Watching Karate

So, one of the other things I did yesterday was watch freinds of mine try out for their ext belt level in karate. I don't know much about karate and am under the impression that the standards and expectations for what a student can and should know are rather fractured and may have some dilution. Still, what I saw Saturday afternoon gave me the impression that there are still schools out there that teach effective self-defense. The black belts were especially impressive, tossing each other about the room.

Only one or two students showed little enthusiasm for the sport and seemed to be out of it. There was a test with a punching bag and many of the lower students took it as test of form, rather than a test of effectiveness, which was disappointing. Only a few were trying to strike body blows. On the other hand, during the sparring most showed a strong degree of competence at defending themselves from attacks in different patterns-- from behind, from above. A tiny slip of a girl, maybe ten, reached between her legs, grabbed her attacker by the knee and just floored him in one pull, and when he got up again she threw him over her shoulder.

Kouryou-chan got a little bored, and Omaha diagnosed it as hunger, so we had to leave before the full-on sparring began. While we ate, I asked both of the girls if they wanted to try that, and they said they would be willing to try. I think a sport where they're not directly in competition with someone else, and where they learn self-discipline and patience, would be good for both of them. Probably for Omaha and I too. Although I don't know if we'd be quite as ferocious with each other as J5nn5r and Desirae were; those two were clearly having too much fun.

Mother's Day

Mother's day was spent shopping. Well, that's not entirely true, but after sitting around and doing some minimal housework (when will this weather clear up and let us get back to gardening?) we drove out to the mall to buy Yamaarashi-chan some socks, Kouryou-chan some shoes, and me a new coffee carafe since I broke the old one. The woman at Kitchen and Things assured me that people tend to break one a year, so the fact that I'd had my last one for three years was beating the odds.

Kouryou-chan complained of thirst and I pointed her to a water fountain. She came back and said, "The button is too hard to push! Can you help me?" So I went back and mashed down the button and watched her lap up water with her tongue. I think she's part gecko.

While we were in Target buying the socks, I spotted some pants with words written across the butt-- for four years olds. Words like "Princess" and "Cute". I know it's trendy but, great Gods, does anyone really buy "look at my ass!" clothing for a four year old? What kind of stupidity is that?

After that, we went home and went out to The Keg for Omaha's traditional mother's day dinner, since she likes the place. The wait was terrible and, speaking of butts, I stood up to get Kouryou-chan a kid's mat with activities on it and when I returned my seat had been taken up by two people whose collective asses probably took up five chairs' worth of the waiting bench. As we sat, medics came in with a stretcher and wheeled out some poor old lady. Funny, that happened last year on Mother's day, and Omaha wondered "Is it us?"

The dinner was good, but I must have been very tired because Kouryou-chan and I played Tic-Tac-Toe and she actually beat me at three games. I was trying to pay attention, and losing at Tic-Tac-Toe is supposed to be impossible once you understand the pattern. I hope it's not old age creeping up on me.

The Quest for the Perfect Shave Goes On

Every man who must shave every day is on a quest for the perfect shave. Either that, or he has let reality defeat him, reducing this daily ritual to an act of quiet desperation, a dream of a day without razor burn, a moment of smooth-skinned zen.

One of the other things I bought yesterday at the cutlery specialty store was a Merkur shaving handle and blades. This is old-fashioned shaving at its finest: a big hunk of metal, from which a single blade extends alarmingly far if you're used to a cartridge or disposable. I had three days' worth of growth on my chin.

I took a shower and fitted the dangerously flimsy blade to the razor. I used my usual shaving gel-- a glycerin-and-aloe based stuff from an upscale department store that I really like called Zhir-- and proceeded to try shaving with this ancient tool.

There's a scene in Star Trek: The Next Generation where Geordi reveals just how much of an idiot he can be. He shaves with a broken electric razor and when Data asks him why he says something like, "Because it's a challenge, and facing challenges is very human." If Geordi wanted a challenge, he should learn to shave with a working Klingon straight-razor, like Worf does!

But this single-bladed ancient tool, in perfect working order, was enough for me. All shaving manuals always tell you never to shave against the grain, and now I know why: if you do it with one of these, you will nick yourself. I did, on my chin. Most cartridge razors, especially the new triple and quadruple-bladed kind, are safe enough a palsiated orc couldn't cut himself, but the cost of that safety is a shave that's only second-best. This thing gave me a smooth, clean face without shadow or burn the first time. It's an enlightening experience. It takes a little longer to shave because you have to go slower, and it takes more care. But it's something I'm going to cultivate just because the end result is so much better.

Not that I needed a refresher, but...

ABC News (with Peter Jennings!) has decided that BDSM is so mainstream these days that it's no longer an "Oooh, look at those kinky people" kind of thing to report about. Instead, they've given us a how-to primer to finding all things leathery. It's lightweight but, really, isn't this the kind of thing we were all reading 15 years ago in SandMutopia Garden?

They only give one paragraph to a detractor, and they quote, well, acquaintances and friends of mine. Huzzah! Oh, and ABC quietly reminds us that "floggers and whips take some mastering, according to experts." Well, DUH.

It's a shame they quoted SSC, though.