Is P&C The New Penzance?

[sablebrush52]

There are certain topics which appear repeatedly on this Forum, so much so that they come to embody its zeitgeist. A few years ago it was Penzance. The Forum was aflood with "Is Penzance the Greatest Tobacco Ever Made" or "Is There A Tobacco That Is Greater Than Penzance?", not to forget the immortal"Why Is Penzance So Great?". And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Besides the numerous "Great And Mighty Penzance!!" threads were the "I Tried Penzance And I Hated It!" or "Penzance Let Me Down And Now My Life I Over", not to mention "Why All The Hype About Penzance?". There were the various off shoot topics like "I Can't Find Any Penzance Because People Keep Hoarding It And They're Mean!!" or "Will Trade My Sister For Penzance" and it's variants like "Will Trade My Spleen For Penzance". Perhaps no other topic so dominated the group mind of this August Forum.
Until now.
There is a new contender for the Throne.
P&C. Where once the land was covered with Penzance, now it P&C. Why we even have a culture, an actual culture, devoted to its defense. Now we have "Is P&C The Worst Ever?" or "Should P&C Be Tried For Crime Against Humanity?" or "P&C Can't Package Jack!" or, "My Order From P&C Was A Day Late And Now My Life Is Ruined!!", or "P&C Made A Mistake In My Order And My Life Is Ruined!" or "I Like P&C" or "All Of This P&C Bashing Is Getting Boring", or "Let's Bash P&C Some More".
Clearly something is going on here, something potentially momentous. Could P&C have climbed the cultural mountain to become the new Penzance? In the face of all of the P&C posting, praising, and whining, it seems likely. What does this bode for the survival, spiritual and corporeal, of humanity?

 

[harveymushman]

My heads going to explode hehehehe. Hey, any publicity is good publicity right?!
PS - Penzance ruined by business, marriage, and ran me out of town. But I cant help but love her anyways.

 

[popeofpiping]

It just seems that way because smokingpipes.com is soooo good.

 

[theloniousmonkfish]

Are they the only outfit to stock Captain Black Grape?

 

[cortezattic]

Great post, Jesse! You insightfully captured both sides of the group-think with just the right mix of sarcasm and truth.

 

[warren]

Stirring the pot a bit? Good on you Jesse!

 

[edwinbaz]

For a second there I got scared with the title. I thought now I was only gonna be able to get a hold of P&C once or twice every couple of years to place an order, like those exclusive restaurants that only take one table per night.

 

[wyfbane]

Now that ^ is funny.

 

[jvnshr]

Well, probably you guys know that many of those Penzance threads were getting closed at the end, so...

 

[deathmetal]

It's the holiday season, so many people are:
1. Drunk

2. Pissed that their lives are not all they hoped

3. Sick of Christmas music
In addition, there's the usual clash between social classes here:
1. Nouveau riche ("I love to waste money because I have so much")

2. Middle classes ("I want what I want and I want it now")

3. Elites of some sort ("Let's look at this rati-- oh, I see you have taken it another direction")
And the clash between basic philosophies, religious outlooks, Virginia smokers versus Burley smokers, etc.
So maybe it should all cool down. Yesterday the posting here was abysmal: a steady grind of resentment, passive aggression, neurosis and sublimated frustration.
I don't trust the P&C posts here except the general reviews threads. I appreciate that something may have gone wrong, but there's two ways to do this:
1. Before contacting P&C

2. After contacting P&C
At this point, I do not trust any from Door #1. That's just forcing their hand and using the heckler's veto for trial by media, sort of like what happens when people make accusations of sex assault against the candidate during an election (this has now happened to both parties, so I can use it without being "political").
What's next, "P&C sodomized me with a tin of Penzance! #MeToo"?

 

[Chasing Embers]

Are they the only outfit to stock Captain Black Grape?

Most vendors have it now.

 

[deathmetal]

Well, probably you guys know that many of those Penzance threads were getting closed at the end, so...

I support thread eugenics. It cuts down the hype a bit but improves the quality of comments, so for the 99% of people visiting this forum who are reading and not posting, they get a better reading experience.
I think we need a no-holds-barred thread of reviews for each of the major vendors, and people can post the sum total of their experiences there.
It seems our forum culture is already shifting toward the, "Did you talk to customer service first?" model and this is a good thing.
Captain Black Grape is still terrifying to me.

 

[lazar]

It all boils down to the unique business model that is P&C, creating love/hate relationships with customers who can hold simultaneously opposing views about them. Viz., How dare they give me a free $10 and then neglect to ship my order for a week and counting? Their techniques are both generous and incompetent, homey and sleazy.

 

[warren]

metal: I think you are taking this all too seriously. I recommend a glass of port ... possibly two ... a nap followed by a 24 hour binge watch of "It's a Wonderful Life."

 

[deathmetal]

Oddly, I've never had port, but thanks for the suggestions, warren. I tend to take everything rather seriously except the non-consequential stuff, which is a dwindling pool in an age of literalized symbolism.

 

[jravenwood]

I think we need a no-holds-barred thread of reviews for each of the major vendors, and people can post the sum total of their experiences there.

Now youre on to something

 

[warren]

My sympathies. I shrugged off that odious weight in my 50s. Luck to you!

 

[pitchfork]

 

[aldecaker]

:rofl: ^ These are, indeed, the types of posts that see the most action.

 

[warren]

Well done!