SOTD by u/RedMosquitoMM

Aug. 13, 2022 - Pool Day

• Brush: Zenith B36 "Copper Scrubby!" 28x50mm Boar
• Razor: GEM Micromatic Open Comb
• Blade: GEM (13)
• Lather: Stirling Soap Co. - Lime - Soap
• Post Shave: Porter's Lotion, WSP - Neroli - Balm
• Fragrance: Motif Olfactif - Nectar Boisé
• Passes: WTG, ATG
• Coffee: Ethiopia, Sidama, Oromia - v: Ethiopia Heirloom - p: Natural
• Music: Atom™ - Dystropicalía AAA Mix by Normal Ones
• 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	213.0	1.7	60 swirls
8/13	213.0	◊	◊	60 swirls

Now that I have two days in a row of morning measurements available, I'm able to fill in my table a bit (and proceed with the same recording schedule from here on out). Let's pretend that it isn't peculiar and damning that my soap tub apparently gained weight overnight Thursday evening; last I checked, soap doesn't spontaneously generate, but what do I know? These are unprecedented times.

Anyway, it looks like I used about 1.7 grams of soap to produce yesterday's lather, which is coincidentally the same amount that I used the day before. Let's hope tomorrow's number on the scale confirms a similar amount of soap loaded after 60 swirls of the brush. I'm not ready to triumphantly yell "Checkmate!" at u/gfdoto until I record a few more days of data without any obvious errors, but my 8/11 and 8/12 recordings bode well for the "swirls are a more consistent-ish measurement than seconds" argument.

u/EldrormR regularly and enthusiastically talks up this Zenith Scrubby, and I'm finally feeling this thing come into its own. It's a rough break-in period, but the boar knot is starting to feel very firm while simultaneously very pleasant at the tips, and it's still got a ways to go yet. I think this will be one of my favorite brushes by the end of the month.

Also, I skipped my XTG pass today and went directly from WTG to ATG, and I might do so going forward. With the MMOC, the ATG pass feels less scrape-y; something about the geometry of the razor head makes it easier for me to maneuver ATG, especially around my neck. I ended up with a very close shave today.

⁂

#sidetracked u/Teufelskraft

I'm not sure today's music selection really conforms to the parameters of this #sidetracked exercise, but I'm going to mention it here anyway, because I'm going to hang out by a pool next and “Dystropicalía” seems to match that vibe.

First of all, I can't recommend “Dystropicalía” based on experience, because this is the first chance I've had to listen to it. Prolific electronic producer Uwe Schmidt posted this to his Atom™ blog at the end of July. In case you don't click through, I'll quote him here:

This is number one in a potential series of AAA mixtapes. Normal Ones will kick this off with “Dystropicalía” – a colourful ride through the depths of an imaginary latin mind space. This 78 minute mix taps deep into the Archive and re-contextualizes some of Atom™’s most classic latin and lounge-infused musical compositions into a feature-length tropical sound expedition. And as the Naturalist put it best… “why don’t you simply sit back, relax and have a coffee”.

Normal Ones curates a Vimeo page called “Holographique TV” featuring video synthesis compositions that include their experimental AV project “L’Astra Cosmo” and their audiovisual collaboration with Atom™ known as “nuuun”.

https://vimeo.com/holographique

Second of all, does a mixtape count as a song? It certainly doesn't by any traditional definition, but it probably does for purposes of #sidetracked. It's one single audio track that just happens to be 78 minutes long.

Anyway, enjoy!

This has made for fun background music while I'm writing. And if you like it too, give Schmidt's "electrolatino" style Señor Coconut recordings a try. They always bring a smile to my face.

Atom™ - "Dystropicalía"