Good Morning!

Well, let's dive right in with a subject that's near and dear to most listeners of Ms. Miller's audio offerings....the PSA!

That's right, we've gotten our heads stuck in a vase, poison ivy near our eye, and been serenaded by the Love Walrus singing about babies and boobs.

I have mixed feelings about the PSA; I suppose they serve some public good, but any station that's relying heavily on them to fill paying ad space can't be making any money. (are you listening, WWZN? [Boston]).

Anyway, there's one that's been making the rounds on the ol' teevee machine. Perhaps you've seen it.



Maybe it's a good idea; maybe not. But I've got a beef with it, at least locally. Our cable news outlet (NECN) plays this ad incessantly, often back-to-back, during the morning wakeup rush. My soon to be 8 year old son knows the ad word for word, and has been known to recite the script right along with the ad.

Which has led to the question, "Papa, what are nude pics?"

Nice going. Thank you NECN.



Moving on, let's look at a local story. Tell me please, where "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes" comes from?

You probabaly guessed the Battle of Bunker Hill, right? After the action at Lexington and Concord, the British laid siege to the City of Boston. On the night of June 16, the Minutemen fortified a ridge on the side of Breed's Hill in Charlestown. (The lower ridge bears the name Bunker Hill). The following morning, the British attempted several times to take the hill by force of numbers. By allowing the soldiers to approach literally to within arms' reach before opening fire, Colonel Prescott was able to inflict mortal damage to the British, and although they were finally successful in driving off the Patriots, the battle is considered a Rebel victory, because they were able to fight the most powerful army in the world to a standstill.

In any case, sometime later, the politicians in this city decided the battle should be commemorated with a public holiday. Trouble is, the holiday only applies to Suffolk County, Massachusetts. Which only includes the city of Boston. Which is home to State government.

The Republicans in this state are trying to get rid of it. It made for great political theater around here earlier in the week. The Governor and much of the state's top brass made a show of going in to work anyway. But I never heard how many GOP politicians made it in to work that day.



Even though I've never had these holidays, I'm in favor of keeping them. If we eliminate them, we lose a little bit of our collective history and we all grow a little weaker as Americans. I'd rather be in favor of expanding these statewide, so they're at least of the same caliber as the REAL Patriot's Day (April 18). The Revolution did start here after all, and these days should be important to every American.



Lastly this morning, let's talk about a mundane, mens-only subject. How many of our hirsute male readers shaved this morning? Did you use an electric, or a safety razor?

Well....I well remember my first electric razor. It was a crazy little lawnmower-like contraption, owned and sold by local eccentric Victor Kayem. (remember him? He eventually bought the Patriots...) In any case, I never really thought much about it, going back and forth from electric to wet-shaving a number of times. A few years ago, I bought a really fancy German electric, and it's been giving me good service for about 4 years now.

But I've just switched back to wet-shaving. Like my carrying a fountain pen in this day and age, I'm a bit of an anachronism for certain things. I've always had a fascination for straight razors. I suppose that comes from my youth. While I didn't quite grow up in a barber shop, I spent an awful lot of my younger years hanging around one. My grandpa's best friend was a cornet player, but in his day job he ran the old Town Barbershop in Saugus Center. We spent an awful lot of time down there when we were younger.

In any case, I've just bought an 1890's design safety razor. You probably know the kind; the top unscrews and you put in an old-fashioned single edge razor blade and screw it back together. I'm a little leery of a straight razor, and in all my research, it's been said this setup gives the next best shave.

Well...I'm fairly amazed. The first time I tried it, I thought I wasn't doing it right, since I didn't feel a thing. There is a definite learning curve, but after a couple of tries, I seem to have mastered it.

The safety razor sure has an interesting history. King Gillette was a marketing genius, for sure. Most of you probably still buy into that meme; remember, the handles are cheap. By making us all buy ludicrous 4, 5, or 6 blade replacement cartridges, Gillette still pretty much has the market cornered.

The other thing is....I've owned both the Sensor and the Mach 3. (I haven't gone for any of the newer stuff.) I'm convinced my old-school razor is giving me a better, more comfortable shave than either of those fancy contraptions.

I had to mail-order my kit, so it's probably too late for tomorrow...but why not think of dad's face next father's day (or birthday or Christmas) instead of buying him another Fish Tie?



So....kinda all over the place today, huh? Well, it's Saturday, dammit! Deal with it.

I'm off to the store; here's to hoping we can actually go on some classes today instead of running the "Outdoor Downpour School".