Off With His Beard...

As you read a few blog entries below, the time has come for me to officially take off the old beard. As stated, I have been growing my facial strands of protein since just before Thanksgiving. And besides a bit of trimming on the sides, I have not stopped or hindered the development of the facial bristles since then.

So last night, much like a surgeon does in preparation for an intricate operating procedure, I laid out my tools to tackle the challenging feat. A trusty pair of hair clippers and a fresh unused Gillette Mach 3 Razor was all I needed to get the job done.


A few exhausting hours later, the job was done. It was strange, seeing myself for the first time in months with a hairless chin. It freaked me out a bit, I didn't recognize myself. Well, see for yourself...


I don't think I realized just how dramatic this change really was until I got to work today. Right off the bat I was getting comments from people like I was wearing a T shirt that said "Tell me what you think about my face." I was getting good and bad, actually MOSTLY bad. Here are a few that I recall:

"That's much better!'

"Oh you look so cute, like a 12 year old boy."

"Wow, your face is REALLY pale."

"Wow, I didn't recognize you, your chin looks so much smaller."

"Why did you do that? You look way better with a beard."

"You look freakish!"

"EW!"

That's right someone I work with actually put there hands up in there face, as if to block me from their line of sight, while exclaiming "EW!" You would think I was the Elephant Man based on that reaction alone. Not exactly what I was expecting, but I will say that at that point I was beginning to regret ever trimming my whiskers in the first place. And I am also beginning to wonder what will be in store for tomorrow since I cut my hair down to a very short length tonight. Hopefully, I don't get any shrieks . But alas, I am certain that it will only be a matter of days before everyone is over the shock and I will be recognized for the "handsome young man" that I am.

*photo does not reflect recent haircut.

Can it be.....Writer's Strike OVER?

I have been on edge for the past few months and for good reason. As many of you know the Writers Guild of America has been on "strike" since November 5th 2008, virtually shutting down all TV and feature productions overnight. For me this strike was extra nerve-racking because picketing began on the VERY same day I started my new job as a Production Coordinator at Universal Media Studios. So you can see why I thought coming into this job that I could very well be out of work in just a matter of months. That idea was awful knowing that it took a considerable amount of time and effort to finally get the Production gig.

So in defiance of the strike, that possibly meant the utter demise of my new career, I decided to grow my facial hair to symbolize my struggle to survive. I compare it to Tom Hank's same struggle in the film Cast Away. We are both stuck in a situation that we didn't choose, but are forced to survive. No, I didn't find myself talking to blood-stained volleyballs, and I did keep the sides of my man-mane trimmed (for shallow narcissistic reasons), but I was driven to similar extremes a la the strike. The killer was not knowing how long the studio would go until starting to lay people off. But now, the end of the strike is finally in sight, like a passing oil barge for Tom Hanks, and it's time to think about losing the face fuzz.

Although its not officially 100% over, rumors of the strikes end have been all over the news in recent days. Today, the membership of the Writers Guild of America is expected to vote (Tuesday) to end the strike. But nothing is guaranteed. Apparently an organizer for the WGA-West told the Daily Variety that the tables, canopies and thousands of red-and-black picket signs have not been put away yet. But on the brighter side, several showrunners started working on Monday and ABC renewed nine series for the fall (yes, including Lost). As far as my beloved NBC goes, Daily Variety says the peacock is expected to bring back "most of its Thursday laffers," namely "My Name is Earl," "The Office," "and "30 Rock." All good signs that these horrid three months could be well over.

With all these encouraging rumors (and some pressure from an uncountable number of females) I will officially be removing the beard in a matter of hours. That's right, the time has come, to say farewell. And lets hope for the good of my cause and the entertainment business that the WGA follows through and finally puts this strike to bed.

Beards are BACK, and if you don't like it SHAVE!

Many of you have seen the massive growth of hair that is slowly accumulating on my chin. Some have chimed in with their opinions on it, and I've heard comments that are both in support and in opposition of my manly growth. Personally, I do prefer to have minimal facial hair, but as we are in the midst of winter, I feel that it is more than appropriate to have some.

Throughout the history of mankind beards have been a symbol for various attributes such as wisdom, sexual virility, or high status; and, conversely, filthiness, crudeness, or an eccentric disposition. I hope that when people see me they only think of the first few.

I was inspired by the recent resurgence of the "Man Mane" in the mainstream culture. Several films spotlight the benefits of the beard. Last year, 300 rocked the world as bearded muscle-clad Spartans battled the forces of evil. King Leonidas, their powerful leader, had one of the biggest beards in recent movie history. This character was the epitome of strength, wisdom and power. Speaking of power, and more recently in theaters, a totally different character traveled the seas to rid a troubled Danish town of a menacing monster. Beowulf's beard is much smaller, but don't let that make you think he was any less powerful than King Leo. To this day there are still tales and poems that praise Beowulf's heroism. I'm telling you beards are a sign of strength.

With that said, I must tell you that I am not growing my beard out in hopes to attain instant power. Nor am I trying to be like Beowulf or King Leo. I merely wanted to give a little background and point out the recent recognition of beards in the mainstream media.

If you must know the real reason for the beard, it is actually quite simple. I have never truly tested my beard growing capabilities, and now that the industry I work in is dealing with a writers strike, I feel like now is an opportune time to try it out. So in a way I am growing a "Strike Beard." But I must make it clear, I am not doing it in support of the writers cause, which I only partly agree with, but rather, I merely want to see how the beard progresses during the duration of the WGA strike. I'm well into my growth, been growing since Thanksgiving, but my decision was solidified when I saw Conan O'Brien do this comedy bit:

Another contribution to bringing back the beards is the fact that two of the three Late Night hosts are sporting them. You already saw Conan's, Jay Leno has yet to hop on that wagon, but David Letterman was the first of all the Late Night hosts to appear on television with the face fuzz. In fact, his bristles were the inspiration behind a list on The Best Week Ever's: 10 Most inspiring Beards of ALL-TIME. I recommend you check it out, good stuff. For some real impressive facial hair feats, I also recommend that you take a gander at this website:

World Beard Championships

Pretty impressive, huh? Don't worry, I will not let my beard reach any of those proportions. I will be sure to at very least be presentable. One thing you can bet on is that I will never look like this!