Kyle Weiss If you’re the sort that doesn’t like fall, or likes it simply because there’s certain coffee drinks now available, we probably wouldn’t get along. It’s akin to being someone who doesn’t understand why bacon is a thing, doesn’t regard baseball as an awesome sport, or someone who dislikes animals. You might even hate …

Read more…

Kyle Weiss I’m not a huge fan of summer. It’s my least favorite of the seasons, especially toward the end. People are generally overexcited, looking forward to beaches, tanning, outdoor concerts, camping and swimming. These things are just fine, until throngs of people all have the same idea and turn pleasant days into madness. I …

Read more…

Kyle Weiss Being both apprehensive and excited about the news of an additional "Billy Budd" offering by Cornell & Diehl, I took my time once a tin arrived. It’s been hot this summer and in the West, the fires have been destructive and have made the air tough to live in. Waiting for the days …

Read more…

Kyle Weiss The American White Pelican is a native migratory bird that courses its way through Northern Nevada in early summer. Like most living things, they’re not exactly suited to life here, and like all wayward travelers they use the scant resources and move on soon after. This is important, because as I write this …

Read more…

Kyle Weiss I haven’t written in some time about a Pease tobacco and since I have a lack of new smoking-things piquing my interest lately, I’m going back to things I know and things I know I like. Meridian, a GL Pease mixture, falls into this category. It is often misunderstood for reasons two: being …

Read more…

Kyle Weiss Pipe smoking has a way of stirring up the past, sometimes emotionally, sometimes directly. Lately I’ve been figuring out a lot of what means something to me versus what does not, as it’s been a trying last few months. Tobacco is, unscientifically, a form of patience grown in the sun, harvested, cured and …

Read more…

Kyle Weiss Mac Baren: simply mentioning the name sends guys into hyperbolic fits. Lengthy tales of warning then get uttered, especially to newcomers, like talking about a dangerous, abandoned house with a vengeful spirit inside. Other guys sheepishly shrug and say they like the stuff. Mac Baren has a lot of aromatics in their lineup, …

Read more…

Kyle Weiss With the weather flip-flopping across the country as it has, I’ve had a hard time finding a comfort-spot with my tobacco. One moment it’s nearly spring, the next moment it’s snowing sideways. Here in Sagebrush Country, it is no different: last month I was in shorts and a t-shirt on my porch, and …

Read more…

Kyle Weiss This cheeky review comes at a good time on both the calendar and in my life. I will fully admit I am not a “McClelland guy” when it comes to pipe tobacco, and I’m also of the opinion you smoke what you damn well please because it pleases you. Is it appropriate to …

Read more…

Kyle Weiss At the time of this writing I’m sitting in unseasonably warm conditions for Northern Nevada. I’m outside smoking in a t-shirt, shorts and listening to Pérez Prado. I have a French press full of coffee, Black Friday nonsense is happening somewhere in the world and I couldn’t give a damn. There seems to …

Read more…