I write to you from a hammock nestled between two deciduous trees in the backwoods of Princeton.
I actually call you my journal, but drama loving, Pez Dispenser Hilton followers jump on words like "diary." Yes journal, I also like it when my gossip queens tune in. It's good for PR, because, well, they gossip.
The wonders of the world keep me curious. How Little Richard rose to fame. What exists in plain sight that our eyes do not have the capacity to see. Who reads these off the wall entries...
Google tells me there is a small army of readers who jump in for a view each week. Who are they? At what capacity do I know them? Are they busy working class folks that tune in because they want more? Or are they housewives who are tanning on the beach reading everything posted on Facebook?
It doesn't matter one way or the other I suppose. A fraction of my day is spent wondering though.
If I knew who was looking when I am not around, would it change the composition of these entries or the style of delivery? Would the content shift to fit the audience. Probably not, although the subconscious is powerful.
All things are revealed in due time.
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Sunday, July 3, 2011
CUT THROAT - MY CURIOSITY GOT THE BEST OF ME
I Am Balding
It's not ideal, but God wasn't completely humorous with my design. I wasn't cursed with an Adam Sandler egg shaped head. To beat the retreating French hairline at it's own game, I take a razor to my scalp three times a week to create baby bottom smoothness.
Mundane It Is
Shaving has become a necessary evil. A mundane process that takes 2 hours of my life each week and yanks about $45/month out of my pocket in supplies.
Time Spent Shaving in 2010: 4.33 days
Money Spent on Shaving in 2010: $450
Finding a good razor is clutch. Most razors are over marketed and fail to deliver. The "soothing gel strip" that cools skin on contact usually disappears in the middle of the first shave. The rubber soft touch contour fittings that help to raise the hair on your face to guarantee the closest shave of your life become warped long before the razor looses it's edge. After putting a few blade systems through the ringer, I find a good temporary suitor.
To add to the mundanity of the situation and the pimp like status of my face, my skin adapts to the razors I use after a few blades. Hit the reset button and let the search begin all over again for my faces future ex.
Tools of the Trade
I started off with the Gillette Sensor. Loved it. The twin razor blades delivered. Cost of these blades are reasonable.
Then came the Mach 3. Started off strong but irritation set in quickly. NEXT.
Maybe a few AAA batteries in the handle of my blade and a bit of good vibrations will scare the hair off of my face. Onto the next after a set of Energizers. A relief, the cost of these razor cartridges were going to put me on food stamps.
I tried various combinations. At one point I was using an electric Phillips razor on my face and a Head Blade razor for my dome. This two part system was stellar until I got a bad batch of razors from Head Blade and started chunking bits of flesh out of the back of my scalp.
Many additional attempts at creating the perfect mundane shave and many eventual failures.
Grrr....
The Art of Shaving
Our forefathers were gentleman. Bonifide individuals who took pride. They didn't have have five razor systems and 1 horse power beard trimmers. Watching old movies, it appeared that shaving was an art. A man's appearance and the time and care he took on his face was paramount. Nothing seemed mundane when dude took a trip to the barber or a Rambo style blade to his face. So my research begins...
The Fruits of My Labor in a Clamshell
In the beginning of not so modern time, dudes used seashells to pull hair out (old school tweezers). They upgraded to shark teeth around the same time fire was discovered. Alexander the Great was a huge poster child for shaving since he thought it gave his soldiers the edge in avoiding beard grabbing in battle. This was 4th century BC.
From Wiki...
In the 1700's, the first modern straight razor (aka cut throat) complete with decorated handles and hollow ground blades was constructed in England. Straight razors were the most common form of shaving before the 20th century and remained that common in many countries until the 1950s.
Straight razors eventually fell out of fashion. Their first challenger was manufactured by King C. Gillette.
From About.com...
On November 15, 1904, patent #775,134 was granted to King C. Gillette for a safety 'razor'. In 1895, after several years of considering and rejecting possible inventions, Gillette suddenly had a brilliant idea while shaving one morning. It was an entirely new razor and blade that flashed in his mind—a razor with a safe, inexpensive, and disposable blade
It took six years for Gillette’s idea to evolve. During that time, technical experts told Gillette that it would be impossible to produce steel that was hard, thin, and inexpensive enough for commercial development of the disposable razor blade. Then in 1901, MIT graduate William Nickerson agreed to try.
By 1903, he had succeeded. Production of the Gillette ® safety razor and blade began as the Gillette Safety Razor Company started operations in South Boston. Sales grew steadily. During World War I, the U.S. Government issued Gillette safety razors to the entire armed forces. By the end of the war, some 3.5 million razors and 32 million blades were put into military hands, thereby converting an entire nation to the Gillette safety razor.
Schick traces its origins to the inventive U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Jacob Schick. On November 6, 1928, Colonel Jacob Schick patented the first electric razor.
Goin' Grassroots
My curiosity was piqued. Cut throat razors fascinated me. I had to see if the cut throat would make the cut. Before going back to the 1700's in methodologies, I decided to step back to the beginnings of King Gillette and test out his straight safety bit.
To run with the big dogs you gotta stop pissin like a pup...
Shaving soap and a lathering brush. Application in ole school fashion.
I take a swipe at my face and my first reaction is that Gillettes original design is near extinct for a reason. I didn't feel a thing as the razor grazed my skin. Not a sound, pull or cut.
After a closer look, I realized the razor eliminated all hair from it's path without an ounce of effort. Five minutes later I am in absolute awe! My face is glowing. I've never had a closer shave and this was only my first go at it. Too good to be true... The blades are extremely cheap, last twice as long as typical cartridges and the shave is skin tight. I'm in love.
Now it's time to turn back time and play with knives. Cut throat enter stage right...
