Sunshine Sense

My cuz and I spent nearly a week in the hot desert sun of Arizona earlier this month and I learned a few things about sun/sunblock that I'll pass on for your edification.

* Sunblock expires -- read the label
* Lotion your ears; they're sensitive (I just read that it's important to do the feet, too!)
* If you sit under an umbrella and part of you is exposed, that part will get burned (and then it'll peel and make you look like you have a skin disease -- yes, I have personal experience with this; my shoulder missed the umbrella and I'm peeling.)

I have a wacky "group" on Facebook -- the genesis of a moment of creative synergy one cold night in winter when my friend Katie and I were particularly tired of the frigid temps and playing off each other's insanity. We are the original "topless polar bear picnic table dancers." Add to that mix my zany friend Kenn Wislander, a noteworthy graphic designer (check out his cartoon http://www.angrybunnycomic.com and his Zazzle gallery http://www.zazzle.com/wislander/product/168724172689666877?CMPN=EmailTodaysBest) -- he actually drew a topless polar bear. I immediately bought the t-shirt, of course!

Now, it's a few degrees too hot for the polar bears to be on the move in mainland US (except in the a/c); polar bears don't tan very well. In that vein, it's a good time to think about how to have safe fun in the sun.

A Bud Light commercial from a few years ago shows the hazards of leaving home without your sunblock:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUDhoOxxyCc

To learn more about why sunblock is so important, here's a "public service" announcement:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5izNbAPfG3U

Enough jokes -- some real skin care info (the shot glass is a new one for me!):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9i1L1pzoRQ

Go out there and soak up some Vitamin D -- and dance on some picnic tables while you're at it. Unless you have a good amount of white fur or a pair of xy chromosomes, though, best to keep your top on. Send photos!