Comments for Rising from the Ashes http://glpease.wordpress.com Random Musings from the Smoke Filled Mind of G. L. Pease Sun, 21 Dec 2008 22:08:31 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 Comment on Mind Blowing Chiles by Filipe http://glpease.wordpress.com/2006/10/11/mind-blowing-chiles/#comment-1591 Filipe Sun, 21 Dec 2008 22:08:31 +0000 http://glpease.wordpress.com/2006/10/11/mind-blowing-chiles/#comment-1591 these chillies are FANTASTIC ....I've grown my own from some originals a couple of years ago , they are slow and not very productive BUT boy they are so so favoursome in a slas sauce ..........brilliant these chillies are FANTASTIC ….I’ve grown my own from some originals a couple of years ago , they are slow and not very productive BUT boy they are so so favoursome in a slas sauce ……….brilliant

]]> Comment on Curiously Strong Brand Identity by Will Wright http://glpease.wordpress.com/2007/07/25/curiously-strong-brand-identity/#comment-1590 Will Wright Mon, 15 Dec 2008 12:12:28 +0000 http://glpease.wordpress.com/2007/07/25/curiously-strong-brand-identity/#comment-1590 I tend to fall on the side of the argument which holds that attempting to appeal to a wider audience is likely to tone down a rich product. In the case of brands that have gained considerable recognition by offering unique gustatory delights, one after another seems to have had it's magic removed when the recipe was changed out of a desire to increase market share. Altoids are a good example. Another is the black Licorice Vines made by the American Licorice Company. This is the same company that makes the ever-popular Red Vines. As I was growing up, I used to spend just about all of the money I could earn comic books and licorice. I would buy licorice almost every day, but I rarely had a sizable stockpile because I had such a ravenous appetite for the stuff. I continued in this manner far past childhood. As a teenager, I was still buying licorice whenever I could. Then, sometime in the mid-nineties, the recipe of Licorice Vines was radically altered. The change was not subtle. Furthermore, I had plenty of evidence that this was not just a matter of perception. I was buying licorice so often that I worked my way right through the phase when some of the licorice on the shelves was still good, but the new stuff was becoming more and more commonplace. I could compare the two side-by-side, both because the old stuff could still occasionally be found, and also because I had plenty of it stashed away. One was delicious and melted in the mouth. The other had a more mild taste and a plasticine texture, somewhat like Twizzlers. This change was a major shock to my system, and it left me with a sense of betrayal that I'll never forget. Overnight, my favorite candy had become nearly unpalatable to me. I must say that I was very happy to see how you conducted yourself when your precious Syrian latakia burned up. You could have followed the example of Balkan Sobranie by simply substituting ingredients in blends with a large following. Such a betrayal would have been pretty obvious in the case of Bohemian Scandal, but you might have pulled it off with a couple of the others. I think your decision to cease production may have helped to cement your reputation as a true master of your craft. From my perspective, you come across not as a businessman trying to boost the popularity of the names of your various blends, but as an artisan in the business of crafting and selling specific recipes. The names of your blends seem to be inextricably linked to precise recipes, and if the ingredients were to radically shift, you would no longer be able to sell them under the same names. Of course, many of your blends are not exactly the same today as they were when you first produced them. There is less dust at the bottom of your tins today than there was when you first began producing them. Even some recent blends, like Fillmore and Embarcadero, are presented differently today than they were at their inception. But I see all of these changes as having been done in the service of the original recipes, rather than in any effort to change them. The presentation is enhanced, for example, without the contents or proportions being changed, and I imagine that you are just striving to get the final product closer to your original intention. Pardon me for blabbering on and on in your praise. I'm sure you get enough of that already. What is most interesting to me about your post is its emphasis on the effects of perception, assumptions, consciousness, etc., upon your experience. I am not currently qualified to offer you as much help in such musings as I would like. But once I have gotten out of grad school and done a fair amount of research, I hope to zero in on some insights that are at least peripherally related. Taste and smell are very physical sensations, and I would like to work on disentangling the mystery that lies between conscious awareness and the physical body. Over fifty years ago, Moshe Feldenkrais made some admirable efforts in that direction, but in all the time that has passed since then (and despite our maturing understanding), very few have travelled farther down that path than he did. We live in a world so full of industrial products designed without heed to the biomechanics of the human body that we are nearly forced to become decreasingly aware of physical sensations in order to retain the illusion that we are comfortable. Perhaps this same numbness has something to do with our tendency to completely miss the dilution of Altoids as it is occurring. Or, perhaps we just like to take some pride in the idea that we've gotten tougher. I know my ego tends to be boosted by the occasional mild pepper in a batch of hotter ones. By the way, I thought the Dorset Naga was the hottest pepper on the planet. Is this "ghost pepper" truly even hotter!? I tend to fall on the side of the argument which holds that attempting to appeal to a wider audience is likely to tone down a rich product. In the case of brands that have gained considerable recognition by offering unique gustatory delights, one after another seems to have had it’s magic removed when the recipe was changed out of a desire to increase market share. Altoids are a good example. Another is the black Licorice Vines made by the American Licorice Company. This is the same company that makes the ever-popular Red Vines. As I was growing up, I used to spend just about all of the money I could earn comic books and licorice. I would buy licorice almost every day, but I rarely had a sizable stockpile because I had such a ravenous appetite for the stuff. I continued in this manner far past childhood. As a teenager, I was still buying licorice whenever I could. Then, sometime in the mid-nineties, the recipe of Licorice Vines was radically altered. The change was not subtle. Furthermore, I had plenty of evidence that this was not just a matter of perception. I was buying licorice so often that I worked my way right through the phase when some of the licorice on the shelves was still good, but the new stuff was becoming more and more commonplace. I could compare the two side-by-side, both because the old stuff could still occasionally be found, and also because I had plenty of it stashed away. One was delicious and melted in the mouth. The other had a more mild taste and a plasticine texture, somewhat like Twizzlers. This change was a major shock to my system, and it left me with a sense of betrayal that I’ll never forget. Overnight, my favorite candy had become nearly unpalatable to me.

