Aug. 6, 2022
#GEMsOfWisdom / #RawHoggin
Yesterday's Another Cut Above style lather worked well for me, so I took the same approach today. Start with pasty soap in the stubble, add water until translucent, and then splay the brush. That last step isn't really an option right now, so I agitate with the tips of this Zenith knot and spent more time swirling the brush on my chin. (Speaking of, here's the knot before and after.)
I tweaked my loading time a bit, and tried reducing it to about 30 seconds (1.5 g). Starting tomorrow, I should start counting the swirls on the puck instead of going by seconds. A single "swirl" is a more precise measurement to use during this month of photo documentation and experimentation. Anyway, this loading time worked well and yielded about the same amount of leftover lather, probably because I didn't lose as much to the floor, mirror, and countertop. It was also easier to hydrate. Turns out I was overloading.
Also, check out how this Zenith handle is transforming! I really like the way copper patinas and this will look better and better the more it ages.
| Date |
Soap Before (g) |
Soap After (g) |
Usage (g) |
Loading |
| 8/1 |
235.5 |
232.5 |
3 |
|
| 8/2 |
232.5 |
228.0 |
4.5 |
|
| 8/3 |
228.0 |
227.0 |
1 |
|
| 8/4 |
227.0 |
223.3 |
3.7 |
|
| 8/5 |
223.3 |
220.3 |
3 |
40 seconds |
| 8/6 |
220.3 |
218.8 |
1.5 |
30 seconds |
⁂
#sidetracked u/Teufelskraft
Where do you begin when choosing a few songs from Aimee Mann's catalogue?
You'd have to start with "Voices Carry," which will forever be 'Til Tuesday's most well known song. Fortunately, Mann eventually out-shined that '80s video hit's long shadow, though it took a three-hour Oscar-winning film and setting up her own record label to do it.
Director Paul Thomas Anderson wrote Magnolia (1999) as "an adaptation of Aimee Mann songs," inspired by her music. It's an exceptionally well-curated soundtrack, and many songs are woven tightly into the plot and scene blocking, including two standouts that were written for the film ("You Do" and "Save Me"). "Deathly" (another favorite of mine), "Driving Sideways", and "You Do" would all appear on Mann's Bachelor No. 2 or, the Last Remains of the Dodo album, also released in 1999, and the first on Mann's SuperEgo label.
Which brings me to the song I'm going to profile here.
The album starts with "Red Vines," a song Mann wrote about Paul Anderson's growing fame. Read literally, it's not particularly kind; Mann sings, "Everyone loves you—why should they not? / And I'm the only one who knows / That Disneyland's about to close." Regardless, the refrain is a surging and hook-driven demand for a singalong. I don't know if it's Mann's unusual and expressive timbre, the guitar riff in the background, or some other detail I can't quite tease out, but I adore this song. It's a heck of way to start an album. Many of Mann's most immediate hooks open her records—I'm partial to "Humpty Dumpty" on 2002's Lost in Space (which features some of her most effective ballads) and "Dear John," which sets the scene for her 2005 concept album The Forgotten Arm (Caroline and boxer John meeting on the cotton-candy scented midway in Richmond). Still, "Red Vines" is the one I return to regularly, sometimes on its own and often with a full play-through of Bachelor No. 2. I love it.
YouTube: Aimee Mann - "Red Vines"
sotd.djudgement_invitations: [<DjudgementInvitation 375>, <DjudgementInvitation 2711>]