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  • Useful but Forgotten: Styptic Pencil

    For years I had been tearing little bits of teepee off and pasting them to my face to plug self-inflicted shaving cuts. Then, I go to my moms for dinner with one of these little white paper scabs and she asks me “why don’t you use a styptic pencil?” Styptic what? She explains that “in the old days, everyone used it for shaving cuts – I still use one for my legs.” So, I take a look at my local pharmacy and lo and behold, they still sell them!

    So I bought one and from that day onward I have never applied a tissue corner to my face. If I get a cut, I moisten the end of the styptic pencil with some water then apply it to the cut, which stops the bleeding almost immediately. Now, let there be no sugar-coating, the application of a styptic pencil to a cut is, shall we say, an ‘acquired taste’ sort of like how wasabi mustard and suicide wings are an acquired taste – it burns. But it only burns briefly and the closure of the cut is almost always permanent and invisible. I’ll take a quick burn over a fruity bit of tissue clinging to my face any day. Besides, if you’re shaving you ought to be tough enough to handle a little burn, girlie-man (&/or manlie-girl)!

    Wikipedia has an explanation of the chemistry of the styptic pencil here. Also, as far as I can tell, these things must last forever – nice when they cost about $1.50. Not to be confused with the Vicks Inhaler, an equally useful reliever of discomfort that no one except ravers seem to use.

  • Hell’s Kitchen Predictions

    After watching the first hour, I say the two favorites are Giacomo and Heather. My dark horses are Rachel and Garrett. I look for those “chefs” to be the final four.

    It may seem like an obvious choice, but at this point I have to go with Giacomo.

    ****

    Update: After hour two, I’ve pretty much lost all faith in Giacomo. Heather has emerged and the clear cut favorite, with Garrett looking pretty good.

    The one true unknown is Keith — I think he has skills, but also a major attitude problem. A longshot, but not out of the question. Could replace Giacomo in the final four.

    The winner? Got to be Heather…

  • Protected: Another Marriott Story

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  • I Should Be Famous!

    A few crazy “blast from the past” tidbits that I stumbled upon recently:

    1) I was a die hard fan of “The Office” on BBC, and as such started watching NBC’s version as soon as it premiered. As skeptical as I was, I grew to love the US version as much as the original. My favorite character? Jim (played by John Krasinski), who is simply hilarious. So, how shocked was I the other day when I found out that I knew him when I was a kid???

    Really, I knew his brother Paul, who I played basketball with growing up. (Paul later played hoops for Brown.) It wasn’t, however, until I read that John went to Newton South High School (where I attended Freshman year) that I even came close to making the connection.

    2) So, on that same Newton South tip, my Wikipedia research brought up another somewhat famous South Alum — Hollywood director Eli Roth. Growing up, Roth was the bully-ish older brother of my classmate Gabe. I always thought he was a pompous jerk, but that hasn’t stopped him (probably helped, actually) from writing and directing the 2005 horror hit Hostel.

    The one tidbit about Roth that I remember was that he and his friends claimed to have handed out vodka at the Boston Marathon. I say “claimed” because I can’t confirm that this story is true, having not been there, but these were a bunch of punk kids, so it is certainly possible. What a dick move!

    Speaking of Roth and his friends, the were also responsible for starting the now infamous Newton South “scavenger hunt” in 1990 (my freshman year, btw). As stated on Wikipedia, the school “gained notoriety in 2002 for its “Senior Scavenger Hunt”, a student-organized contest that featured theft, vandalism, and various sexual acts committed by the graduating seniors in exchange for points.” (Of course, thanks to the Smoking Gun you can read the list.)

    Roth has written a movie based on this experience that is currently in production.

    3) Lastly, a quick shout to Jessica Chaffin, sister of my buddy Johnny.

    Perhaps I should take back my statement that “I should be famous.” Instead, if you were the sibling of a friend of mine growing up — you should be famous!

  • Belmont Stakes

    The absence of Barbaro and Bernardini in Saturday’s Belmont Stakes is unfortunate, but it is still a great race every year. Let’s celebrate by watching Secretariat’s legendary performance:

  • Happy Birthday, Baby

    Anyone remember that old AT&T (or similar) commercial from way back when were this guy played a song called “Happy Birthday, Baby” over the phone to someone? You think it is his girlfriend/wife/whatever, but in the end it turns out to be his little sister. Maybe it’s the fact that my little sis is 12 years younger than me, but this commercial always got me.

    And, today just happens to be my very own birthday. So sing it to me…

    “Happy Birthday, Baby
    I wish I could be there today,
    cause I love you, thinking of you,
    so happy birthday baby…”

  • Grinds My Gears: Boiled Veggies

    You know what really grinds my gears? Water from boiled vegetables on my plate. Did I order green bean soup or green beans? Did I ask for my sandwich to be soaking wet due to the excess goo that came with my veggies? Why the hell are you boiling them anyway, when steaming is so much better?

    That’s what really grinds my gears.

  • Protected: TV’s in the Checkout Aisle

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  • Gary Matthews: Well, He’s with Leather

    Neil Everett has balls of steel.

  • Protected: Are the Networks Fighting TiVo with Commercial Placement?

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