The article on Ettan was interesting.
@snuffpub: #105 of 500, I’m assuming so then. No matter, I treated it like a priceless tome!
@matsnuffs lol…i got #104!
@toffeenose: Thanks for the order, and yes, the first issue reprint will be squarebound like Volume II. It’s going to look much different from the first printing and more closely resemble Vol II, which is pretty much how I wanted it to look the first time around. The content will be the same, no new additions or admissions, but the layout and graphics will be changed in order to accommodate our new format. Some stuff we tried just didn’t look right in the end, so it had to be redesigned from the ground up. So for the folks that didn’t read the first issue, you’ll be getting all the same content that was in our first issue in a better format, better binding, better page stock, etc. And for the folks that got our first printing, you’re not in for anything new (material wise) but you’ll get to see how we originally envisioned the book to look like before printers, budgets and binderys screwed it all up. We’re calling it “The Director’s Cut” around the office here, but I wanted to make it clear that it’s not an “EXTENDED director’s cut”; we didn’t add any new articles because we don’t want anyone to think we’re forcing people who bought the first printing to buy this one too, out of sake of completion. I absolutely LOATHE when a studio releases a “Collector’s Edition” DVD of a certain movie and then two months later they come out with the same damned movie with two minutes of additional scenes in hopes of fleecing die-hard fans into buying both sets. (Fans of the Evil Dead Trilogy know exactly what I’m talking about here!) @Fischtix: I’m relieved that you actually like it ;)! The MAD Magazine comparison is a generous compliment as it was a huge influence on me growing up. If your copy was numbered, it was indeed a first day printing. There’s actually a story to that. When I went to visit the bindery, they had finished printing the first 500 books but hadn’t yet added the covers. I had a little extra money left over because we didn’t do a glossy cover, so I asked them if they could take my shop credit and apply it towards a new title page that I could sign and number before they added the cover. They were happy to oblige me, but they warned me that adding a new layer of glue over the old could possibly make the old layer unstable in spots, which could result in loose pages over time. We did a test of about twenty copies, and they held up well, so I had them do all of them like that. Now I’m noticing that some of them have some loose pages, which irks me to no end. If you have one of the first 500 copies and you’re experiencing loose pages, here’s what you can do if you don’t want me to send you a replacement copy (according to the print shop): Take the loose page (or pages) and some simple Elmer’s Glue (or equivalent). Squeeze out a couple of drops of the Elmer’s Glue on your finger tip and run it along the edge of the sheet that meets the binding in the book. Then carefully place the page back into the book where it belongs (as deep into the crevice as you can get it) and within an hour or two the page should be nice and dry and shouldn’t come out again. I did that same procedure myself on two of my personal copies and it seems to have done the trick. I promise I won’t try anything new and untested on the next batch, swear to God 
!
Mine was not numbered, although it does is _____ Of 500… So I wonder what number I do have…
ibild, when I got done numbering the books, I was stuck at 491, so I knew that somehow I missed about nine of them. I went back and found a couple, but couldn’t find all of them. If you send it back to me, I’ll be happy to inscribe it and refund your shipping expenses and then send it back to you. Yours will probably be number 494 or 495 depending if anyone sends back one of the “numberless” pages. Sorry for the screw up, I had to try and number and sign all 500 copies within an hour and it didn’t go as smooth as I’d have liked it to! 
The above applies to anyone out there that may have received a non-numbered First Day copy. There’s at least five more floating around somewhere and I’ll be more than happy to fix it for ya. You can tell yours is a First Day copy if the first page is glossier than the rest and it says “This Edition of tsTe is a “First Day” printing, limited to 500 hand numbered copies, etc.” It should have a hand written number in red or black ink plus my signature. (The earliest ones were in red ink but then my pen died and I had to switch to black!)
I haven’t had any problems with any of my pages coming loose, but if I do, It stays as it is! I feel honored to have a hand numbered and signed copy, and when I finish reading every word, it will go to its special place along with my graphic novels, so I can bring it back out and read it again and again! I am seriously impressed with this, for lack of a better word, tome(magazine just doesn’t seem to do it justice), and I truly am pleased that I gave in and bought a copy. It’s well worth the money and then some, and no I am NOT gonna send you more money just because I said that!! But, really nice work guys…you’ve got a lifelong fan here!!
