SOTD by u/RedMosquitoMM

Aug. 12, 2022

• Brush: Zenith B36 "Copper Scrubby!" 28x50mm Boar
• Razor: GEM Micromatic Open Comb
• Blade: GEM (12)

• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. - Lime - Soap

• Post Shave: Porter's Lotion, WSP - Neroli - Cooling Aftershave Balm

• Fragrance: No. 32 Blue Oud

• Passes: WTG, XTG

• Coffee: Peru. Panchia, Tabaconas, Cajamarca - v: Yellow Caturra & Typica - p: Washed
• Music: Buck 65 - This Right Here Is
• August 2022 SOTD Photo Album

#GEMsOfWisdom / #RawHoggin

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
8/7	218.8	217.9	0.9	40 swirls
8/8	217.9	216.5	1.4	40 swirls
8/9	216.5	215.9	0.6	40 swirls
8/10	215.9	215.6	0.3	50 swirls
8/11	215.6	213.9	1.7	60 swirls
8/12	214.7	◊	◊	60 swirls

As promised, I waited until right before my shave to weigh my puck of Stirling Lime soap. It weighed in at 214.7 g; still heavyweight, and more than what I recorded after my shave yesterday (213.9 g). I have to assume some user error is involved (though I recall taring the scale) and will redo this whole process tomorrow morning, which means my table will include some variables until tomorrow's shave of the day post. I apologize to my dear readers for the delay and suspense.

As you can see, this boar knot is looking good. I wish I had taken similar photos the last time I broke in a Zenith knot—set at a more standard loft in an artisan handle—so that I had a point of reference for this one. I have no idea if this is breaking in slowly, quickly, or at a typical pace.

⁂

#sidetracked u/Teufelskraft

I’ve recommended a lot of sad, morose songs this month, and I swear that’s not all I listen to. However, I do enjoy many ab-so-lute downers.

Since I mentioned UGK yesterday, I'll stick with that genre and point you to a "Canadian alternative hip hop artist" and one of his most gut-punching songs. For the record, I'm not sure Buck 65 (the stage name of Richard Terfry) fully qualifies as rap. It definitely tests the limits of that genre taxonomy; his productions invoke country, folk, and bluegrass while his lyrics often flirt with absurdity. And I guess you could call his vocal delivery rapping, but his music probably falls more on the freestyle and beat poetry side of things, next to guys like Sage Francis and Saul Williams. Anyway, back to the song at hand...

“Cries a Girl” is not for everyone. The lyrical content is heavy, Terfry’s voice sounds like a backwoods growl infused with risky moonshine and cigar smoke, his sing-speak flow is off-putting, and Buck 65 makes you really sit with both for a slow-moving five minutes. You're going to hear every line clearly and have plenty of time to let the devastating lyrics sink in. Nevertheless, I’m going to suggest it here, because sometimes you hear a song and a particular turn of phrase just grabs your attention and sticks with you forever. In “Cries a Girl,” it’s a few lines, and especially the end of the refrain:

I knew the woods like the back of my hand / And I would shoot the breeze / with the roots of trees.
...
She tried to hide the scars, her name reminds me of the stars / I saw diamonds dividing the corners of her eyes.

Those lyrics are poetic and heartbreaking, all conveyed with the most colloquial of language.

YouTube: Buck 65 - "Cries a Girl"