sun vs. sunscreen, and the rest of the TV meme
The fair-skinned and sun-sensitive among you should check out the EWG 2010 Sunscreen Guide. Is your sunscreen toxic? Falsely labeled? Does sunscreen actually help prevent skin cancer? Etc. Particularly handy is the database of sunscreens with a guide to how toxic they are. There's lots of info there, but the one thing I'll point out is that around 60% of sunscreens on the market in the US contain oxybenzone as an active ingredient, and there have been a number of scientific studies cautioning the use of that, especially for children. So if you've got kids you're sunscreening up this summer, check the ingredient labels.
My relationship with the sun is one of endless frustration. I LOVE the sun! I gravitate toward it like a plant, and my brain gets pretty seriously out of whack in the winter when I don't get enough of it. But I'm also quite fair-skinned and burn shockingly quickly. As a result, I have to limit my sun exposure, and I wear sunscreen pretty much all the time in the summer. Even in Canada. And so the quest for the perfect sunscreen continues: mineral-based ones are the safest and most effective, but they turn your skin white, which I don't mind if I'm out exercising or something, but it's not so great for everyday use. Chemical sunscreens tend to absorb better, but that's the problem: the chemicals leech into your body. I've also got photoallergic reactions to oxybenzone on the list of things I want to talk to my dermatologist about the next time I see her: has my sunblock been making my skin react even more to the sun? Based on various reactions I've had, it seems possible. In the meantime, I think I may toss my oxybenzone products to be on the safe side and see whether I can get through this summer relying exclusively on mineral-based sunscreens.
If anyone has thoughts/experience/etc. with this, feel free to share.
**
And I've been neglecting the TV Meme for the past few days, and I think I'll just go ahead and finish off the rest of the questions in one go:
Day 23 - Most annoying character
Rodney McKay (SG-1 and SGA): I've never had a clue what people love so much about him. I mostly just want him to shut up and go away, always.
Day 24 - Best quote
I'm TERRIBLE with quotes!!! I have no memory for them at all, and I can't begin to choose a favorite. I suspect if I had full transcripts from The West Wing, Firefly, Farscape, and everything Susan Ivanova ever said on Babylon 5 I might be able to come up with a few (dozen) beloved quotes, but I'd have to re-read all of that to have any hope of remembering.
I will, however, leave you with a quote that, because I just watched this episode two days ago, I still remember (though I had to pull up the transcript anyway--terrible memory for quotes!). Is it the best quote ever? Not at all. But it was a lovely moment that was self-aware and slightly fourth wall-breaking in the right way and captured so much of what I (and so many of us, I suspect) love about science fiction as a genre. (Unfortunately, it may not make much sense out of the context of the episode, but you should watch the episode anyway, regardless of whether you know anything about the rest of the show--it's a great stand-alone.)
Benjamin Sisko from the DS9 episode "Far Beyond the Stars" (which, by the way, ROCKED SO HARD, OMG!!!! I'll talk about that at another point):
Maybe, just maybe, Benny isn't the dream -- we are. Maybe we're nothing more than figments of his imagination. For all we know, at this very moment, somewhere, far beyond all those stars, Benny Russell is dreaming of us.
Day 25 - A show you plan on watching (old or new)
Oh, the to-watch list! 'Tis long! I mentioned the other day that I'm looking forward to checking out Rizzoli and Isles, which starts in July. I want to catch up with Damages. I want to finish The Wire. I hear nothing but good things about Leverage. I might decide to see what all the fuss is about Mad Men (though I haven't quite decided about that one). And that's just off the top of my head...
Day 26 - OMG WTF? Season finale
Maybe it doesn't count so much since I watched it all on DVD and didn't have to wait, but all the Farscape season finales were pretty crazy. And perhaps none of them more so than season 2's "Die Me Dichotomy."
Day 27 - Best pilot episode
Pilots are notoriously spotty, but the pilot of The X-Files was better than most, I think.
Day 28 - First TV show obsession
Obsession? The X-Files, definitely. Also first fandom, which is not coincidental.
Day 29 - Current TV show obsession
I don't really have one right now. I'm still pretty actively loving Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, but I wouldn't put it quite into the "obsession" category, and most of the rest of what I'm watching at the moment is engaging me on a much milder level. Given how the last obsession (BSG) ended, though, I think I'm okay with being obsession-free for a while.
Day 30 - Saddest character death
Janet Fraiser, Stargate: SG-1. I can't really explain this one in any logical way because my love for Janet has always been a little illogical. But hers is the only death of a fictional character that felt like I had lost a friend; hers is the only one that made me sob and sob and sob, the only one I will never, ever be able to rewatch (even though I know that that episode is one of the series' best, objectively speaking), and the one that still makes me a little wibbly every time I think about it.
