I was at work till almost midnight last night. A 16 hour day at work is enough without adding another hour at home writing up a unique post. I hope you’ll excuse me this time.

I’ll just throw out a couple of updates:

My ear is all cleared up, so I can hear normally again.

We just set the closing date for our new house: December 16.

Bullgrit

Viewed: Theater

Yeah, I know it’s been out for several weeks. I actually saw it about two weeks ago, but I’ve just now gotten around to writing something about it.

I was hesitant to go see it at first, because the trailer made it look like a silly romp. I’m not really interested in a silly zombie holocaust. But a friend, whose movie opinion I trust and tend to agree with, said it was good and funny, but not silly.

It’s only been in the last few years that I’ve gotten an interest in zombie movies, and I’m not sure why. The only zombie movie I remember seeing in the theater was Return of the Living Dead in 1985. The next zombie movie I saw was 28 Days Later, on DVD. (I know, you can argue all you want, but I still call 28DL a “zombie” movie.)

Then I saw I Am Legend, (again, I know it’s not a true “zombie” movie), and something about the zombie apocalypse genre snagged my interest. Since then, I’ve watched about half a dozen other zombie flicks (including the original, black-and-white Night of the Living Dead), and I’ve even bought a couple, including the recent Dawn of the Dead remake.

But the trailer for Zombieland hinted at silliness like I saw in Planet Terror — stupid silliness that I didn’t find the least bit funny. My friend assured me that this movie was not silly like Tarantino’s goof-ball project, so I decided to give it a try. My first theater zombie experience since 1985.

Much to my happiness, I found this movie good. It’s funny, but not silly. It’s zombies eating people, but not gore just to gross the viewer out.

I love the survivor characters and actors. The story is decent and well enough thought out that I wasn’t jolted by dumb plot holes. (There was only one spot/action that was dumb enough to irk me, but I got over it and let it slide quickly.) I like the way Columbus’ rules for surviving in Zombieland were integrated into the story, through both dialog and visual effects.

And the cameo role: brilliant. Since seeing the movie, I’ve read that this actor wasn’t the first chosen for the role, but it worked out so well that I just can’t imagine anyone else pulling it off like he did. And it completely got me — I really didn’t see it coming.

After going to see this film, I emailed my brother to get his opinion on whether I should see it or not. He constantly tells me that I should check with him before going to watch a movie. He claims to know what’s best for me at the theater. I didn’t tell him that I had already seen it, and he said that I would probably like it. So he was right this time. <golf clap>

Bullgrit

I was so, so curious as to what was on the other side of this door.

I have a mustache and goatee which I think makes me look rakishly handsome (versus the dorkishly boring without facial hair). Around this style, I shave 2-4 times a week. Sometimes 1 time a week. I just don’t like shaving.

Unless my beard has many days of growth, I can dry shave. I rarely use shaving cream any more. I just fill the sink with water, wet the razor, and zip zip zip, I’m done. Some people find this astonishing, that I can dry shave. It’s no big deal to me, I guess my skin isn’t all that sensitive, or I’m really good and the act of shaving, or I’m just really tough. *flex muscles and grunt*

Now that I’ve awed you with my manliness, let me tell you a little trick I’ve learned about keeping your razor smooth and sharp. I heard on a radio talk show, about a year ago, a metallugist say that leaving a razor wet after shaving is what wears down the edge. Drying a razor after use will keep it sharp longer.

So I started trying this. After shaving, I blow it dry with the wife’s hair dryer. The first razor I did this with lasted seven or eight months without dulling. I only threw it away because we were moving and it was a disposable razor — easier to just toss it than bother packing it. My current razor, I’ve been using since August, and it’s still sharp and works smooth.

I told a friend about this trick, and he said, “I don’t have time in the mornings to dry my razor.” Well, it only takes 10 seconds. The blow dryer is right beside me, the razor already in my hand — pick up the dryer, turn it on, blow the razor for a few seconds, and done. It’s not like I use a towel on the blades.

Disposable razors are cheap, so I’m not using this technique to save money. But it ends up saving me time and aggravation, and possibly a face nick. Normally, I don’t know a razor is dulled until I start to use it. Only after taking a stroke on my cheek, and feeling the tug and scratch, do I know it’s time to toss it and get a new razor. Then I have to look around in the bathroom cabinets for where I stashed my pack of razors.

With a razor that lasts months and months, I don’t come up on this aggravation. Since I haven’t gotten to the end of a razor’s useful life span, yet, I’ve gone about a year without having to go through that tug, cut, search routine.

Now you know. The more you know, the more you grow. And knowing is half the battle. Yo, Joe!

Bullgrit