Today is the day I’ve been looking forward to for quite some time. No, not the Superbowl; today is the day I change the blade on my razor. You see, I change the blade on my Gilette Mach 3 on the first day of each month. I guess I’d change them more often, but they’re pretty expensive, and I don’t really need to (it’d just be a little more comfortable). I knew a guy in college that used a new blade every day, but his skin was especially sensitive. Plus, his mom was a stockbroker and they were loaded, so they didn’t have to worry about things like “how much do razor blades cost and how often can I afford to buy them?” Ah, the little perks of being rich that the rich never notice. They can afford to have sensitive skin.

I got my first real razor blade (not disposable or electric) as a senior in high school. As a part of some promotion, Gillette mailed me a free Gillete Sensor razor. I was hooked immediately. It shaved smoothly, and much closer than my Remington (“as close as a blade” my foot!). The Sensor had two blades. Then came the Sensor Excel, which I had to have in my Christmas stocking. Then the Mach 3, which had – are you ready for this? – three blades. I think the newest model is the Mach 3 Turbo, but I haven’t gotten one in my Christmas stocking yet. :-( Anyway, all this is to say that during the Superbowl, I saw an advertisement for a shaving razor with four blades. All I’m wondering is, where is the line dividing “a noticeably closer shave” and “rampant consumerism that always believes more is better?” I have this ridiculous image of us in a couple of decades, using a razor the size of a trowel, with so many blade edges it looks like a Venetian blind.

The Superbowl was fun. I watched it with Dann while we ate a pizza. The first half was boring; the second half was great. The commercials were okay, but not quite up to the usual Superbowl standard. I noticed that I was getting bored near the end of the game, when the action was heating up and everything was at its most tense. I guess for me, if I’m going to spend four hours watching something on TV, it better be an Extended Edition Lord of the Rings movie.

Well, I’ve given my annual tribute to the lowest common male denominator: sports. Now, fortunately, I can avoid them completely until the next Superbowl, unless I decide to watch a few minutes of the annual Alabama-Auburn or the Georgia-Georgia Tech games. I don’t know why I don’t enjoy sports as much as other guys. Maybe it’s just because I could never get excited about chasing a ball around. I like other sports, specifically the “combative” sports – fencing, wrestling, judo, kickboxing – I can watch these for hours at a time. But baseball? Basketball? Tennis? I don’t think so.