a once-authentic but short-lived culture. An example would be modern country music, which is really just cheesy formulaic pop music with country instrumentation and costumes, compared to say an old bluegrass musician who grew up in the mountains around that type of music where it was just a natural part of life without the self-conscious try-hardness of modern radio country artists.
I see some of the same happening with pipe smoking. That being said, the "hobby" approach creates a connoisseur type of image, similar to "premium" cigars (as described by the FDA), and the connoisseur image is probably better for us than the "nicotine delivery system" angle as far as good PR goes.
That all being said, I admit pipe smoking could definitely be considered a "hobby" of mine, although I generally wouldn't refer to it that way :: Just trying to point out that there is some rationale in feeling annoyed when people call it a "hobby"
I'm not one to support post-modernist philosophy, but there is a French academic who made an argument that modern American culture is essentially non-existent at this point, and that our culture is simply a self-conscious rehash of a once-authentic but short-lived culture. An example would be modern country music, which is really just cheesy formulaic pop music with country instrumentation and costumes, compared to say an old bluegrass musician who grew up in the mountains around that type of music where it was just a natural part of life without the self-conscious try-hardness of modern radio country artists.
I see some of the same happening with pipe smoking. That being said, the "hobby" approach creates a connoisseur type of image, similar to "premium" cigars (as described by the FDA), and the connoisseur image is probably better for us than the "nicotine delivery system" angle as far as good PR goes.
That all being said, I admit pipe smoking could definitely be considered a "hobby" of mine, although I generally wouldn't refer to it that way :
: Just trying to point out that there is some rationale in feeling annoyed when people call it a "hobby"
Lawdog, I wasn't really talking about anyone in specific, just the collective.
I could go on and on about how country music had nothing to do with bluegrass, which was basically encapsulated 17 century British pop music. But, then I married a direct descendant of Lamar Lunsford, who brought the banjo and bluegrass from out of the Blue Ridge and gave it to the Grand Ol' Opry. We have a whole shelf of Lunsford's original recordings, and it is fascinating stuff.
But, all in all, I have found that when immersed in a culture, it is hard to tell what the culture is. It is usually when things change that we notice it, as in wearing Members Only jackets and mullets in the 80's... we didn't really notice how weird it was until the fad changed. Or, flannel in the 90's... I never imagined a time without flannel. But, we won't fully understand our culture until we leave it or it changes. That is just how it works. I find Post Modernists to be a little on the annoying side of things.
But, basically, when I hear someone has a problem with a term or saying, I generally tend to use more often. It's like telling people that they have a button that makes them "react." People are gonna want to push that button. ::
I could go on and on about how country music had nothing to do with bluegrass, which was basically encapsulated 17 century British pop music. But, then I married a direct descendant of Lamar Lunsford, who brought the banjo and bluegrass from out of the Blue Ridge and gave it to the Grand Ol' Opry. We have a whole shelf of Lunsford's original recordings, and it is fascinating stuff.
But, all in all, I have found that when immersed in a culture, it is hard to tell what the culture is. It is usually when things change that we notice it, as in wearing Members Only jackets and mullets in the 80's... we didn't really notice how weird it was until the fad changed. Or, flannel in the 90's... I never imagined a time without flannel. But, we won't fully understand our culture until we leave it or it changes. That is just how it works. I find Post Modernists to be a little on the annoying side of things.
But, basically, when I hear someone has a problem with a term or saying, I generally tend to use more often. It's like telling people that they have a button that makes them "react." People are gonna want to push that button. :
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I found out today that I'm a straight up addict. Along with a hobbyist, and all that. Wierd. Take away all other forms of nicotine except for the pipe, and I realize how much I think I need it. Strange strange times.
Addict, huh? I suppose I am, too, according to some definition or other. But whose definition? Interesting subject.
Back to "hobby" or no. Reading about tobacco and pipes, and posting here non-stop is much more of a hobby to me than the actual smoking, both of which I enjoy.
