Wad of (extremely Dry) goop PIF. For Readers.

Ok. Firstly. I'm not 100% sure what this soap is. I went to my basement to find something and it was sitting there... uncut. "Hmm," pondered I, as I am apt to do. "What in all holy hell is that?" I picked it up and it bore the texture of concrete, yet the weight of paper machete. So, what else to do, but dig out a knife and whack a chunk off. Expecting it to resist something fierce, I leaned into it only to have it not so much cut as shatter. This was irksome. So I grabbed the most mangled piece (of the three I got) and smashed that bugger down into a shaving bowl. This proved my theory. The soap wasn't so much "Hard" as just absolutely ridiculously dry. Sitting unthought of on a drying rack for a sixteen months can have that effect. I gave it a whirl, and came up with a hypothesis. It follows.

I made a Martin de Candre knockoff as a proof of theory way back when. It was soft. Very, very, very soft out the door. That soap is gone. The day I tested the hot process pucks of that batch however, I theorized that the soap was so damn overkill, I could roll back the softness without killing performance. So I made a second batch. This one was designed to be a good bit firmer. A "softish" puck of hard soap. It wound up being pulled from the mold the following day, but not cut for whatever reason.

So there it was. A small log of soap. Drier than the Sahara. A few people have jokingly called my MdC knockoff IdC (Ian de Candre), but this would be more appropriate to be called that, since it's a riff on MdC, rather than a simply mimic. The wad I shoved into my bowl lathered pretty decently. The soap is unscented and should be treated like a firm "soft soap". Klar kabinett or the like. Find a vessel. Mash it in. Pack it down. Use it.

It was a small batch. 1lb if memory serves. Minus three hot proc pucks I made to test with, the remainder is my bowl, and the two chunks you see here. These are going to be shipped together to ONE person who lives in the US or who has a military address overseas, because I am impressively lazy. There will be no more, so don't ask.

The winner will be chosen at random from posts in this thread that follow four rules.

1. Mention your favorite book that isn't a modern political diatribe. If your book is anything that could be interpreted as; "This opinion is wrong and here's why," you will be disqualified. If you are curious why, I refer you here
2. Include a brief summary of the book.
3. Post once and ONLY once in this thread.
4. When contacted as the winner, you give me a shipping address that is either in the US or a military address (APO/FPO/DPO) overseas.



Edit: Everything sounds interesting so far. I forgot to put a end date up, so let's say this Friday/Saturday midnight will be the cutoff. Next weekend I'll random thread numbers 2-lastpost#, contact winner, get address and pack the soap up. Should ship out Monday (8 days from today) if all goes well.

SliceOfLife said:

The winner will be chosen at random from posts in this thread that follow four rules.

1. Mention your favorite book that isn't a modern political diatribe. If your book is anything that could be interpreted as; "This opinion is wrong and here's why," you will be disqualified. If you are curious why, I refer you here
2. Include a brief summary of the book.
3. Post once and ONLY once in this thread.
4. When contacted as the winner, you give me a shipping address that is either in the US or a military address (APO/FPO/DPO) overseas.

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The Frontiersman by Allen Eckart (1967)

Historical narrative based on the life of Simon Kenton, an American who explored and help open "the west" of the mid 18th and early 19th century (that's 1750-1825 in case you get confused about the century vs years bit). It chronicles his travels in Kentucky, Ohio, and the Northwest Territories of the US). The events are based on historical record but Eckart writes in such a way that he holds your interest on every page.

If anyone has not read this book, you should. An amazing story about an amazing man in an amazing time written by one of the better authors of the 20th century (7 of his books have been nominated for Pulitzer prizes). The Frontiersman is still in print which is saying a lot for a book written close to half a century ago.

Ian, this is a great pif and a great thread idea! I'd love to try that soap.

My favorite book is Rant by Chuck Palanluk. Its the life story of Buster "Rant" Casey, a boy born in a small town, and follows his troubled life as he outgrows his home and moves to the big city. Where he falls in with the Party Crashing crowd, a sub culture that make sport of crashing cars on public motor ways. It sounds superficial like a brainless action novel, but the story actually has quite a bit of dept. It is told in the style of a satirical documentary, where Rants friends tell parts of his story from their own slightly less than objective perspectives.

If your interested in a book that makes you think a bit, and demands a second or third reading check it out.

Interesting PIF and idea!

Honestly it's too hard to pick a favorite book. I'm a sucker for any good science fiction novel so I can't narrow it down. I suppose one I read recently that I really enjoyed was Ready Player One.

"It’s the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place.

Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets.

And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune—and remarkable power—to whoever can unlock them.

For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday’s riddles are based in the pop culture he loved—that of the late twentieth century. And for years, millions have found in this quest another means of escape, retreating into happy, obsessive study of Halliday’s icons. Like many of his contemporaries, Wade is as comfortable debating the finer points of John Hughes’s oeuvre, playing Pac-Man, or reciting Devo lyrics as he is scrounging power to run his OASIS rig.

And then Wade stumbles upon the first puzzle.

Suddenly the whole world is watching, and thousands of competitors join the hunt—among them certain powerful players who are willing to commit very real murder to beat Wade to this prize. Now the only way for Wade to survive and preserve everything he knows is to win. But to do so, he may have to leave behind his oh-so-perfect virtual existence and face up to life—and love—in the real world he’s always been so desperate to escape. "

It is full of 80's and 90's pop culture references along with many references to popular video games. Essentially anything nerdy/geeky will get a mention. The book also raises some interesting questions surrounding our obsession with technology and the extent we use it. For a contemporary science fiction novel I thought it was a good read.

