The Straight Shave

Kevin surprised me this year with a rather unique Valentine's day present - a gift certificate for a haircut and shave at the New York Shaving Company. I only just got around to cashing in on it today and must admit that it was a unique and exciting experience.

The tiny shop, located on Elizabeth street in NYC's SOHO neighborhood, has only two barber chairs, one of which I occupied for nearly an hour while Francisco (sp?), a large, youngish Itallian-born barber did his thing on first my hair and then my face. The majority of the haircut was done with either a simple pair of scissors or a straight-razor. It was a good cut, but what truly made the experience unique was the traditional shave I had right after - my first! For the most part it was done almost exactly as shown in movies - he first wrapped my face with a series of hot, aromatic towels, then aggressively brushed my face with shaving cream before finally shaving my face not once with twice, with a large straight razor, similar to the one brandished by Johnny Depp in Sweeny Todd. Lucky for me there was much less blood and after nearly a full hour I emerged with a freshly shorn face.

My skin actually feels a bit raw as it has been nearly a month since I had shaved, period. But it looks good and I'm sure I will be back for another.

It's Friday!

Paris Trip
Originally uploaded by Carson D

So stop working precisely at 5, get a drink, and celebrate!

Bill Maher vs Ann Coulter

My Australian friend James presented me a last minute invite to the Bill Maher/Ann Coulter political debate that took place last night at Radio City Music Hall in NYC, part of the touring 2009 Speaker Series taking place over the next few months. As they mentioned themselves, shockingly nobody had ever thought about positioning the two against each other in an all out verbal brawl before, so it was nice seeing 'history' made.

The two each had and initial fifteen minutes to give a speech to the liberal-leaning audience, and while I'm blue myself and perhaps a bit biased, it was clear that Ann was losing this one. Bill is just a flat out funny, intelligent and witty man who doesn't make up bullshit on the fly to cover his ass if he finds himself in over his head. Ann continuously drops her silly one off nonsensical comments without any regard for fact-checking or logic. Sure what she says can be shocking, but as Bill pointed out, nearly everything out of her mouth is just flat out factually wrong.

Still it made for an exciting and unique night, and if you have a chance to catch her or any of the following headliners (Alberto Gonzales vs. Janet Reno should be good), I'd advise you do it.

March Madness!

New Orleans for New Years!
Originally uploaded by Carson D

So inspired by one of my best friends decision to do the same this last January, I have decided, for a number of reasons, to go dry for this month. In a city in which most residents forsake petrol for alcohol as a source of fuel, this is a pretty big deal, hence my repurposing of the college basketball term.
It's something that has been on my mind for quite some time, as upon reflection, upon moving to New York, there have been more drink-related black-outs than I would care to recall. While I'm certain I don't qualify as an alcoholic, there have been too many wasted weekend days recovering in front of the television while I try fruitlessly to recall where I went the evening before ("I know I started at G, then we went to Barracuda, after that things get fuzzy...").
Coming off of March, I'm going to embark on the 5 drink plan, meaning that in any given evening I will consume no more than 5 drinks, which for some is probably a lot, but for me is sort of that cutting point between having fun and getting ill. And obviously on school nights this will be much less.
Anyhow, I'm happy to report that as of this Sunday evening, March 8th, mission has thus far been accomplished. Admittedly I refrained from participating in much nightlife, making it much easier, but I still had a good, productive weekend.