A few more Black Eyes photos
1) Daniel and Dan, photographer unknown.
2) Dan on tour in Europe. Photo by Mike Kanin.
3) Hugh. Photo by Ian Whitmore.
shanty rd were a killer band and my brother is a killer bass player. This is circa 2002, at Sidecar in Barcelona.
When I was a kid, I thought a lot about what made me different from the other kids. I don’t think I was smarter than them and I certainly wasn’t more talented. And I definitely can’t claim I was a harder worker — I’ve never worked particularly hard, I’ve always just tried doing things I find fun. Instead, what I concluded was that I was more curious — but not because I had been born that way. If you watch little kids, they are intensely curious, always exploring and trying to figure out how things work. The problem is that school drives all that curiosity out. Instead of letting you explore things for yourself, it tells you that you have to read these particular books and answer these particular questions. And if you try to do something else instead, you’ll get in trouble. Very few people’s curiosity can survive that. But, due to some accident, mine did. I kept being curious and just followed my curiosity.
“
| — | Aaron Swartz (via pauwow) |
I had what I can only describe as a ‘top 10’ experience this weekend. It wasn’t earth shattering or bombastic, I had a trim and a straight-razor shave at Diego D’Ambrosio’s Hair Salon in Dupont Circle. It was simple, sweet, intimate, and indulgent.
Ms. D’Ambrosio, Diego’s wife, sat me down, and asked if I wanted a haircut. “No, thanks,” I said, ” just a shave please.” She then proceeded to give me a haircut. “You don’t mind if I clean you up a little bit?”
As Ms. D’Ambrosio trimmed my sideburns and neck she asked who usually cut my hair. When I replied that only I ever cut my hair she suggested that I make a new year’s resolution, “Have your first cut of the year with Diego, start the year off right, and you can do what you want the rest of the year.”
After ‘cleaning me up’ Ms. D’Ambrosio wrapped my face in hot towels, massaged my face with shaving cream, and handed me off to Diego. Between the hot towels, the friendly banter, and the warm greetings of regulars coming and going, this simple experience was quickly transcending the sum of its parts.
Diego’s touch with the razor was swift, efficient, and gentle. With the final swipe of his razor complete, he wrapped one last warm towel around my beard, flipped it over my face and left me to my thoughts. After what seemed like a blissful eternity, but was probably 30 seconds, Diego unwrapped the towel and I could barely recognize the smiling face looking at me in the mirror.
This will happen again, that’s my new year’s resolution.
Photo of Diego D’Ambrosio by Luis Gomez
