Shaving on the Cheap!

Tired of the high cost of double and triple blade disposal razors, cans of gooey shave cream, try shaving the old fashioned way!



All men typically shave their face on a regular basis. I happen to shave almost everyday. I am currently 46 and have been shaving since I was 20ish (ya I started late). Still, that's 26 years of shaving.

Now I am probably like a lot of people out there, I had used either a double blade, or triple blade cartridge or disposal razor almost my entire life with Edge shaving cream.

I'm sure that we all know the cost of these types of blades and cartridges, they are terribly expensive and most really don't give a great shave.

Well, this past Christmas I was given a Parker double edge butterfly safety razor, along with a badger shaving brush, a ten pack of blades and a bar of Williams shaving soap.

Okay, I had never used this type of system before, and it is kinda of a process to start with.

First of all, take a shower first, it helps prepare your beard for shaving. While you are showering, soak the bar of Williams shaving soap in hot water. When you get out of the shower, soak your face and the badger brush in very hot water. Take the brush, swirl it in the bar of shaving soap, then apply it to your face. Very important, then swirl the brush directly on your face in a circular motion. This action will start to create a meringue like foam on your face. Once you get there, brush it on in a paint brush like motion.

Now you are ready to shave. Be careful, this is a double edge razor it is very sharp. I find it is best to move the razor along your face at about a 30 degree angle. The first few time I cut my face. Note that it could take a couple of passes, here and there.

After shaving I apply some Nivea post shave balm, to help prevent burn.

I know it sound like a process, but its kinda of fun. Also after doing it a couple of weeks it becomes routine.

Now here it comes, get ready :)

There is the starting cost of buying the razor $25-35 and the badger brush on average $13-40

Then there is the ongoing cost. razor blades $1.97 for 10. $.97 for the Williams shaving soap and then the most expensive (for me) Nivea post shave balm $6.99 for 3.3 fl oz.

I change blades once a week that is 0.19 per week.

A bar of shaving soap last about ten weeks, that is $0.10 per week.

A bottle of Nivea post shave balm last about 25 weeks, that is $0.28

that is a total of $.57 per week or $0.8 per shave! compare that to disposal systems.

I have to admit there are more expensive products out there. However, you can buy blades from Amazon extremely cheap. Williams shaving soap is not the best shaving soap out there, and I probably will be trying some other product. Still how can you beat this price. Sure there is a startup cost involved, but think of it as an investment over time.

So I recommend this type of shaving very strongly, it is really going to save a lot of money down the road.

Thor

This is my review of the movie Thor, released by Paramount Pictures and Marvel Entertainment. It is written by Ashley Miller, Zack Stentz and Don Payne and directed by Kenneth Branagh. It is rated PG-13.

Thor is based on the Marvel Comic of the same name. It is the story of the Norse God Thor, set in the modern age. The comic and movie both, blends mythology with superhero action.

The comic has been continually released by Marvel comics for nearly fifty years. Thor's first appearance was in Journey into Mystery #83 (Aug 1962). That issue was written by Stan Lee (who makes a cameo appearance in the film), penciled by Jack Kirby and Inked by Joe Sinnott.

The high points of the comic has been the Lee and Kirby run, a long storyline in the 80s by Walt Simonson and recently a storyline by J. Michael Straczynski, who gets a story credit for the film.



I just want to note that I saw the 2D version of the film (my rant about 3D versions for another time).

The film, pretty much mirrors the characters of the comic, with some slight changes and updating. However I think that the character of Loki, Thor's brother is handled slightly better in the film and given better motivation for his actions.

The modest summary of the plot is Thor finds himself banished to earth, and must save the girl, and his father, and become a better Norse god for doing so :) I HATE SPOILERS, so I won't do it (ever).

With that being said, lets get this out of the way, right now, Thor is an action movie. No highbrow message to be found here, this film is all about special effects, explosions and popcorn. Does that necessarily make this a bad film. No, it's actually a pretty good film. I enjoyed it from beginning to end, and found it to be very entertaining. The special effect are living large in this one, as the entire realm of Asgard is created, as well as a planet populated with frost giants and the super cool Destroyer.

All I can say about the cast is they do an adequate job. There are no stunning performance here. Although the cast includes Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman and that guy from Good Will Hunting. They have all done better jobs in better movies. I think the stand out and underplayed performance in this film is Tom Hiddleston who plays Loki. As for Chris Hemsworth, I believe that he did a much better job in his ten minutes of screen time in Star Trek.

Is this film for everyone? No. Many will find the fantasy aspect, too much, or plot line too little. I don't think many of my married friends will be bringing their wives to this one either.

Thor is one of many Marvel Entertainment movies that have been released, including the upcoming Captain America which are leading up to next years Avenger's movie. Like the other films this one also includes post credit scene with Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury.

