Neal Stephenson smokes a pipe - what is it?

[Fishfuzz]

Any guesses?

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/260688528/clang

Neat Kickstarter project as well.

 

[George Kaplan]

No idea, but I'm suddenly feeling the itch to read "Snow Crash" again...

 

[Mr. Doody]

I'm curious too (BIG NS fan here!). I asked them via Kickstarter. Will keep you posted if they respond!

Doody

 

[George Kaplan]

I'm kinda thinking he was just holding it for the bit.

 

[Gumball]

I am a big fan of Zodiac, Snowcrash and The Diamond Age. I stopped reading his books after Cryptonomicon, that was more a test of endurance than a book

I do hope that pipe is more than just a prop for the photo shoot. You can't move online for Steampunks and Chaps with unsmoked pipes hanging from their collective mouths.

 

[Mr. Doody]

So Neal responded. Apparently he does not smoke a pipe - it was just a prop. But he says he'll smoke for us . Maybe we can send him a "starter kit" and get him to do a quick video for his Kickstarter that references BoB .

Neal: Your fans want to know what kind of pipe you smoke!

I don't, but I would for you guys.

Doody.

 

[Doc Manhattan]

I am a big fan of Zodiac, Snowcrash and The Diamond Age. I stopped reading his books after Cryptonomicon, that was more a test of endurance than a book

My feelings exactly! (My father felt the opposite--but he loves Dreiser and Pynchon. His reading style is less an assassin, more a general managing a siege.)

Hard to guess what P&T he'd like... his aesthetic is English with heavy Oriental influence, maybe a blend for him should feature the same. (Snow Crash and Diamond Age would actually be teriffic names for tobaccos...)

 

[Fishfuzz]

So Neal responded. Apparently he does not smoke a pipe - it was just a prop. But he says he'll smoke for us . Maybe we can send him a "starter kit" and get him to do a quick video for his Kickstarter that references BoB .

Neal: Your fans want to know what kind of pipe you smoke!

I don't, but I would for you guys.

Doody.

A starter kit for Neal would be awesome.

 

[Mr. Doody]

so what kind of pipe would fit the bill for what he is holding at the start of the video?

it looks like a pretty simple jobbie - a tad on the short side maybe? 1/4 bent? definitely all-dark. is it a billiard or more of an egg or bulldog-ish?

regardless of his cultural leanings, i wouldn't want to shove anything too strong down his stem if he hasn't smoked before. happy to donate an ounce of a couple mild 'baccys to the cause.

maybe he'll do a vidskype with a group of us and we can teach him how to fill/tamp/light!

doody.

 

[kieveryuu]

A pipe starter kit is an excellent idea.

As another big fan of NS, I would say Cryptonomicon may be a bit of a slog, but is absolutely worth it. Likewise the Baroque series which is likewise complex, deep, long and worth it.

 

[George Kaplan]

I am a big fan of Zodiac, Snowcrash and The Diamond Age. I stopped reading his books after Cryptonomicon, that was more a test of endurance than a book

My feelings exactly! (My father felt the opposite--but he loves Dreiser and Pynchon. His reading style is less an assassin, more a general managing a siege.)

Ah, Pynchon! My nemesis! For about 10 years straight, my new year's resolution was to read Gravity's Rainbow. Every year I'd waste a good 2 month's of reading time wrestling with that book before giving up and retreating to something easier, like Ulysses. A few rounds of that business, though, makes Cryptonomicon go down pretty easy.

 

[George Kaplan]

Ok, so we've got 6 fans here pondering what Neal should smoke in his pipe, and no one's mentioned the obvious. Wasn't there a time when each of us finished one of his novels and said to ourselves, "Man! WHAT was he smoking when he wrote that?"

 

[TonyS]

I loved Cryptonomicon. It was my first Stephenson book and then I read all his others. I wish he'd stop with all these silly side projects and write some damn books!

 

[Dave_In_Philly]

Screw a starter kit, I say we bomb dude.

(Point of clarity: I have no idea who he is, I just like sending inordinate amounts of pipes and tobacco to random people.)

:bom:

 

[George Kaplan]

Screw a starter kit, I say we bomb dude.

(Point of clarity: I have no idea who he is, I just like sending inordinate amounts of pipes and tobacco to random people.)

:bom:

Quite fitting for a guy who bombs us with an inordinate amount of words.