Back to "hobby" or no. Reading about tobacco and pipes, and posting here non-stop is much more of a hobby to me than the actual smoking, both of which I enjoy.
I think you summed it up exactly as it should. This, that, and everything in between.
Yeah I've never noticed it since now. I was getting my nicotine from 6 different sources on any given day, without the chance to "need" it. Now that Ive only smoked my pipe for 3 days, I understand. I get the "mouth feeling" similar to chewing tobacco.
Officially: I call it whatever the hell will keep it from being sin taxed and "regulated" to death. I too, have a dream...
Anyhow, pipe smoking does have many facets to explore that are completely optional. This can all be as simple or as complex as you make it so pipes can be enjoyed on many different levels. In that sense I feel it can be a hobby should you find yourself interested in different pipes, tobacco blends, mythos, whatever.
At the same time it does affect my lifestyle as I also smoke a pipe while working, driving, riding a bike, etc. Yes I can still do those things just fine without it but... I like smoking, so I won't.
Anyhow, pipe smoking does have many facets to explore that are completely optional. This can all be as simple or as complex as you make it so pipes can be enjoyed on many different levels. In that sense I feel it can be a hobby should you find yourself interested in different pipes, tobacco blends, mythos, whatever.
At the same time it does affect my lifestyle as I also smoke a pipe while working, driving, riding a bike, etc. Yes I can still do those things just fine without it but... I like smoking, so I won't.
Agreed, oh harbinger of night: It's a hobby if it is so to you; It's not a hobby for you if it isn't.
I guess that's more concise than my o.p.
I guess that's more concise than my o.p.
hob·by
/ˈhäbē/
noun
1. an activity done regularly in one's leisure time for pleasure.
Definitely a hobby for me.
I worry about people who consider it a lifestyle. Your entire life revolves around pipes and tobacco and all your favorite YouTube people that share your hobby? Yikes.
/ˈhäbē/
noun
1. an activity done regularly in one's leisure time for pleasure.
Definitely a hobby for me.
I worry about people who consider it a lifestyle. Your entire life revolves around pipes and tobacco and all your favorite YouTube people that share your hobby? Yikes.
Both, or either, or neither. For me personally, it's like my arthritis or alcoholism -- just an integral part of who I am.
Collecting and/or researching pipes and tobaccos is a hobby.
Smoking is a habit or perhaps a pursuit.
Lifestyle should not be a word.
Smoking is a habit or perhaps a pursuit.
Lifestyle should not be a word.
When folks plan their vacations and travels around getting pipes and tobaccos on planes, visiting LAPoche, installing pipe holders in their trucks and extra vehicles, making sure their shoes and belt compliments their pipe selections, picking out which tobaccos they will smoke at Christmas in August, adding rooms to their house for their cellar and pipe collections, and a percentage of their income is devoted to pipes and tobaccos, like utilities... Then it is a lifestyle. puf
And, my wife has been very tolerant with my lifestyle.
But, no, if someone just has a few cheap pipes, and a single box of tobaccos, and just smokes on their porch a few times a week... I barely consider that a pipesmoker. puf
And, my wife has been very tolerant with my lifestyle.
But, no, if someone just has a few cheap pipes, and a single box of tobaccos, and just smokes on their porch a few times a week... I barely consider that a pipesmoker. puf
Obsession could apply to the above, no?
Lifestyle is a loaded term. Do hippies affect a lifestyle? I think so. Are hipsters maintaining a lifestyle? I guess. Do the rich affect a lifestyle? It would depend on the individual. Do some pipe smokers affect a lifestyle? Perhaps.
Lifestyle is a loaded term. Do hippies affect a lifestyle? I think so. Are hipsters maintaining a lifestyle? I guess. Do the rich affect a lifestyle? It would depend on the individual. Do some pipe smokers affect a lifestyle? Perhaps.
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