I call her Incubo Bella. If all goes well, I'll never have to purchase another razor. Sharpen her once a week, play in patience, appreciate the art, respect the process and join with less than 1% of grown men that have a big enough set to willingly take a 3" razor blade to their throat.
Oi-yes-vay... After a few attempts and possibly a permanent scar or two, I may retreat to the safety of Gillettes original design. I have not completely thrown in the towel, but before I take another butchering swipe at my face, I'm going to get a shave from one of New Yorks finest. Incubo Bellas future hangs in the balance of an unknown cut throat barber on the upper west side.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
It's not ideal, but God wasn't completely humorous with my design. I wasn't cursed with an Adam Sandler egg shaped head. To beat the retreating French hairline at it's own game, I take a razor to my scalp three times a week to create baby bottom smoothness.
Mundane It Is
Shaving has become a necessary evil. A mundane process that takes 2 hours of my life each week and yanks about $45/month out of my pocket in supplies.
Time Spent Shaving in 2010: 4.33 days
Money Spent on Shaving in 2010: $450
Finding a good razor is clutch. Most razors are over marketed and fail to deliver. The "soothing gel strip" that cools skin on contact usually disappears in the middle of the first shave. The rubber soft touch contour fittings that help to raise the hair on your face to guarantee the closest shave of your life become warped long before the razor looses it's edge. After putting a few blade systems through the ringer, I find a good temporary suitor.
To add to the mundanity of the situation and the pimp like status of my face, my skin adapts to the razors I use after a few blades. Hit the reset button and let the search begin all over again for my faces future ex.
Tools of the Trade
I started off with the Gillette Sensor. Loved it. The twin razor blades delivered. Cost of these blades are reasonable.
Then came the Mach 3. Started off strong but irritation set in quickly. NEXT.
Maybe a few AAA batteries in the handle of my blade and a bit of good vibrations will scare the hair off of my face. Onto the next after a set of Energizers. A relief, the cost of these razor cartridges were going to put me on food stamps.
I tried various combinations. At one point I was using an electric Phillips razor on my face and a Head Blade razor for my dome. This two part system was stellar until I got a bad batch of razors from Head Blade and started chunking bits of flesh out of the back of my scalp.
Many additional attempts at creating the perfect mundane shave and many eventual failures.
Grrr....
The Art of Shaving
Our forefathers were gentleman. Bonifide individuals who took pride. They didn't have have five razor systems and 1 horse power beard trimmers. Watching old movies, it appeared that shaving was an art. A man's appearance and the time and care he took on his face was paramount. Nothing seemed mundane when dude took a trip to the barber or a Rambo style blade to his face. So my research begins...
The Fruits of My Labor in a Clamshell
In the beginning of not so modern time, dudes used seashells to pull hair out (old school tweezers). They upgraded to shark teeth around the same time fire was discovered. Alexander the Great was a huge poster child for shaving since he thought it gave his soldiers the edge in avoiding beard grabbing in battle. This was 4th century BC.
From Wiki...
In the 1700's, the first modern straight razor (aka cut throat) complete with decorated handles and hollow ground blades was constructed in England. Straight razors were the most common form of shaving before the 20th century and remained that common in many countries until the 1950s.
Straight razors eventually fell out of fashion. Their first challenger was manufactured by King C. Gillette.
From About.com...
On November 15, 1904, patent #775,134 was granted to King C. Gillette for a safety 'razor'. In 1895, after several years of considering and rejecting possible inventions, Gillette suddenly had a brilliant idea while shaving one morning. It was an entirely new razor and blade that flashed in his mind—a razor with a safe, inexpensive, and disposable blade
It took six years for Gillette’s idea to evolve. During that time, technical experts told Gillette that it would be impossible to produce steel that was hard, thin, and inexpensive enough for commercial development of the disposable razor blade. Then in 1901, MIT graduate William Nickerson agreed to try.
By 1903, he had succeeded. Production of the Gillette ® safety razor and blade began as the Gillette Safety Razor Company started operations in South Boston. Sales grew steadily. During World War I, the U.S. Government issued Gillette safety razors to the entire armed forces. By the end of the war, some 3.5 million razors and 32 million blades were put into military hands, thereby converting an entire nation to the Gillette safety razor.
Schick traces its origins to the inventive U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Jacob Schick. On November 6, 1928, Colonel Jacob Schick patented the first electric razor.
Goin' Grassroots
My curiosity was piqued. Cut throat razors fascinated me. I had to see if the cut throat would make the cut. Before going back to the 1700's in methodologies, I decided to step back to the beginnings of King Gillette and test out his straight safety bit.
To run with the big dogs you gotta stop pissin like a pup...
Shaving soap and a lathering brush. Application in ole school fashion.
I take a swipe at my face and my first reaction is that Gillettes original design is near extinct for a reason. I didn't feel a thing as the razor grazed my skin. Not a sound, pull or cut.
After a closer look, I realized the razor eliminated all hair from it's path without an ounce of effort. Five minutes later I am in absolute awe! My face is glowing. I've never had a closer shave and this was only my first go at it. Too good to be true... The blades are extremely cheap, last twice as long as typical cartridges and the shave is skin tight. I'm in love.
Now it's time to turn back time and play with knives. Cut throat enter stage right...
I call her Incubo Bella. If all goes well, I'll never have to purchase another razor. Sharpen her once a week, play in patience, appreciate the art, respect the process and join with less than 1% of grown men that have a big enough set to willingly take a 3" razor blade to their throat.
Oi-yes-vay... After a few attempts and possibly a permanent scar or two, I may retreat to the safety of Gillettes original design. I have not completely thrown in the towel, but before I take another butchering swipe at my face, I'm going to get a shave from one of New Yorks finest. Incubo Bellas future hangs in the balance of an unknown cut throat barber on the upper west side.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
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