Pipe humor on NBC

Christopher Brunton · Post by **Christopher Brunton** » Sat Mar 28, 2009 4:28 am

So, there I was.......

Trying to study for an up and coming piece on pipe design, for which there was apparently, no true book ever written. I called my brother. He told me, (he being a master of design) to, put it down, Do something else.

There I was, doing something else, being a smartass, and writing a couple reviews on the reviews forum, when I thought, put it down, Do something else.

Since NBC put Conan down to , yada yada, with Jimmy Fallon, I figured I'd look there, on the television for a minute, and what do I see? A skit, no less with Ted Danson, carving a balsa wood pipe.

I'd put up a link, but I'm too frightened to look for it. No shit, a balsa wood pipe.

No comment, really, just amazement.

Well, one comment, I hope NBC lets Fallon take over the show Without the use of teleprompters and skits. He is a funny fellow.

Funny....That fucking Danson carving a pipe in my living room, just when I'm trying to Put it Down and Do something Else.

(It is hard to find humor sometimes, without a kick in the butt)

-loose

bscofield · Post by **bscofield** » Sat Mar 28, 2009 12:09 pm

http://www.nbc.com/late-night-with-jimm ... id=1074769

On the guide bar click to just before the 3rd gray bar. Not bad, I thought it was funny... sounds like he was actually into wood carving (takes the professional knife out of Jimmy's hands).

FredS · Post by **FredS** » Sat Mar 28, 2009 1:42 pm

Ahhh, there's a lot to be said for the simple pleasures of whittling.

A few years ago, during our annual week in the rocky mountains, I bought my two youngest daughters (11 & 13 at the time) some good pocket knives and we spent many idle hours - usually early in the morning or in the evening after dinner - whittling on the cabin porch. It's hard to believe, they both still have their knives and they'll put down their cell phones, turn off the tube & the computer and come out to the shop once in a while and whittle/carve when I'm working on my projects. Sometimes we really connect when we spend an hour or so doing nothing in particular, together, just chatting. It’s nothing you can plan or contrive, but it’s awesome when it happens.

Frank · Post by **Frank** » Sat Mar 28, 2009 4:49 pm

FredS wrote:A few years ago, during our annual week in the rocky mountains, I bought my two youngest daughters (11 & 13 at the time) some good pocket knives and we spent many idle hours - usually early in the morning or in the evening after dinner - whittling on the cabin porch. It's hard to believe, they both still have their knives and they'll put down their cell phones, turn off the tube & the computer and come out to the shop once in a while and whittle/carve when I'm working on my projects. Sometimes we really connect when we spend an hour or so doing nothing in particular, together, just chatting. It’s nothing you can plan or contrive, but it’s awesome when it happens.

Man, that's really cool - good for you, Fred.

Oldtimers whittling with an old pocketknife they got in their youth are becoming a dying breed. These days most kids just want to stick it into the nearest classmate. Such a pity.

RadDavis · Post by **RadDavis** » Sat Mar 28, 2009 5:19 pm

My sister was a folklore major in college. As part of one of her projects, she went around to various small towns where there were always old guys out whittling on the benches around the courthouse square.

She asked on of them what he was carving.

He said, "Cedar".

Rad

Christopher Brunton · Post by **Christopher Brunton** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 4:42 pm

Cedar, I like that.

Actually, I might have mentioned, I always had a thing for whittlin'. My problem is I can't seem to whittle much but a pointed stick. Monty Python could'a put me to work, I guess.

Also, since my kids have always been into helping me make stuff and helping me feel like The Man by letting me help them make stuff, I've been trying to import some small Balsa supply into Austria, along with the proper tooling to make for nifty kid whittlins.

My son has enough cutlery for the work but my five year old daughter pointed out a nice set chip carving knives in a catalog. She's just gotta have 'em, she told me. (Then most likely forgot.)

What she'll get, though, is very nice Auriou flat/triangle riffler rasp.

Aye, it's nice when your kids want tools!

If you guys don't know about Auriou rasps, they are my favorite no longer made hand tool for pipes. They Come From France, like the Coneheads.
(They are much nicer made and drink less beer, however.) I've read that someone new has taken over the company and we may once again get 'em.

mmmmmmmm Cedar sandwiches.

-loose

p.s. FredS. That Is really cool. 1 hour spent creating with a kid is worth about 15 hours of not yelling at them.

I say, give a kid a knife, but first teach them how to sharpen it and only to point it at tasty animals.

RadDavis · Post by **RadDavis** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 7:24 pm

Christopher Brunton wrote:Cedar, I like that.

Actually, I might have mentioned, I always had a thing for whittlin'. My problem is I can't seem to whittle much but a pointed stick. Monty Python could'a put me to work, I guess.

You're doing fine, Chris!

The goal of those guys who sit around the courthouse whittlin' is not to actually carve anything like a sculpture. No, no, no, no.

The goal is to have the sharpest knife, and to prove you have the sharpest knife by cutting a longer, thinner cedar shaving than the rest of the guys.

The competition lasts all day, and they all end up with a pointed stick.

Rad