All the articles were great. I really enjoyed the article by the 80 year old guy because it was extremely fascinating to read how oral (flavored) tobacco was a long time ago. I bet there are very few people that remember how it was way back when, and STE readers are the lucky few!
FischTix said: “and no I am NOT gonna send you more money just because I said that!!” I’m going to screw around with Paypal checkout to make it overcharges you by 5.00 for each issue! 
j/k We feel honored as well to have you as a reader and we hope to live up to the expectations you all have for us. If we start slipping even a tiny bit, let us know so we can get our butts back in gear. @Mark W: Bill Johnson has so far turned out to be our best-liked columnist from what we can tell from the feedback. He just had his 82nd birthday back in January and I reminded him that he’s got about another 13 years worth of articles to spit out before he gets any fancy ideas about retiring! I was telling Mick about this when they came down to visit, and I always get a chuckle thinking about it. Bill Johnson hand-writes his articles on loose leaf notebook paper because he hates computers and he can’t find any ribbon cartridges for his electronic typewriter. So every couple of weeks I get this envelope in the mail stuffed with note paper and I know it’s one of Bill’s articles, right? The first thing I do is read through them. Then I scan them onto my PC using a program that converts cursive handwriting into Times New Roman font so I can make the necessary additions and get it print ready. As I’m scanning each page, I momentarily glance up at the screen to make sure it’s transcribing everything allright. Now, this program works fast, so I only get to pick out two or three words at a time because it scrolls down so quickly. Without fail, I always happen to look up and catch a part of the article where Bill writes something, uh, a little… inflammatory (if ttaken out of context). Garble garble, blah blah… “parading down San Francisco with my gay dip can” garble garble “Let’s go kill some gooks!” garble garble “Faggy McSissybottom Chewing Tobacco”… garble garble “I just slept with your mother”… etc etc. Needless to say, Bill’s articles are a favorite here at the office as much as they are with readers.
@snuffpub I reckon if ya did that I’d just chalk it up to yet another instance where I shoulda just kept my big mouth shut!!! =)
I got issue no. 31 I’m honoured to be in the top 50. Stefan
My compliments on the current issue. I was quite impressed and will definitely order the reprint of the first edition and also all of the new ones coming out. I was lucky enough to get one of the first 500 copies, #431 to be exact. Top notch printing/binding job and excellent writing, I enjoyed it very much.
I think the best article in the mag “my opinion” is “Dear Jesus Im Still Alive”… Not sure if it is even true, but to leap from a burning plane, land on your back wish for a smoke and out of the night sky a pack of cigs hits you in the head! Im still not sure if I would jump or ride the burning wreck to the ground?
ibild, that would indeed be a tough call to make! You’re stuck in the tailgunner pod without a parachute, the plane is going down fast, you’re watching your crew parachute out of the side, but you can’t go up out of your nest because there’s a fire overhead! You either ride the plane all the way down and/or burn to death while doing so, or you just pop the escape hatch open and freefall to earth. Talk about a rock and a hard place! I don’t know if all of details are 100% factual such as the cigarette pack falling down, but the Germans did indeed find him laying in the snow smoking a cigarette right after the plane crashed. That he fell at least 18,000 feet without a chute was pretty well accepted as fact by both sides.
No doubt snuffpub, Talk about a pair of steel marbles!!!
I love Bill’s articles. I really wanted to meet him when I was down that way, but he was off in Atlantic City or something playing poker. I can only pray to be that active at 82. Bill has become one of my heroes. I hope we get many more of his stories writen down so I have plenty to read. @SnuffPub, maybe we should give Bill a raise? I say double his salary. lol
I liked Eclipse ciggs. More than the e-cigg.
@Mick: Yeah, I’ll start paying him double goose eggs I actually offered to buy him a carton of Chesterfields for his articles but he declined. He says that they’ll be stale by the time he gets to smoke them all. So I offered to buy him a couple of packs and he told me to quit trying to bribe him. 
Recieved my copy (first day print run, signed and numbered 488/500 - whoop!) on friday, have now read it from cover to cover and must pronounce it really rather good, especially Bill Johnson’s article, absoulutely first class. Thank you, fellas - I sahll be ordering the reprint of issue 1 in April for sure.
@toffeenose, thanks for the compliment. I knew you’d like it. Glad it arrived in one piece, unlike some of our Canadian readers. or Pieter.