Shaving

Accessories keep on givingNo idea what to buy that certain someone for the holidays? One word: accessories.The Accessories Council and Harper's Bazaar accessories editor Richard Sinnott offer their suggestions for the 10 best accessories to give this season.And the winners are:* Watches: Look for watches encrusted with jewels and stones, as well as sleek bangle styles.* Rings: The larger the stone, the better.* Scarves: Casual chunky knits and embroidered cashmere.* Gloves: Choose full-length for that favorite ball gown or dressy snowball fight.

WHEN I SAW my nephew Rudi dressed in uniform for his junior ROTC ball and looking for all the world as if he were leaving on the next troop carrier for Bosnia, I said what would probably be considered the wrong thing. Especially because I said it in front of his date."Oh my God! I used to change this boy's diapers."He was all shoulders and gold braid, all epaulets and brass buttons and not at all the little boy in sleepers to whom I would read stories while his parents slept in.During recent trips to the hometown where my three sisters live, I have seen with fresh eyes my nephews, who appear to have done nothing but eat and grow since I saw them at Christmas.

Now here's a high concept for a movie: Sharon Stone is Clint Eastwood.It makes sense: Both have faces so lean, angular and epic they resemble the landscape photography of Ansel Adams, and both look good in leather.And upon that sturdy rock is "The Quick and the Dead" built. It's a tale of the West, the West that was west not of St. Louis but of Rome back in the '60s when Eastwood quit shaving, strapped on an Uberti-replica Colt and made himself an international star in three movies from the outlaw genius Sergio Leone.

Bill Spivey, a former University of Kentucky basketball All-American and one of the first 7-footers to play the sport in college, was found dead yesterday at his apartment in Quepos, Costa Rica. He was 66.He died of natural causes and was thought to have been dead several hours when acquaintances found him, the Quepos Police Department said. Friends and family said he had been in ill health for several years.Spivey, Kentucky's first 7-foot player, had hoped to play in the NBA but those dreams were --ed after he was implicated in a point-shaving scandal in the early 1950s.

Boston. -- It is safe to say that the people driving around South Carolina with those bumper stickers were not her allies. ''Shave Shannon'' was not the rallying cry of the Shannon Faulkner Support Society.They didn't pretend that the shearing of this young woman's hair would be a rite of passage into the corps of cadets. They didn't pretend that a badge of baldness would make her welcome as a full member of the Citadel ranks.Shannon Faulkner's opponents -- and there are lots of them -- favored shaving as proper punishment, as humiliation, as harassment, for the woman who dared to breach the true last bastion of all-male state-supported military schools.

KENNEDYVILLE -- It was his 12-year-old daughter, Katie -- and not the callers and letter writers from Maryland's 1st District -- who persuaded the congressman to get rid of his whiskers."

Please send old photos of men or boys shaving, within the next week, to Way Back When, Sun Magazine, 501 N. Calvert St., Baltimore, Md. 21278. You must include caption information and your daytime phone number. Also, enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope if you'd like your photo returned. If your photo is your only copy, please send a good-quality duplicate, not the original.

Over the years, many thoughtful people have advised me that I write too many columns about tasteless and offensive topics such as cow flatulence and Phyllis Schlafly. That is why today, in an effort to turn over a new leaf, I have selected a wholesome topic that the entire family can enjoy: tennis.This topic was suggested by Sue Ann Quinn of Beaumont, Texas, who describes herself as a "tennis nut." Sue Ann writes in to ask:"Was Monica Seles unshaven at the French Open? I swear I saw hair sticking out from her armpits.

Shaving is a ritual men have been performing since . . . well, we don't really know when, do we?Ancient man didn't have the benefit of hot-lather machines, electric shavers, disposable plastic or twin blades. Too bad. We do know that the oldest-known metal razors date to 3,000 B.C., and the ancient Egyptians often were buried with their silver and bronze razors.Although modern man may moan about this daily chore, it is surely made easier with technology's intervention in removing the daily average of 15,500 facial hairs.

The University of Maryland at Baltimore cannot force its black police officers to shave if they suffer from a severe skin disease, Maryland's second-highest court ruled yesterday.The ruling by the Maryland Court of Special Appeals upheld the state Human Relations Commission's award of $22,591 in back pay to Donald Boyd, who was not allowed to wear a beard after returning to work from sick leave.Mr. Boyd suffers from a skin condition called pseudofolliculitis barbae (PFB), which causes scarring, bleeding and pain, and is aggravated by shaving.

