Blogcritics Category: Tastes: Smoking

DVD Review: High Times Presents: The 20th Anniversary Cannabis Cup

The Masked Movie Snobs — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 23:38:24 EDT

A little insight to what we as stoners call our �Oscars.�
Written by Fumo VerdeAll right, Stoner Nation, this one is for those of us not so fortunate enough yet to get our asses over to Holland and hit the weed-friendly city of Amsterdam. Since I haven’t hit the Cup myself, this DVD provides a little insight to what we as stoners call our “Oscars.” This hour-long documentary allows us...

DVD Review: Totally Baked

The Masked Movie Snobs — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 16:02:43 EDT

Even with the generous puffs I was taking of the bud, the movie only got some jaded laughs from me.
Written by Fumo VerdeTotally Baked is a hybrid, a mix between a movie and a documentary or as they call it a “Pot-U-mentary” which makes even harder to follow for non-stoned people. Director Lee Abbott blatantly comes out by trying to disprove the lies that have been embedded in our society since the late ‘20s and early...

The Demise of Joe Camel

Joe Harris — Wed, 21 May 2008 17:16:09 EDT

The horrors of Camel's new remastered blend drove me to the edge - and then to find another satisfying brand of cigarettes.
Just as Marlboro killed two Marlboro Men, R.J. Reynolds has disemboweled Joe Camel. Cigarette makers can't help but turn on their own. Although the new package design for Camel cigarettes seems innocuous and perhaps even alluring, it should come with a warning. The Surgeon General? Screw him. Flavor conscious smokers beware: Camels now suck...

Book Review: Pot Culture - The A-Z Guide to Stoner Language & Life by Shirley Halperin & Steve Bloom

The Masked Movie Snobs — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 03:39:45 EDT

A fun book that every toker should get their sticky green fingers on.
Written by Fumo Verde “Hey man, are you cool?”“Don’t worry, man. He just wants to know if you smoke pot.”These lines out of the movie Dazed and Confused break it down real simple, and they remind me of a time when even mentioning the word “pot” was dangerous. I lived through the “Hugs Not...

The Basics of the Smoking Pipe

Jenn Jordan — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 20:43:24 EDT

Move over cigars, pipes aren't going away.
Some say potato, some say potauto, some like it hot, some like it cold, and some say cigar, while others say smoking pipe. Yes, it’s true: no matter how much this notion affects the cigar lover’s ego - as connoisseurs everywhere calmly tell their Henry Clays that it’s going to be alright - some people prefer their tobacco packed...

Cigar Catering: Get On a Roll With Your Party

Jenn Jordan — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 10:45:17 EDT

Make the luxury come to you.
In a perfect world, the greatest luxuries of life would come to you. A steak would cook itself perfectly before delivering itself into your hungry mouth, a bottle of wine would uncork itself, and pour itself into your glass, and a cigar, as you echoed words of "here Monte, Monte, Monte," would simply appear cut and lit between your lips....

Cigar Lovers to Boycott California? Don't be Surprised

Jenn Jordan — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 10:40:17 EDT

The laws keep getting weirder.
We all know that the world is filled with ridiculous laws. Nearly every country, every state, every city, every town has at least a couple laws that make people say, “WHAT the heck?” There are laws prohibiting donkeys from sleeping in bathtubs, there are laws that ban riding a bike in a swimming pool and there are laws that don’t...

DVD Review: Cheech and Chong's Up In Smoke (Special Collector's Edition)

El Bicho — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 03:28:37 EDT

Who's going to be our lookout?
Written by Musgo Del JefeIn the mid-to-late 70's, there were three comedic acts that every household seemed to own albums from - George Carlin, Richard Pryor, and Cheech & Chong. My young friends and I would always sneak a listen with someone acting as our lookout and the others plunked in front of the speakers trying to memorize the acts....

Drugstore Pipe Tobaccos: Pouches of Simple Pleasure

Joe Harris — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 07:49:51 EDT

As with any group of tobaccos, some shine while others suck.
Supercilious connoisseurs cringe, beginners beam, and old-school puffers keep coming back. Whatever their preference, every pipe smoker finds himself back at the drugstore for another pouch. Grocers' tobacco selections aren't what they used to be, but there are still some diamonds in the rough. In some circles, drugstore tobaccos are...

Announcement: Short-content feeds

Phillip Winn — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT

Sunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding.

Zippo Lighters Under Fire?

