The Banzai Beard Bonanza II: Bonsai's Revenge
Day 15: Welcome to the third week of this second go-round of the Bonanza. So far, response has been positive, but a part of me suspects these people feel the need to say something and, because they are nice people, say something nice. (Of course, that thinking might just be another of the dark bastard's booby traps.) The Most Dangerous Game complimented the beard as did the professor which whom we were speaking, but the professor had never properly seen my as I normally appear, and they said so one right after the other. A chap nearby also complimented the beard, but he's known for wearing whiskers himself; in addition, he is always very complimentary of me, rightly thinking me the cat's pajamas.

Last night, when the gang gathered for an oddly late (for a Sunday) show of Sherlock Holmes, The Impossible Ingenue said the beard looked good, though in my inimitably doltish fashion I disagreed with her and said it did not yet look good, but that it would when longer. She had beaten me to the punch, complimenting the beard before I could properly appraise her newly dyed locks, no longer blonde but brunette, with charming hints of auburn.

I hope to post up-to-the-minute digital photographs tomorrow, but that depends upon the cooperation of my father. He does nothing all day, and it keeps him too busy to lend a hand to others. I perceive that the as-yet-unnamed beard is coming in more quickly than during the original Banzai Beard Bonanza, but I have no objective measurements with which to confirm or debunk that opinion. And still my cheeks remain woefully bare. Curses! The itchiness has not yet abated, nor have I decided how I shall shave/sculpt the beard once we reach that stage. I'll leave more neckbeard than is fashionable, because I believe the current fashion of confining beards to the jawline and above to be foolish and opposed to the spirit of true beardliness. (Not only have I just made up the word "beardliness," but apparently I've appointed myself Lord High Arbiter of the very concept. In egoism as in all other serious errors, go big or go home.)

Banzai!

This Week in Motorsport
There is a ticking clock at the Formula One website, counting down to the first practice session of the first grand prix of the 2010 World Championships, the Bahrain Grand Prix. 12-14 March, fifty-nine days and counting….

Other dates to note: 20 March, the 12 Hours of Sebring, the opening round of the American Le Mans Series and the main warm-up before the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans.

12-13 June, the 24 Heures du Mans, the greatest motorcar race in all the world. With last year's experience under my belt, this year I'm going to do it right; bugger sleep, bugger the obligations of kith & kin, I'm going to see as much of Le Mans as is broadcast on television. To do list, between now and 12 Juin: watch Steve McQueen's phenomenal Le Mans and Truth in 24 (sure, the latter is Audi propaganda, but it's still a breathtakingly detailed look inside Le Mans).

The most amusing personalized license plate I've seen in a good while: MEIN VW. Sehr gut!

The Rebel Black Dot Songs of the Day
King Apparatus, "Hold Me Down" from Marbles (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary: Inspired by The Most Dangerous Game's FaceSpace status update (and the following is a lyric, not her status): "Because better than you have tried and failed to hold me down."

Sonntag, 10 Januar
Sloan, "Chester the Molester" courtesy of The Watergirl (T.L.A.M.)