This sounds like fun.

My favorite book is The Razor's Edge by W. Somerset Maugham (You may remember the Bill Murray film adaptation)

It tells the tale of a former WWI pilot's life after WWI. He rejects the roaring twenties and goes on a search for the real purpose of life.

He adapts various live styles such as bohemian Frenchman, Coal Miner, Student in a Tibetan school. All in a search for knowledge about life.

During this search the Depression hits and many of his rich friends loose it all.

Larry does find love during all this but loses it due to the actions of a girl who was once his fiance.

Larry's search for truth and knowledge kind of reminds me of our search for the perfect shave.

This sounds fun.

My current favorite book that I recommend to people is 'Ready Player One' by Earnest Cline.

The short version of the description is it takes place in 50 years where an immersive virtual reality online game (MMORPG) has taken over the internet and the world economy. The genius that created the world died and as part of his will left his fortunes to who could figure out his easter eggs left in the game.

The book is well written and packed with 80's and 90's geek references. I've read quite a few books in the last six months (maybe 20?), mostly SciFi and Fantasy. And this is one book I'd love to re-read soon.

Lunatics by Dave Barry and Alan Zweibel

Philip Horkman is a happy man-the owner of a pet store called The Wine Shop, and on Sundays a referee for kids' soccer. Jeffrey Peckerman is the sole sane person in a world filled with goddamned jerks and morons, and he's having a really bad day. The two of them are about to collide in a swiftly escalating series of events that will send them running for their lives, pursued by the police, soldiers, terrorists, subversives, bears, and a man dressed as Chuck E. Cheese.


Where that all takes them you can't begin to guess, but the literary journey there is a masterpiece of inspiration and mayhem. But what else would you expect from the League of Comic Justice?

Crude humor, made me cry I laughed so hard. Fantastic light read.

I Heard the Owl Call My Name, Margaret Craven

A young vicar, Mark, is sent to a Native Indian village British Columbia. His bishop sends him, knowing that hek is suffering from an unnamed, fatal disease, in order to learn life's lessons in the time he had left . Mark is unaware of his terminal illness and his bishop does not tell him.

Through various experiences and relationships, Mark learns from the villagers and they from him. By the time he has spent one year there, he considers the village his home and family, and they consider him part of their tribe.


This is the only book I've studied in school, that I thoroughly enjoyed and felt I've learned something from.

Harpo Speaks by Harpo Marx and Rowland Barber
An autobiographical and very funny look at the Marx Brothers from the point of view of Adolph "Harpo" Marx.

That is some great looking lather.

dymaxion said:

This sounds like fun.

My favorite book is The Razor's Edge by W. Somerset Maugham (You may remember the Bill Murray film adaptation)

It tells the tale of a former WWI pilot's life after WWI. He rejects the roaring twenties and goes on a search for the real purpose of life.

He adapts various live styles such as bohemian Frenchman, Coal Miner, Student in a Tibetan school. All in a search for knowledge about life.

During this search the Depression hits and many of his rich friends loose it all.

Larry does find love during all this but loses it due to the actions of a girl who was once his fiance.

Larry's search for truth and knowledge kind of reminds me of our search for the perfect shave.

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This sounds like a great book and it's now on my list to read! Thank you.

Looks pretty awesome. Would love to give it a shot.


Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell.

Totalitarian, oppressive government, mind control and brainwashing. A love story where love is illegal. The book that coined the term, "Big Brother." If you haven't read it, you must. It's horrifying.

I'm a sucker for experimental goop, though the last thing I need is another soap. My favorite book is Ishmael. It's about a telepathic gorilla who explains an alternate view of the civilized world and its history in story form. It is ideology through fiction, so it may disqualify me. Fine! Who needs your delicious lather?!

Vlad said:

I'm a sucker for experimental goop, though the last thing I need is another soap. My favorite book is Ishmael. It's about a telepathic gorilla who explains an alternate view of the civilized world and its history in story form. It is ideology through fiction, so it may disqualify me. Fine! Who needs your delicious lather?!

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I like Orwell, so I can't very well ban idealogy through fiction. Four legs good! Two legs... better!

Like 10 hours(ish) left

Cool contest, Ian. I was fortunate enough to get a puck of Ian's soft soap (cedar) a few years back and it was very good. I bet this this will be a good performer as well.

Great PIF
If I may, a trilogy (I'm sure they are bound together somewhere).
The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, by Stephen R. Donaldson.

Set in the Land, a magical world of monsters, bad guys, and extremely conflicted good guys with more ulterior motives than you could shake a bundle of sticks at. We find our hero Thomas Covenant is a right bastard, social leper and actual leper, who refuses to believe what's happening to him and spends 3 books trying not to believe or help anyone, but ultimately does. Sacrificing just about everyone good on the way (Donaldson got there before Martin ), Covenant walks and rides all over the Land at three different times and eventually comes up before the arch enemy Lord Foul and...
Well I won't give it away. It's a slightly unsatisfying ending, but all that led up to it was a supreme journey told by a master of his craft. (Modern analogy: Think Sopranos.)
If words like imbricated, peroration, spavined and concupiscence turn you on, then this is the series/book for you. If they don't, well just bring a dictionary, one of the big ones with ALL the words.

Random.org says that Post # 4 is the winner.

Congratultions JRobin.

Yay! Can't wait to try it out, I'll let you guys know how it works.

Thanks again Ian!

Congratulations JRobinhood!