08.11.06
Corpse flower in bloom!
Via Boing Boing, the Brooklyn Arboretum’s corpse flower is beginning one of its rare bloomings—just as I’m leaving town!!! 
The titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum) is one of the world’s most remarkable plants. Native to tropical forests in Sumatra, it produces a monstrous four- to seven-foot-tall flower head, which releases a monstrous stench of putrefaction at peak bloom (another name for the plant is the corpse flower!). The species rarely flowers in cultivation—the last time one bloomed in New York was 1939. However, Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s ten-year-old specimen has recently begun to flower. It’s expected to reach full bloom at the end of the second week of August.
Don’t miss this major botanical event! Visit our webpage for daily photo and plant-growth updates, as well as daily weblogs from members of BBG’s horticultural staff. A webcam provides an updated image of the titan arum every 30 seconds. On this webpage, you’ll also find links to articles on the natural history of the titan arum, the history of BBG’s specimen, information about growing and conserving this threatened species, and more.
Morning thoughts on shaving
I am indeed leaving, but I (of course) shaved in preparation for departure (an infalliable sign of a terrorist is failure to be clean-shaven) and as I waited for the kettle to boil for the morning coffee and contemplated Megs having a snack (daintily reaching into her food bowl to pull one kibble to the side, then up over the top onto the kitchen floor, whereupon she eats it, purring all the while, then repeating the process—obviously, her mum taught her it was bad manners to eat from the serving dish), I got to thinking about shaving, and specifically about the variables.
Some of the variables, we control, some we don’t. The variables I thought of:
- Prep work, including the products used
- The razor
- The blade
- The technique
- The beard
- The skin
- The specific lineaments of the face
- The post-shave treatment, including the products used
The beard, skin, and facial lineaments we pretty much have to deal with as given. But the rest can be made to serve us better by choice, practice, and experiment.
FWIW: great shave: J.M. Fraser’s Shaving Cream, Rooney #3 Large Super Silvertip, Merkur Classic Hefty razor, Feather blade, alum block post-shave topped by Pinaud’s Lilac Vegetal.
