A blunt is a type of inexpensive cigar which is usually machine-rolled. Blunt specifically refers to a particular size of cigar, produced by many different companies. These cigars typically consist of two main parts; the inner leaf is similar to a cigarette rolling paper, except it is made of tobacco, some dudes smoke big blunts and royal blunts the thicker outer leaf which is rolled around the inner leaf in a spiral. In North America, the UK, and most of Europe, the term blunt sometimes refers to a cigar that has been taken apart and re-rolled with cannabis or other smoking herbs. For those marijuana or herbal blunt smokers, the nicotine buzz from the tobacco leaf in addition to the euphoria from Damiana, Cannabis Sativa or other herbs, is thought to intensify the experience.There are three popular methods for rolling a blunt; In "leafing," the outer leaf of the cigar is moistened and removed whole. The inner leaf is then folded, filled with tobacco or herbs, and wrapped in the outer leaf, which must remain moist. Leafing creates a tightly-rolled and durable blunt, providing an even burn.
In "Spliffing," the cigar is split lengthways with a razor or a fingernail. The tobacco is then removed ("spilling the guts" or "gutting" as it is sometimes called), replaced with marijuana or herbs, and resealed (some prefer only removing a certain amount of the tobacco, mixing the marijuana with the tobacco and resealing. This technique is commonly used in an effort to use less marijuana or to get a tobacco buzz).
Another way to roll a blunt involves using blunt wraps. These are essentially pre-made, 100% cigar rolling papers. All that is needed is to spread tobacco or marijuana evenly throughout the blunt paper, roll it up and seal it. Most are sealed individually to keep them fresh, moist and flexible, as dry cigar leaves are prone to cracking and breaking. Some brands also include a plastic straw, around which the blunt paper is rolled during manufacturing, and a transparent, plastic sheet wrapped around the blunt paper to give an extra layer of protection. This tube can be used to pack the tobacco down in the burning end once it has been rolled up. Also available are all natural tobacco leaves cut size and put in to a resealable package. They are a little easier to roll but burn quicker than other types of blunts. The newest blunt wrappers come in a resealable plastic tube. This allows the smoker to place the rolled blunt back into the tube and close/seal it for later use.
Another technique is to purchase a "blunt cone" from mr blunts.These are cone shaped empty cigarette shells made from tobacco. The smoker then simply stuff the cone full of tobacco/herbs and smokes it. As opposed to the above blunt wrappers, a blunt cone is pre-rolled and simply needs to be stuffed.
James Blunt
James Blunt’s family have served in one kind of army or another since 995A.D. A long line of warriors. Savages really. Not a musical bone in any one of their bodies. The only music he heard growing up was “Happy Birthday” and “Silent Night”. His father considered all music, even classical, to be unnecessary noise. Although James was not one to rock the family boat, he didn’t really think he was going to join the army – it sort of crept up on him. Plus his family didn’t have a boat. Aged fourteen he just held the teenage conviction that he would have an interesting life – maybe that’s why he picked the guitar? Then again, maybe if he hadn’t, he would have tripped over it. He went to University and studied Aerospace Manufacturing Engineering and Sociology, spending most lectures asleep on the floor at the back. In much the same way, he ended up in the army. In essence, one day he was sleeping off a hangover at the back of a sociology lecture hall and the next thing he knew he was in Kosovo with a gun and a guitar strapped to the side of a tank, wondering who he could possibly sleep with to get out of this war. To break up the super attenuated monotony, James would sometimes stroll through Serb villages wearing an East German cap singing, “All we are saying is give peace a chance”. “We were peace-keepers at that point,” he explained, shrugging helplessly.
So how did the music get into him, you might ask? Well if you were sent to boarding school aged seven, studied Engineering by mistake (“I thought we were going to fly planes, but we just pulled metals apart – the brochure was very misleading.”), joined the army by default, guarded The Queen, buried The Queen Mother and pranced around London like a tit for Japanese tourists to photograph, what you’re going to want to do very much after that, besides getting stoned and laid, is put your gun down, pick up a guitar and make an album in America with Linda Perry. So James came to Los Angeles in September 2003 to record with Tom Rothrock et al. At night he’d go to bars, bringing with him his valuable British accent (in the U.K., too posh for some people – in LA, the best thing she’d heard all night) and the fact that like 50 Cent he’d been shot at numerous times, but unlike the Cent, had dodged the bullets. One song, “Goodbye My Lover”, was recorded in his landladies’ bathroom (“She was a frequenter of mental hospitals and in general, a freak – but pleasant”) where, naturally, she kept a piano.
From birth in a military hospital in Tidworth, to Harrow School, to Aerospace Manufacturing Engineering, to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, to The Household Cavalry, to Kosovo, to Buckingham Palace, to a recording studio in Los Angeles. How did James get from there to here? Only James Blunt’s hairdresser knows for certain, and either he isn’t talking or James cuts his own hair, and it’s up to you to join the dots – there are ten of them on the album.