I must say that I was very happy to see how you conducted yourself when your precious Syrian latakia burned up. You could have followed the example of Balkan Sobranie by simply substituting ingredients in blends with a large following. Such a betrayal would have been pretty obvious in the case of Bohemian Scandal, but you might have pulled it off with a couple of the others. I think your decision to cease production may have helped to cement your reputation as a true master of your craft. From my perspective, you come across not as a businessman trying to boost the popularity of the names of your various blends, but as an artisan in the business of crafting and selling specific recipes. The names of your blends seem to be inextricably linked to precise recipes, and if the ingredients were to radically shift, you would no longer be able to sell them under the same names. Of course, many of your blends are not exactly the same today as they were when you first produced them. There is less dust at the bottom of your tins today than there was when you first began producing them. Even some recent blends, like Fillmore and Embarcadero, are presented differently today than they were at their inception. But I see all of these changes as having been done in the service of the original recipes, rather than in any effort to change them. The presentation is enhanced, for example, without the contents or proportions being changed, and I imagine that you are just striving to get the final product closer to your original intention.

Pardon me for blabbering on and on in your praise. I’m sure you get enough of that already. What is most interesting to me about your post is its emphasis on the effects of perception, assumptions, consciousness, etc., upon your experience. I am not currently qualified to offer you as much help in such musings as I would like. But once I have gotten out of grad school and done a fair amount of research, I hope to zero in on some insights that are at least peripherally related. Taste and smell are very physical sensations, and I would like to work on disentangling the mystery that lies between conscious awareness and the physical body. Over fifty years ago, Moshe Feldenkrais made some admirable efforts in that direction, but in all the time that has passed since then (and despite our maturing understanding), very few have travelled farther down that path than he did. We live in a world so full of industrial products designed without heed to the biomechanics of the human body that we are nearly forced to become decreasingly aware of physical sensations in order to retain the illusion that we are comfortable. Perhaps this same numbness has something to do with our tendency to completely miss the dilution of Altoids as it is occurring.

Or, perhaps we just like to take some pride in the idea that we’ve gotten tougher. I know my ego tends to be boosted by the occasional mild pepper in a batch of hotter ones.

By the way, I thought the Dorset Naga was the hottest pepper on the planet. Is this “ghost pepper” truly even hotter!?

]]> Comment on My God, it’s Full of … TUBES by The Not Daily News » Blog Archive » I Truly DESPISE Spammers http://glpease.wordpress.com/2006/07/13/my-god-its-full-of-tubes/#comment-1589 The Not Daily News » Blog Archive » I Truly DESPISE Spammers Thu, 13 Nov 2008 00:24:43 +0000 https://glpease.wordpress.com/2006/07/13/my-god-its-full-of-tubes/#comment-1589 [...] making other people’s on-line experience miserable; hacking websites, clogging the “Tangled-up Tubes” of the internet with SPAM, or flooding BLOG driven content, like this one, with nonsense [...] [...] making other people’s on-line experience miserable; hacking websites, clogging the “Tangled-up Tubes” of the internet with SPAM, or flooding BLOG driven content, like this one, with nonsense [...]

