Scowl, Nu?

Ok. I hate shaving. Let’s just be honest here, shaving is one of my least favorite things to do in the world.

You see, I am blessed with two things from my father – the first is very coarse hair, the second is very sensitive skin when it comes to shaving. That means that regardless of what I use, I am plagued with razor burn. Bad razor burn. Painfully bad.

For years, I have resorted to a basic safety razor. You know, the ones your father or grandfather used, complete with a double-sided double-edged razor blade. Why this? Well, when the double-razor craze started with the Gillette sensor, I tried them, but since my beard is so coarse, the blades would get all jammed up and become impossible to clean, which would rip my face up even more. Every double-blade razor I tried had the same problem.

I even tried switching to an electric (never really worked); use a whole host of shaving creams, oils and gels; and have even tried steaming my face before shaving. No dice. I finally hit my limit on Friday when the burn was so bad, I had to keep splashing cold water on it at work.

So, yesterday, I decided to try the Mach 3 which everyone had been talking about.

For the first time in years, no razor burn. Maybe it is the way the blades are laid out, but no hair gets caught between them. Maybe it has to do with the springs on the blades or on the head, but with just a little bit of shaving cream, I was able to shave without feeling like I rubbed sandpaper all over my face.

So, for this month, if you had to ask me what the technology is that has most changed my life, it’s not high-speed WiFi, not the mobile phone. It’s just a simple triple blade razor. Who would have thought it?

Fasching has come and gone, which signals the start of Starkbierzeit. Last Friday, we were fortunate enough to get seats for the opening night of the Starkbierfestival at Löwenbräukeller.
So, what the hell is Starkbierzeit?

Ok, so way back when, the monks would fast furing lent. That meant liquids were ok, but solids were definitely out of the question. Since the monasteries funded themselves by brewing beer for the masses, they decided to make a stronger (which means higher calorie) brew to help them make it through until Easter. This beer was called a Doppelbock, had an alcohol content of about 7.5% (normal beers ran at 5% or less), and provided enough oomph to keep them all happy (and tipsy). Doppelbock beers, are strong (stark), so this time was called the Starkbierzeit (strong beer time).

Talk about a time to be a monk.

Every year, on the Friday after Fasching, Löwenbräu releases their Triumphator Starkbier at their Starkbierfest, which runs from then until April 4. Every night, the festhalle is filled with revelers, listening to traditional music, watching traditional dance, participating in a 500 pound stone lifting competition, and finally relaxing to the same band, now playing Elvis and ZZ-Top.

Now on to the pictures…

Our crew this year for Starkbierfest.

A picture of the hall

Traditional Allgau dancers, chopping wood and dancing

The stone lifting competition. To the left is the stone – 500 pounds of rock. Each day, there is a winner, and at the end of the festival, the winners compete to determine the festival winner. I was less than a centimeter away from qualifying this year. Next time…

This really was a picture of the band, but Barbara just looked so darned happy..

The beer. Ok, this is actually a Helles, or a lighter version of the beer. I ended up having a full gallon (3.75 liters) of the normal Doppelbock (Dunkles Starkbier – or dark strong beer) over the 5 hours we were there.

More of the “shoe slapping” dancers.

Elvis has arrived.

And this year’s winner, lifting the stone over 56.5 centimeters, then pausing – while keeping the stone up with one hand – to drink some starkbier before setting it back down. The second place winner lifted it 0.5 centimeters. Third place 0.3. The others couldn’t even really get it off the ground. In retrospect, I think I am happy I didn’t qualify.

Ok, over the last few weeks, spammers have invaded the site, specifically posting crap advertisements for products in the Comments for entries.

If you are considering doing this, please note that your IP address, and any information that I have available on you, will be sent to the US Federal Trade Commission, and any other governing authority on this manner. You will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of any applicable law.

Stop it. Now.