If you love comics or action movies I think that you will be highly entertained by Thor. If the typical summer movie season is not your thing then pass it by.

Irredeemable

Mark Waid's Irredeemable published by Boom Comics is the story of a Superhero who decides to become a villain.

Imagine Superman one day deciding that the rest of the world is beneath him and he starts punishing the populous for making so many demands on him, while they never understood the sacrifices he has made. This punishment is doled out in extremely violent ways across the globe. Also who needs friends, so lets start killing off everyone on my superteam as well.

Mark Waid is one of my favorite writers, he did one of the most amazing runs on The Flash years ago and created the "speed force". He is known for being a fanboy writer and has extensive knowledge on comics. He uses it well in this new series, utilizing many archetype characters that seem very familiar but fresh at the same time.

The main villain "The Plutonian" reminds us of Superman of course, but a superman gone wrong. Some people would say this is Superman if he was bad, that over simplifying the story. You see Superman could never go wrong, many writers have built up a back story, a history a moral upbringing that would not allow it. However The Plutonian we find as we read on, did not have the happy childhood Superman had, and therefore the seeds are planted.

The art work is done very nicely and I really appreciate the flashback scenes which pay homage to Curt Swan.

I would not say Irredeemable is a really great comic, I mean it's really good, and I look forward to reading each issue. However, it seems like ground covered before, not the whole premise, but the dark violent tale.....so 80s. I had hoped seeing the trend in comic in the past few years that grim and gritty was done and over.

Can I recommend this........not to everyone, I mean it seems that if your going to go down that grim and gritty path, do you always have to have some type of rape scene. See I am a big fan of Garth Ennis, so I have read violent books, but in this case, sometimes the violence is done I think for violence sake. I think it should be done to move the plot along, character development or sometimes just outrageous humor. In this case it seems forced.

However, that being said, I find myself finishing one issue and picking up the next.....because I still want to see whats going to happen next. The first trade is out, it's selling on Amazon for 9.99 so what the hell, might as well give it a whirl.

Google Celebrating Will Einser's 94th Birthday

Today I noticed that google has posted an image celebrating Will Einer's 94th Birthday.

that is geeky cool !

Hiew's Boardgame Blog: Die Macher full game

Hiew's Boardgame Blog: Die Macher full game: "Finally, I got to play Die Macher again. This was the third time for me, but the first time playing the full game with 7 elections. I played..."

All Star Superman

As you can tell from previous posts in this Blog, I am a Superman fan, big time. My first introduction to this character was when I was a child watching episodes of The Adventures of Superman.

Then shortly after I was introduced to the Superman Comics, but not the Superman comics which were being published at the that time.

When I was younger I would go to the local barber shop to have my hair cut by Ernie the barber and he had a large collection of older comics, I think that they were his sons from his younger days. Most of these books were from the silver age of comics from the 60s.

The 60s was probably the greatest age of Superman, where the mythology was at its highest, with different colored Kryptonites, a whole array of Superman family members, the legion and so on.

But over the decades especially after the the first Crisis and the introduction of the "Byrne" era the character has grown stall and tired and the really great stories have been few and far between.

It is only recently in the past five years or so, that the newer writers have embraced the past of the Man of Tomorrow and started creating some really great Superman tales......which call back to a more innocent day and are in fact "fun".

But no writer has touched on this as best as Grant Morrison in his twelve issue mini series All Star Superman.

This series is an out of continuity story which tells a tale of a dying Superman, who must face his greatest challenges in his last days just before the end. The series seems so fresh yet so traditional at the same time. We have lots of nods of the head and homages to the great silver age of Superman, and we touch base with modern mythology of Superman as well.

Of course one of the greatest challenge we have in the story is the great Superman villan Lex Luthor who finally is sitting on death row, and who although is facing death is unrepentant for his crime and feels justified in his hatred of the Man of Steel. He is the reflection of Superman goodness with equal portions of evil.

Also in the tale are old familiar faces such as Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen and the whole planet gang and also new friends from DNA P.R.O.J.E.C.T. ( a nod to Cadmus Project from the Kirby days).

Also included in this Superman tale are Superman Robots, Bizarro, Atlas, Sampson a Doomsday of sort, Superman One Million, the tyrant Sun and the Death of Pa Kent.

This is one of the best Superman tales ever told if not the greatest. It moves forward and back at the same time and we are taken along for the ride.

The book also includes artwork from often Morrison collaborator Frank Quitely. His version of Clark Kent is amazing, and for the first time you can understand how he gets away with the secret identity. It not just a pair of glasses, but a complete change in body language and posture. So complete is the disguise that even when Clark reveals his "Secret Identity" to Lois she does not believe him.(No one believes that Clark can be Superman).

This series was originally published in twelve single issues and then two Hardcovers, then two trades and now an Absolute edition.

This is not just a great Superman Comic it is a great Comic.

Seek it out......