An unpopular opinion

[deathmetal]

The unpopular opinion wasn't the opinion, but having one and sharing it. Interesting!

Business as usual for humanity.
Don't Interrupt The Social Equilibrium.
I quote from the man himself:

Even before I left graduate school I had come to the conclusion that virtually all people live by what I think of as a "fiction-absolute." Each individual adopts a set of values which, if truly absolute in the world--so ordained by some almighty force--would make not that individual but his group . . . the best of all possible groups, the best of all inner circles. Politicians, the rich, the celebrated, become mere types. Does this apply to "the intellectuals" also? Oh, yes. . . perfectly, all too perfectly.
http://www.neh.gov/about/awards/jefferson-lecture/tom-wolfe-lecture

When you interrupt the fiction-absolute, you are threatening their sense of existential well-being and justification for their lives being good. You are in their eyes threatening them with the equivalent of death.

 

[sablebrush52]

This is me not commenting on the OP's position.

However, Deathmetal's post is very interesting:

The unpopular opinion wasn't the opinion, but having one and sharing it. Interesting!

Business as usual for humanity.
Don't Interrupt The Social Equilibrium.
I quote from the man himself:

Even before I left graduate school I had come to the conclusion that virtually all people live by what I think of as a "fiction-absolute." Each individual adopts a set of values which, if truly absolute in the world--so ordained by some almighty force--would make not that individual but his group . . . the best of all possible groups, the best of all inner circles. Politicians, the rich, the celebrated, become mere types. Does this apply to "the intellectuals" also? Oh, yes. . . perfectly, all too perfectly.

http://www.neh.gov/about/awards/jefferson-lecture/tom-wolfe-lecture
When you interrupt the fiction-absolute, you are threatening their sense of existential well-being and justification for their lives being good. You are in their eyes threatening them with the equivalent of death.

I have a simpler explanation.
All people are crazy. They wander about inside the world of their craziness.
No thanks necessary. I offer this as a public service.
I'm now heading over to another thread to see how the discussion about urinating on briar as part of the aging process is progressing.
Bye.

 

[deathmetal]

All people are crazy. They wander about inside the world of their craziness.

I would agree, with one caveat: to different degrees.
Some are mostly realist, others very little, and most in the middle.
But good observation.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

All people are crazy. They wander about inside the world of their craziness.

I have always felt this to be an absolute truth, but with categories and degrees of categories. Some of us are to some degree closer to the Dr. Seuss side of the fence, and some are more of the Charlie Manson side.

 

[michaelmirza]

The last two pipes are by Satou. It is hard to imagine using any other material in the first pipe other than bamboo. Love it or hate it, it is a unique vision, and one that really can only be achieved by bamboo.

OK Peck, I'll admit it. That churchwarden is pretty stunning.

Side note in the form of a question: do you live in an area where bamboo frequently grows?

I do not. My bias against them is purely aesthetic; bamboo has never actually gotten up in my (yard's) business.

Michael-
Since you opened the door on unsolicited negative opinions, I detest your avatar. It's probably insulting to someone or other. Doesn't insult me, but I try to avoid looking at it.

You must be a Pacers fan. :rofl:

To the original post, I'm right there with you, I don't find them appealing at all, but I've come to learn that my taste has continually changed during my first year of pipe smoking, When I first started I thought cobs looked hideous and I really didn't like the look of black sandblasted pipes. Today i own 4 cobs and 2 black sandblasted pipes. So who knows, they may start to grow on me in the near future, although I'm totally fine if they don't as I don't need added temptation to buy another pipe []

This is a valid thought for consideration. I too have experienced a similar transformation related to my perception of cobs. Maybe I'll be eating my words about bamboo someday too.

Who knew? The unpopular opinion wasn't the opinion, but having one and sharing it. Interesting!

Validation feels awesome. :D

This was my first bamboo. I had just been in the B&M the week before blowing off about how I thought that pokers looked stupid, and in walks Brad Rowley and this pipe. I had to eat those words, because this one was beautiful, and I had to eat those words for weeks on end. Guys at a B&M can be quite cruel, ha ha. Anyways, I still don't like pokers much, but I love this one, and the bamboo just sets it off, IMO. It also gets a lot of attention when I smoke it out and about. I love a good conversation starter, and billiards just don't start many conversations, IMO. This one however, almost always gets a comment when out and about. This pipe and a good straw hat...

I see where you're coming from. The rustication and rough rim of that bowl certainly contribute to the look.

-----------------

Thanks all for the input and good conversation! I can concede that bamboo has to be done right to work... but they're still not for me. :wink: Cheers to you all.

 

[fishnbanjo]

I love them but I'm picky on what I'll buy with bamboo, actually happy to see so many folks out of the running for bamboo shank pipes. Cheers.

banji

 

[shawnofthedead]

Not my thing neither, but I can see why some people love them. They have an exotic look.

 

[cobguy]

All people are crazy. They wander about inside the world of their craziness.

If we weren’t all crazy, we would go insane
- Jimmy Buffet

 

[deathmetal]

Rationality may be the enemy of logicality.

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

As a rule of thumb I'm not a fan of bamboo either. In most cases, to me, it appears as the original poster said. However, every once in a while someone posts one that I find gorgeous. I suppose it has to be the right pipe for it.

 

[posaydal]

Well, i'm not a huge fan, but not so against it. When i saw that 11 knuckle Satou with Tsuishi i simply went - WOW. For some reason, pioes eith bamboo i like are mostly japanese. One of the best looking, beside Satou of course, is Tsuge Urushi. To some it might look girly, but to me its simply outstanding. Would love to have them all, entire collection.

 

[peckinpahhombre]

Just checking in to see if Tom Cruise is jumping on the couch yet.

 

[tarheel1]

For the most part I don't care for them. This one however I love. Wish it were mine.

 

[sixrounds]

I like your thread, Michael Mirza! Pipes are works of art and deserve no less than being discussed!
Bamboo has such characteristic looks that it really needs all other parts to work in harmony with it. On the pipe you show in your opening post the bamboo seems kind of off and is struggling to fit into the pipe as a whole. I agree that particular pipe isn't the most attractive!
From the other pictures that other users have posted we do see that the bamboo can really shine! The churchwarden Satou that peckinpahhombre posted looks incredible! Hey... What if the briar bowl was replaced with... a skull shaped meerchaum?! ...Too much? Maybe, but it would be the perfect Halloween pipe!
Yesterday I went to a pipe store looking for a Savinelli Pocket 920 I had checked out on their website. I decided to buy it but wanted to look around and see if they had any other interesting pipes. Under the glass covered counter I saw something very different. I asked the shopkeeper to get it so I could take a closer look. This is what I was holding:

(The picture does of course not justice to how great this pipe really looks, and my 1st generation iPad Mini isn't really helping!)
It's a Tsuge Ichirin. Beautiful. I looked at it for a moment, then told some stupid joke about it being a five minute smoke, and then kept looking at it. "I'll have to take this one too!".
The pipe is meant to resemble a traditional Japanese Kiseru pipe, which had a bamboo shank. That probably explains why you can't go wrong with bamboo on this one!
It looks like bamboo really shines when in a longer pipe, though as we've seen it can make a short pipe complete too!
P.S. I seem to be able to get at least 15 min out of this pipe! Haven't timed it but I can smoke to at least one side of an LP. D.S.