What has become of me? (1)
Posted 29 January, 2008 in Random Musings
The photo says it all:
“A respected image consultant once said that the average person who wears a bow tie is distrusted by all. What all bow tie wearers know is that an average person would never be wearing a bow tie in the first place.”
– Owen Edwards for Town and Country
Sarah Vowell on the radical love of MLK (0)
Posted 21 January, 2008 in Atheism, Politics & Activism
Head over to the New York Times site and check out Sarah Vowell’s newest essay, “Radical Love Gets A Holiday.”
George Cables Benefit Concert (0)
Posted 21 January, 2008 in Jazz, Music
There’s a benefit concert for pianist George Cables coming up on Jan. 25 and 26 in NYC. For details, visit Doug Ramsey’s excellent site, Rifftides. And to hear Laurie Pepper talk about her husband Art Pepper’s relationship with George, listen to Laurie’s appearance on The Jazz Session.
The "Futur" of shaving — day 1 with a safety razor (1)
Posted 20 January, 2008 in Shaving
As I mentioned yesterday, I just purchased a Merkur “Futur” safety razor from ClassicShaving.com. Today was my first shave with my new razor. For the most part, it was wonderful.
I got a nice lather going with my cup and brush, and then picked up the Futur. Right from the start, you can tell this is an actual tool, not just a disposable piece of plastic. It’s solid metal, with just enough heft to make you feel like you’re doing something real, and very nice balance. It’s pretty, too.
As I started to draw the blade down my neck, I started to think I was doing it incorrectly — it felt like no blade was there at all. As it turned out, that’s what a sharp blade feels like. With the right angle and just enough pressure, the cut is so smooth that you can barely feel it, even when your ear tells you that stubble is being cut.
As a thirtysomething who grew up listening to big band music and who still collects Old Time Radio shows, this shaving experience was right up my alley. Not to mention that I’ve spent the week watching Frank Capra films on DVD each night while I’m here by myself in Albany with my family back in Rochester, so I already feel like I’m living in the 30s and 40s.
I made one mistake, which was to experiment with a different direction of cut on part of my neck. I think the combination of too much pressure and the wrong direction caused some irritation. Otherwise, the shave was great. With a little more practice, I hope to leave the days of plastic razors and ridiculously expensive cartridges behind forever.
Mark Evanier’s new book about Jack Kirby (0)
Posted 20 January, 2008 in Comic books
If you, like me, are a fan of comics legend Jack Kirby, don’t miss Mark Evanier’s new book. You can pre-order it now at Amazon and save an extra 5%.
By the way, Mark’s popular blog, News From Me, is worth a daily read, too.
JFK & Robert Frost (0)
Posted 20 January, 2008 in Poetry, Politics & Activism
John F. Kennedy was inaugurated on this date in 1961. Robert Frost read a poem at the inauguration. He was planning to read a new piece called “Dedication,” but for one reason or another had trouble reading the printed poem. Instead, he recited “The Gift Outright” from memory. Here it is.
The Gift Outright
The land was ours before we were the land’s.
She was our land more than a hundred years
Before we were her people. She was ours
In Massachusetts, in Virginia,
But we were England’s, still colonials,
Possessing what we still were unpossessed by,
Possessed by what we now no more possessed.
Something we were withholding made us weak
Until we found out that it was ourselves
We were withholding from our land of living,
And forthwith found salvation in surrender.
Such as we were we gave ourselves outright
(The deed of gift was many deeds of war)
To the land vaguely realizing westward,
But still unstoried, artless, unenhanced,
Such as she was, such as she would become.– Robert Frost
The personal is still political (0)
Posted 20 January, 2008 in Politics & Activism
My friend Julie White has a great new essay on her blog, My 45th Year. Go read it!
A new look at shaving (1)
Posted 19 January, 2008 in Random Musings, Shaving
Several years ago, I tried shaving with a shaving mug and brush, plus some Burt’s Bees shaving soap. I used a Gillette Sensor razor, and just didn’t see that big a difference.
For Christmas, Jen bought me some Nutragena Men’s Triple Protect Face Lotion. I decided to take out the mug and brush again. This time, I bought some shaving soap from Herban Cowboy. Even with the modern-day razor, I’ve been enjoying the new feel and the more relaxed, mindful shaving experience.
Then I discovered A Guide To The Gourmet Shaving Experience at the Leisure Guy site. I took his advice and bought a safety razor from ClassicShaving.com. The model I bought — a Merkur “Futur” from Germany — arrived today. I’m going to take my first-ever whack at shaving with a safety razor in the morning. I’m excited, which is a crazy thing to say about shaving.