Name: : ShaveMate All-in-One Combo Razor What it is: : A six-blade razor with shaving cream inside the handle. The Titan 6 (for men) is gray, and the Diva 6 (for women) is pink - with pink-tinted shaving cream. How it works: : Rather than travel with a razor and a container of shaving cream, you can merge the two with ShaveMate. To access the cream, turn the bottom of the handle to the open position, push until enough cream spurts into your hand, then spin it closed. The good: : Traveling with less is always better, and this certainly clears room in the dop kit. The blades are better than your garden-variety disposable razor, and the shaving cream makes a fine, creamy lather.

Question: : The other day, I had a fever and was taking my temperature. When I was shaking my thermometer, the bottom broke off, and it spilled down the sink drain. I was too sick to do anything about it that day. Today, I am feeling better, and when I searched the Web for ideas about disposal, I got freaked out. What should I do about the mercury that went down the drain? Answer: : This is a serious situation, because liquid mercury from a thermometer can release mercury vapors that are toxic.

First it was nail clippers. Now it is shaving cream. We take it in stride. It shows how America has - and has not - come to terms with what happened in New York five years ago. The nation has already turned its burning, collapsing twin towers into a big-screen movie, Oliver Stone's World Trade Center, that opened this weekend. But Sept. 11, 2001, has not been turned into history. It is still palpable, still possible. And so when the airport security lines grow and grow and grow and the agents in charge say no contact lens cleaner solution is allowed on board any planes, there are few objections.

If you are looking for a last-minute Father's Day gift, I suggest razor blades -- ones that will fit his old razor. That is not as easy as it sounds. The other day, as I prepared for the daily ritual of shaving, four different razors came out of the bathroom cabinet. Three were made by Gillette: an Atra Plus, a Sensor and a MACH3. The other was a multi-blade operation known as the Schick Quattro, I think. I say I think because the model names of razors often elude me. Like PIN numbers and passwords, the names of razors are, I think, contrived barriers to pleasant living, stuff we really shouldn't have to know to get along in life.

The Fallston boys wrapped up a sweep of the Harford County swimming championships for the second straight year last night, but many at the Magnolia Middle School meet were instead talking about how two Cougars were disqualified - for shaving in the locker room. Fallston had little trouble winning the boys title, earning 313 points. Bel Air took second with 220. Including the girls' competition, the Cougars finished with 586 points to take the top spot in the combined race. Bel Air also finished second in combined scores (442)

If you're among the thousands of Maryland residents still waiting for the lights to come back on, chances are you're learning the fine art of living by flashlight. Ordinarily, a flashlight is buried in a drawer, forgotten. But Isabel has made it a must-have for even the most mundane activities of daily life. It can take time to master flashlight functioning, but here are some field-tested methods for a variety of after-dark situations: Eating: Candles are preferable; dining by candlelight has romance going for it. If not, place flashlight beside plate and enjoy takeout meal.

ATTENTION, consumers with bodily hair: The razor industry has news for you! You will never in a million years guess what this news is, unless your IQ is higher than zero, in which case you're already thinking: "Not another blade! Don't tell me they're adding ANOTHER BLADE!!" Shut up! Don't spoil the surprise for everybody else! Before I tell you the news, let's put it in historical context by reviewing: The History of Shaving Human beings are one of only two species of animals that shave themselves (the other one is salamanders)

The whole thing started with a couple of trainer Graham Motion's assistants (Adrian Rolls and Scott Hammond) and an exercise rider and tack repairman (Doug Leatherman) talking about shaving their heads in support of a good friend and nice person, Betsy Wells, who has cancer. Then, said Anita Motion, Graham's wife, "It's just gone absolutely wild." That friendly gesture by the backstretch trio will culminate in an auction, "head shave" and general party beginning at 6 p.m. today at the Mount Washington Tavern in Baltimore.

While in Tampa for The Sun, columnist Dan Rodricks will be conducting some snappy, two-minute drills with Ravens players. Today, Dan knocks it around with reserve fullback Chuck Evans. DR: Chuck, it's the Super Bowl. It's a long way from Pee Wee football. How old were you when you first played the game, and where? CE: I grew up in Augusta, Ga. I was 8 years old. DR: How did your mother feel about your playing? CE: I had to work on her for two years, but she finally let me play. DR: So you always loved football.

Accessories keep on givingNo idea what to buy that certain someone for the holidays? One word: accessories.The Accessories Council and Harper's Bazaar accessories editor Richard Sinnott offer their suggestions for the 10 best accessories to give this season.And the winners are:* Watches: Look for watches encrusted with jewels and stones, as well as sleek bangle styles.* Rings: The larger the stone, the better.* Scarves: Casual chunky knits and embroidered cashmere.* Gloves: Choose full-length for that favorite ball gown or dressy snowball fight.