]]> Comment on Curiously Strong Brand Identity by dino http://glpease.wordpress.com/2007/07/25/curiously-strong-brand-identity/#comment-1588 dino Sat, 26 Jul 2008 18:15:10 +0000 http://glpease.wordpress.com/2007/07/25/curiously-strong-brand-identity/#comment-1588 Hi! I was the guy all in black, sorry I did not vote, I wanted to after you asked but eh, I think the booth was closed . Thanks for your article with and for us!:D Hi! I was the guy all in black, sorry I did not vote, I wanted to after you asked but eh, I think the booth was closed . Thanks for your article with and for us!:D

]]> Comment on Curiously Strong Brand Identity by glpease http://glpease.wordpress.com/2007/07/25/curiously-strong-brand-identity/#comment-1587 glpease Sat, 14 Jun 2008 19:59:28 +0000 http://glpease.wordpress.com/2007/07/25/curiously-strong-brand-identity/#comment-1587 Yeah, um, well... I've been spending most of my output time on the <a href="http://www.glpease.com/BriarAndLeaf" rel="nofollow">Briar & Leaf Chronicles</a>. I suppose it wouldn't hurt me to figure out something worth writing about here, as well... ;) -glp Yeah, um, well…

I’ve been spending most of my output time on the Briar & Leaf Chronicles. I suppose it wouldn’t hurt me to figure out something worth writing about here, as well… ;)

-glp

]]> Comment on Curiously Strong Brand Identity by folloder http://glpease.wordpress.com/2007/07/25/curiously-strong-brand-identity/#comment-1586 folloder Sat, 14 Jun 2008 19:39:48 +0000 http://glpease.wordpress.com/2007/07/25/curiously-strong-brand-identity/#comment-1586 Start blogging again, dammit... You've been tagged... http://folloder.wordpress.com/2008/06/14/memeattack/ Start blogging again, dammit…

You’ve been tagged…
http://folloder.wordpress.com/2008/06/14/memeattack/

]]> Comment on It’s All Fiction, Anyway… by Drink Recipes » It’s All Fiction Anyway… Rising from the Ashes http://glpease.wordpress.com/2006/11/14/its-all-fiction-anyway/#comment-1585 Drink Recipes » It’s All Fiction Anyway… Rising from the Ashes Sun, 23 Mar 2008 10:18:16 +0000 http://glpease.wordpress.com/2006/11/14/its-all-fiction-anyway/#comment-1585 [...] Find more about it all here [...] [...] Find more about it all here [...]

]]> Comment on With Hard Tail and Rigid Fork by dee kellan http://glpease.wordpress.com/2006/08/23/with-hard-tail-and-rigid-fork/#comment-1584 dee kellan Sun, 24 Feb 2008 00:25:31 +0000 https://glpease.wordpress.com/2006/08/23/with-hard-tail-and-rigid-fork/#comment-1584 I recently picked up an old trek antelope 830 too. Used to have one, back in 1992, and i used it on trails quite a bit until i discovered the joys of the Trek Singletrack 930. Always missed the Antelope after I sold it... Picked one up for cheap at a yard sale this morning. Can't wait to restore it to something resembling its former glory. It'll be my new Commuter once it's up and running. Nice to see you also re-discovered the Joy of the Antelope. Nice post. I recently picked up an old trek antelope 830 too. Used to have one, back in 1992, and i used it on trails quite a bit until i discovered the joys of the Trek Singletrack 930. Always missed the Antelope after I sold it…

Picked one up for cheap at a yard sale this morning. Can’t wait to restore it to something resembling its former glory. It’ll be my new Commuter once it’s up and running.

Nice to see you also re-discovered the Joy of the Antelope. Nice post.

]]> Comment on The Reviewer and the Critic by danypactaky http://glpease.wordpress.com/2006/08/04/the-reviewer-and-the-critic/#comment-1583 danypactaky Sat, 16 Feb 2008 03:40:41 +0000 https://glpease.wordpress.com/2006/08/04/the-reviewer-and-the-critic/#comment-1583 I’d prefer reading in my native language, because my knowledge of your languange is no so well. But it was interesting! Look for some my links: I’d prefer reading in my native language, because my knowledge of your languange is no so well. But it was interesting! Look for some my links:

]]> Comment on Cigar Quest – Part I by jdavid http://glpease.wordpress.com/2006/07/18/cigar-quest-part-i/#comment-1563 jdavid Sat, 29 Dec 2007 02:01:50 +0000 https://glpease.wordpress.com/2006/07/18/cigar-quest-part-i/#comment-1563 Nice bit of writing. As a professional writer living near Las Vegas and a fan of H. Upmann Dominicans as well, I thoroughly enjoyed this romp. Be cool. Nice bit of writing. As a professional writer living near Las Vegas and a fan of H. Upmann Dominicans as well, I thoroughly enjoyed this romp. Be cool.

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