And that's it! It's been a fun meme, and I hope I haven't irritated anyone too badly with the spam.
My relationship with the sun is one of endless frustration. I LOVE the sun! I gravitate toward it like a plant, and my brain gets pretty seriously out of whack in the winter when I don't get enough of it. But I'm also quite fair-skinned and burn shockingly quickly. As a result, I have to limit my sun exposure, and I wear sunscreen pretty much all the time in the summer. Even in Canada. And so the quest for the perfect sunscreen continues: mineral-based ones are the safest and most effective, but they turn your skin white, which I don't mind if I'm out exercising or something, but it's not so great for everyday use. Chemical sunscreens tend to absorb better, but that's the problem: the chemicals leech into your body. I've also got photoallergic reactions to oxybenzone on the list of things I want to talk to my dermatologist about the next time I see her: has my sunblock been making my skin react even more to the sun? Based on various reactions I've had, it seems possible. In the meantime, I think I may toss my oxybenzone products to be on the safe side and see whether I can get through this summer relying exclusively on mineral-based sunscreens.
If anyone has thoughts/experience/etc. with this, feel free to share.
**
And I've been neglecting the TV Meme for the past few days, and I think I'll just go ahead and finish off the rest of the questions in one go:
Day 23 - Most annoying character
Rodney McKay (SG-1 and SGA): I've never had a clue what people love so much about him. I mostly just want him to shut up and go away, always.
Day 24 - Best quote
I'm TERRIBLE with quotes!!! I have no memory for them at all, and I can't begin to choose a favorite. I suspect if I had full transcripts from The West Wing, Firefly, Farscape, and everything Susan Ivanova ever said on Babylon 5 I might be able to come up with a few (dozen) beloved quotes, but I'd have to re-read all of that to have any hope of remembering.
I will, however, leave you with a quote that, because I just watched this episode two days ago, I still remember (though I had to pull up the transcript anyway--terrible memory for quotes!). Is it the best quote ever? Not at all. But it was a lovely moment that was self-aware and slightly fourth wall-breaking in the right way and captured so much of what I (and so many of us, I suspect) love about science fiction as a genre. (Unfortunately, it may not make much sense out of the context of the episode, but you should watch the episode anyway, regardless of whether you know anything about the rest of the show--it's a great stand-alone.)
Benjamin Sisko from the DS9 episode "Far Beyond the Stars" (which, by the way, ROCKED SO HARD, OMG!!!! I'll talk about that at another point):
Maybe, just maybe, Benny isn't the dream -- we are. Maybe we're nothing more than figments of his imagination. For all we know, at this very moment, somewhere, far beyond all those stars, Benny Russell is dreaming of us.
Day 25 - A show you plan on watching (old or new)
Oh, the to-watch list! 'Tis long! I mentioned the other day that I'm looking forward to checking out Rizzoli and Isles, which starts in July. I want to catch up with Damages. I want to finish The Wire. I hear nothing but good things about Leverage. I might decide to see what all the fuss is about Mad Men (though I haven't quite decided about that one). And that's just off the top of my head...
Day 26 - OMG WTF? Season finale
Maybe it doesn't count so much since I watched it all on DVD and didn't have to wait, but all the Farscape season finales were pretty crazy. And perhaps none of them more so than season 2's "Die Me Dichotomy."
Day 27 - Best pilot episode
Pilots are notoriously spotty, but the pilot of The X-Files was better than most, I think.
Day 28 - First TV show obsession
Obsession? The X-Files, definitely. Also first fandom, which is not coincidental.
Day 29 - Current TV show obsession
I don't really have one right now. I'm still pretty actively loving Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, but I wouldn't put it quite into the "obsession" category, and most of the rest of what I'm watching at the moment is engaging me on a much milder level. Given how the last obsession (BSG) ended, though, I think I'm okay with being obsession-free for a while.
Day 30 - Saddest character death
Janet Fraiser, Stargate: SG-1. I can't really explain this one in any logical way because my love for Janet has always been a little illogical. But hers is the only death of a fictional character that felt like I had lost a friend; hers is the only one that made me sob and sob and sob, the only one I will never, ever be able to rewatch (even though I know that that episode is one of the series' best, objectively speaking), and the one that still makes me a little wibbly every time I think about it.
And that's it! It's been a fun meme, and I hope I haven't irritated anyone too badly with the spam.