Smoooth

This is by far the best best shaving cream I’ve ever used. Proraso is an Italian brand that’s been around since 1907. I used to be a dedicated fan of  Kiehl’s White Eagle, but after reading about Proraso on some hipster shaving blog, I decided to try it (don’t bother asking me why I read hipster shaving blogs).

Anyways, loved it from the first shave. It smells great and only a small dab lathers up incredibly well. Lubrication is by far the best I’ve experienced. It’s also fairly inexpensive – $11 for a tube that will last you 6 months. It’s made with Eucalyptus, Menthol, and Glycerin and leaves your face tingling and super soft. Afterwards, you’ll smell like Marcello Mastroianni. Which is kinda cool.

You can find Proraso Shaving Cream at Amazon and at C.O. Bigelow.

Uncluttered interface. Stainless steel. Chronograph. Gorgeous.

I love my Timex T-Series Watch. Will you look at that face? Clean, stark, simple presentation of the time. Exactly how a watch should look. The case is stainless steel and quite beefy making it feel like a substantial piece of hardware on your wrist. It comes with a high quality leather strap that looks like it belongs on an Omega. It even has a chronograph (but really, who uses that).  Little details like the rakishly angled date nails the utilitarian but high design aesthetic of this watch. The only criticism I have is that it uses a unremarkable Phillipine-made movement rather than a Japanese or Swiss one. Still, it tells excellent time and the best part is that it’s only $64.  Save the money you would have spent on a Panerai and travel to Australia instead. Then you can take your Timex diving – it’s water-resistant to 165 feet. Get this watch. Link

I get a shout out.

I was mystified why I suddenly added 300 new Twitter followers this week until someone told me that my Twitter profile was mentioned by Alex Albrecht on Diggnation. I thought it  was due to my urbane and clever observations on life. Nope. Halo effect.

Movies fired up my imagination as a little kid. I remember loving movies as long as I can remember anything. After a day attending Catholic elementary school, I’d walk to the city library and check out every book on monster and sci-fi films I could get my hands on. In the 4th grade I memorized Vincent Price’s movie credits and talked incessantly to friends about 1920’s German expressionist sci-fi and horror films like Metropolis, Der Golem, The Cabinet of Dr Caligari and Nosferatu. Even then I was a nerd.

Influencing my young psyche were Universal’s classic monster movies with Frankenstein, Dracula, The Mummy and The Wolfman. Through such cinema, fantastical worlds were opened up to a kid living in El Monte, California, a first generation son of immigrant parents from Mexico. Of course, growing up in a traditional Mexican household, I was exposed to the wonderful spectacle of Lucha Libre as well.  Lucha Libre was television’s original mixed martial arts show and I loved it. Burly mas-macho men wearing elaborate masks who fought and flew inside a small ring were awesome to behold. Via a weekly television broadcast, professional wrestlers lived out simple storylines of good versus evil as either rule-abiding tecnicos or no-holds-barred rudos as they fought for supremacy.

El Santo

Legendary among the good guys was El Santo. He was a silver-masked wrestler that always fought for the side of good and usually won in spectacular style. His appeal soon grew beyond the wrestling ring and extended into film and television. He starred in 52 movies and during the course of his career took on all sorts of bad guys including spies, zombies, aliens, robots and Frankenstein – sometimes all at once! El Santo was James Bond and Batman rolled into one. I loved El Santo films for they proved that a man with some training, a mask and an outrageous sense of style could make the world safe from evil. Usually with a flying head kick.

Anyway, it’s my fond remembrances of all the adventure and excitement from childhood sci-fi, monster and masked wrestler films that first made me want to be part of the entertainment community. Then Enter the Dragon, Star Wars and Indiana Jones came along and my fate was sealed.

I guess I’m still that little kid who’s transfixed by the inspiration that story-telling provides and the magical places it can take you. I love this business.

the 6th photo from the 6th page is a ghost. eerie.

Got tagged by Rudy Jahchan to participate in this 666 Meme that forces you to post the 6th picture on the 6th page of your Flickr account, then tag six more schmoes to do the same. Evil. But since I know the Elder Ones will return (prematurely) if I don’t comply, here’s my pic. It’s, appropriately enough, from Halloween.

I call forth:

1. Micki Krimmel
2. Tim Shey
3. Brigitte Dale
4. Cali Lewis
5. Halcyon
6. Ryan Block

Best $15 you ever spent!

This is one in an occasional series of posts on really cheap things that I like – either because they have an incredible price to performance ratio or they just look great. This first item delivers on both.

They are the Feiyue Brand Wushu Shoes. They’re intended for Kung Fu training but they excel for just walking around and looking great. I get frequent compliments on them and last year they were all the rage in the UK hipster scene (which drove the price to about $60). They are simple Chinese-made shoes constructed of rubber and cotton but have shown little wear after 6 months of regular use. They also provide a comfortable fit (although not a lot of arch support). I wore them all 4 days of Comic-Con and just tramped around San Francisco in them. They make great travel shoes since putting them on and off is slipper-like. Perfect for those annoying airport security checks. The only negative is the strong rubber smell when you first get them, but that wears off after a couple of weeks. Price: $14.99. Comfy, cheap shoes with a martial arts heritage. Highly recommended. Link

Hope

I took this picture at a small fundraiser for Senator Obama held in Hancock Park on October 20, 2007. He was inspirational, even at the end of a long day of speeches and gatherings.

The wait for election day is driving me crazy. It’s as bad as the anticipation generated by an Apple Keynote speech from Jobs. Well…maybe it’s a little worse.

I’m organizing a gathering of different martial artists from the Web community to participate in a little experiment I’m calling Web 2.0 Fight Club. It’s scheduled for 10 am on Sunday September 28th at Clover Park in Santa Monica. Let me know if you’re interested in participating. You can get more info about the project here.

I have to choose a corporate headshot. Help me decide by participating in the poll below. I do not promise I will abide by the internet’s decision, but it will be a factor in my choice. Choose carefully! The fate of the free world rests with you!

UPDATE: Someone pointed out that I should have included a “None of the Above” option in the poll. Heh. You guys are hilarious! Anyway, that person is not wrong and as Casey Mckinnon pointed out “you’ve taken better pictures”. The vanity search continues.