I think we need a Mythbusters episode on cow tipping.

You know what's a good thing? I'm still not tired of listening to Swordfishtrombones.

Of course it's an extremely various and complex album with a lot of deep pleasures so it's got that going for it.

Still, I have to go cleanse my palate with Brazilian music occasionally.

Tom's music is very...not Brazilian.

I have had the impression, and I don't know where it came from, that cow-tipping was like snipe hunting - the entertainment comes from being able to convince someone to try it.

David! I need hair advice: I think I want to have layers in my hair again. Right now - my hair is extra long and one length because I've been bored with the cut I've been getting and I've been really, really broke.

But I was thinking that if I want to show off the cool two-tone quality of my hair (it's mostly white on top and black underneath) lots of short layers would be what I want.

Would that work, do you think?

lots of short layers would be what I want.

Would that work, do you think?

Are you keeping the length or going shorter all over? Because the choppy shag that Sally Hershberger is wearing on Shear Genius could definitely show off your two-tonality. You've got to be very careful about the top layers getting too short though else you're in mullet-land.

Oh, I'd want to go short all over.

So, if I went in and said, "I want a choppy shag" - I'd get the look I'm after?

I've always assumed cow-tipping was a myth, because how would you get leverage?

Momentum and surprise.

And an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope.

Nobody expects the Cow Tipping Inquisition

Speaking of cattle, does anyone know how brands are supposed to work? While doing some genealogical research I came across a registry of brands that included my Grandpa's and was astounded by how very alike so many of the brands were - how could they be used to establish ownership if there was a dispute?

On the work bulletin board someone posted that stupid "Boycott gas stations on May 15!" thing that's been snopesed. So I posted a link to snopes. Someone sent me an email thanking me, but I just got one from someone asking me "are you related to someone who works for the oil companies? How do you know it won't work?" So I sent her an email explaining one reason it won't work -- becuase people will buy gas on other days!

So, if I went in and said, "I want a choppy shag" - I'd get the look I'm after?

You'd want to be a little more specific. You should try to find a stylist that works well with a razor, or somebody that cuts a lot of asian hair. You want to emphasize that you want a lot of choppy texture through the shag. Definitely talk about showcasing your hair color. Be specific about the length you want in the back. Talk a lot about how you want it to frame your face and what you want from the bangs - probably something chipped out or razored.

It looks like a simple cut and any stylist can do some kind of shag. But it's a style that can look too boxy if it's too short in back, or look bad and mullet-y if its too short on top. Top layers should be long enough to come down over the sides about even with the eyebrows. The shortest layers will be on the sides between eyes and mouth - that's where it should hug the head and be sculpted to highlight your best features (eyes, mouth, cheekbones, whatever...). I think they look best when you've got a few longer pieces on the sides in front of the ears that you can draw down to the mouth or just below.

Short list: shag with a lot of layered texture that shows off the color. Length in back should be to about the last vertabrae on neck before your shoulders. Emphasize leaving longer layers on top, and longer pieces in front of the ears. Longish bangs that are chipped out and textured.

They can always go a little shorter on any of those areas to get the balance right, but if they go too short early on those elements then it's too late.