till we have faces

[the_new_lemon]

A man sets out to draw the world. As the years go by, he peoples a space with images of provinces, kingdoms, mountains, bays, ships, islands, fishes, rooms, instruments, stars, horses, and individuals. A short time before he dies, he discovers that that patient labyrinth of lines traces the lineaments of his own face.

-J. L. Borges, The Maker
When

Comments

[malkhos]

This is more than a little overly dramatic. You know perfectly well what your face looks like. Any idea that you are shocked by seeing it is pretense--but pretense to whom? If you were vain you could not stop looking at your won face. How do you shave (or tend your beard--one or the other)?

[the_new_lemon]

Well of course I know what it looks like, but that knowledge is somewhat idealized due to my deliberate unfamiliarity with it (also, perhaps this was not meant to be entirely serious). And surely it's possible for vanity to express itself in any number of ways, not just those we're accustomed to.

Shaving is complicated. First a corn starch based powder is applied with a soft brush to the cheeks and upper neck, which are then shaved with a three-headed rotary electric razor. The lower neck/back of neck are then shaved in the shower using a Gillette Mach 3 and a gentle soap. I don't use aftershave, just a moisturizing lotion.

I do these things every third day and cultivate something between a 5:00 shadow and a light beard in the interim.

[malkhos]

I knew, of course, you were seriously pretending to be serious, which was just a little annoying last night owing to my fatigue.