Ray Ellis — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 10:56:22 EDT

I’m generally not one to place much stock in conspiracy theories, but when an American institution comes under senseless attack from within, it gives me pause to reconsider my cherished beliefs. Events I’ve encountered over the past several weeks have left me no choice but to conclude there’s a conspiracy of hydra-like proportions slithering unnoticed through our country. It’s so far-reaching, it’s almost impossible to unearth its roots. And so insidious, it goes largely unnoticed.One of the last testaments to American ingenuity, the venerable Zippo lighter, is systematically being dismantled by agents working under the auspices of homogenization. The network is vast, and so sublime that even its agents are unaware of its power. The average Joe — citizens like you and me — never sees the effects of homogenization — until it strikes us on an immediate level.At first, I had no reason to suspect there were forces working in concert to undermine the proud tradition of the Zippo lighter. Thinking that the corner convenience store might stock flints or lighter fluid was a shot in the dark at best, even though this particular location carried every brand of cigarette known to man. Not surprisingly, I fared no better at the liquor store across the street. But I couldn’t help but note both locations offered a variety of refillable butane lighters alongside the obligatory disposable Bics and Scriptos. Undaunted, I went to a nearby drug store where I had purchased flints before, only to be met with a vacant stare from the post-pubescent clerk. Finally, I visited the tobacco bar at my newly remodeled neighborhood grocery store. In the course of the store’s makeover, photo processing and DVD rentals had been eliminated, but the floral section had been expanded as a freestanding kiosk within the store. The tobacco bar had been redone, too. Flints and lighter fluid had fallen victim to the consolidation process, but the selection of butane lighters and disposable lighters had been expanded.Clearly, this was no mere coincidence. Only weeks before, I was able to purchase Zippo flints and lighter fluid with ease. Now, wherever I went, clerks extolled the virtues of disposables and butane. As tempting as it was to surrender to the inevitable, something I couldn’t explain — something innate, something American — spurred me to not forsake the Zippo. Bic lighters, and their imitators, lure unsuspecting consumers with promises of convenience. They neglect to mention how they’re actually little explosive devices. Only a few days ago here in Dallas, a disposable lighter was responsible for the decimation of an SUV. It had been left in the vehicle for hours in the Texas heat, and when the owner tried to use it, it exploded in his hand. Of course, he dropped the lighter immediately, but the little Chinese-assembled IED completely torched his vehicle.I would never suggest that French companies like Bic, or American-based novelty companies dealing in throwaways, are undermining our way of life by outsourcing the manufacturing of their little flamethrowers to China. However, it’s blatantly apparent that 79 cent lighters don’t really represent convenience, and actually are potential environmental hazards. They don’t last very long, and when they do work, it’s only haphazardly, particularly in the outdoors. As a result, they’re routinely tossed aside by frustrated users, presenting fire hazards — and if they don’t combust, their plastic casings languish forever by the roadside.Zippos, on the other hand, are an American engineering marvel, elegant in design, legendary for their reliability. This year marks the 75th anniversary of Zippo, and they’ve remained relatively unchanged since they first appeared. It’s impossible to improve on perfection, and for what it does, nothing has ever beat a Zippo. Assuming they’re fueled and the flint isn’t worn away, they will, as promised, light under the windiest conditions without fail. And if anything should ever go wrong with it, the company will replace it at absolutely no cost. After my father died, I came across one he owned, with the lid missing. I sent it to Zippo, and it came back from Zippo’s manufacturing plant in Bradford, Pennsylvania, good as new.Zippos have been lauded by presidents, generals and soldiers for decades, and not without good reason. During WWII, Zippo suspended commercial sales, and only made the lighter available to the military. Eisenhower and MacArthur, as well as countless grunts, lauded it as the only flame upon which they could depend. There are stories of its metal case stopping bullets during battle. And of course, as per the unconditional guarantee, such damaged lighters were replaced with no questions asked.A Zippo isn’t just a lighter — it’s an accoutrement that you selfishly guard. You might own several, with each one having its own backstory, but you never throw one away. Each one reminds the owner of a particular point in his or her life — a bittersweet romance, an affair with a fast car, a little social victory — all sealed with that distinctive click as the Zippo is closed. There’s a little piece of American history in every Zippo.You don’t get that with a Bic lighter, and you don’t get it with a novelty butane lighter emblazoned with skull-and-crossbones or crude feminine silhouettes. All those give you are frustrations and bad memories of misplaced adolescence. In our throwaway culture, that’s how we mark time. We paste over our past with fiberboard facades and call it progress. It’s not evolution, though — it’s surrender to homogenization.Trust me — the Homogenization Conspiracy is not a figment of my fevered imagination. It’s not relegated to the Zippo, either. The perfect little lighter is just a pawn in this. If the dark forces that dictate our tastes can covertly take out an American icon like the Zippo by denying us its fuel source, what’s next? Rise up, America! If you don’t do it now, future generations will be consigned to a world ruled by overlords whose only allegiance is to disposability. And the world will end with the telltale click of a Zippo slamming shut...

Ray Ellis is a freelance writer who has been dissecting pop culture and its effect on how we view ourselves for over twenty years, ruffling feathers and dragging unsuspecting pedestrians along for the ride whenever possible.