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Mary Schmich's “Wear Sunscreen”, which turned into an unlikely 90s hit (2019)

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Re: Mary Schmich's “Wear Sunscreen”, which turned into an unlikely 90s hit (2019)

#141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I spent most of my time in Barcelona, but I was in NYC, London, Bangkok, Shenzhen and various small spots throughout Southeast Asia, mostly in Bali and Thailand. I never changed residency officially. I am Danish so I could certainly have saved a lot in taxes, but I just didn't bother. These days there is a lot more infrastructure (like https://nomadlist.com/ ) which is great but I imagine also takes some of the excit…

I haven't been aware of nomadlist.com before - is it worth the fee? I'm somewhat hesitant to sign up. The signup starts with some bullshit 50% discount from $218 to $109, while apparently $99 is the regular price anyway. Looks a bit sketchy in my eyes, but I might be too critical.

Eh, depending on what you want to get out of it, I'm not so sure it's worth it.

A lot of the information I've come across on things like cost of living and average internet speed I've found to be pretty inaccurate.

Like, it's saying $64 a month for a 1 br studio in the city center in Buenos Aires right now. That's nowhere close to what you'll be paying and it's not useful information. It's similar to some of the stuff you find on Numbeo, which makes you think "where are they getting these numbers??"

It does seem like it would be pretty good for meeting people though. I happened to note in my profile that I was currently in Bali and had nearly half a dozen people DM me over the span of a couple months just looking to make friends or connections in the area.

It does also offer access to some pretty active chat rooms where you get to share information with other digital nomads which can be pretty useful.

~$100 for access to what could essentially be a free discord server, or be replaced by the countless free expat Facebook groups you'll find based in any destination you'd like? Eh.

Re: Mary Schmich's “Wear Sunscreen”, which turned into an unlikely 90s hit (2019)

#142
post #138

Ironically wearing sunscreen is advice that isn't always agreed by scientists in 2022.

I am a pasty Scots-Irish hillbilly from a long line of same. I lived on the equator for years, and have also lived elsewhere in the tropics. At all times, I have enjoyed a variety of outdoor activities and performed a variety of outdoor tasks. I have applied sunscreen perhaps twice as an adult? I wear a hat when I think I need to, a shirt when I think I need to, and I stand in the shade when it makes sense. I've gotten a mild sunburn maybe a half dozen times.

In my late forties, I conclude that the leathery oldsters who insist on the sunscreen advice were crazy about sunbathing. Don't be like that, but rubbing random cheaply-acquired chemical potions over one's skin on a regular basis also doesn't seem wise. The portion of the spectrum that gives us skin cancer is not the one that causes sunburns. The primary defense against covid infection is vitamin D. Humans lived outside for tens of millennia. This week a bunch of this sunscreen crap has been recalled for containing benzene. Good grief.

Re: Mary Schmich's “Wear Sunscreen”, which turned into an unlikely 90s hit (2019)

#143

I was in high school when this came out so I can recite this song word-for-word because in 1999, it was all over MTV, the radio, and most importantly, on Napster. I remember the original 1997 edit (even though I first heard it in 1999), because that was the version I downloaded off of Napster as a 15 year old. Even back then, there were all sorts of weird attributions to it (I think that my Napster copy had a Kurt Vo…

I was also inundated with this song late in highschool. It was one of the songs that made it from whatever illicit file-sharing system into my personal library as "Baz Luhrman - Everybody's Free (to wear sunscreen)." I also remember the discovery process of learning that he didn't write the words. Learning that he didn't speak the text either. Learning that it was speech given to a graduating class. And learning that it wasn't a speech to a graduating class, but a column written.

We still have a library full of mislabeled music like that.

I'm in my early 40s, "Be kind to your knees, you'll miss them when they're gone" comes to mind not infrequently.

Re: Mary Schmich's “Wear Sunscreen”, which turned into an unlikely 90s hit (2019)

#144

I was in high school when this came out so I can recite this song word-for-word because in 1999, it was all over MTV, the radio, and most importantly, on Napster. I remember the original 1997 edit (even though I first heard it in 1999), because that was the version I downloaded off of Napster as a 15 year old. Even back then, there were all sorts of weird attributions to it (I think that my Napster copy had a Kurt Vo…

The misattribution to Vonnegut was indeed pervasive, and stupid.

You have to be a maladjusted no-lifer to get your jollies from "pranks" like that.

Re: Mary Schmich's “Wear Sunscreen”, which turned into an unlikely 90s hit (2019)

#145
post #12

It's amazing how every so often, I gain new insight into a line from this song. I recently hit 40, and "be kind to your knees, you'll miss them when they're gone" is starting to make sense in a way that used to be more abstract.

I was just writing a comment about this. I am in my early 40s and that line comes to my mind all the time.

Re: Mary Schmich's “Wear Sunscreen”, which turned into an unlikely 90s hit (2019)

#146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I haven't been aware of nomadlist.com before - is it worth the fee? I'm somewhat hesitant to sign up. The signup starts with some bullshit 50% discount from $218 to $109, while apparently $99 is the regular price anyway. Looks a bit sketchy in my eyes, but I might be too critical.

Eh, depending on what you want to get out of it, I'm not so sure it's worth it. A lot of the information I've come across on things like cost of living and average internet speed I've found to be pretty inaccurate. Like, it's saying $64 a month for a 1 br studio in the city center in Buenos Aires right now. That's nowhere close to what you'll be paying and it's not useful information. It's similar to some of the stuf…

Thank you for the reply! Being an introvert, I don't care much about the people :) but rather about the information. If it's not accurate, it's probably not worth the $$.

Re: Mary Schmich's “Wear Sunscreen”, which turned into an unlikely 90s hit (2019)

#149
post #106
post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Christoph Strasser (born 1982) just won the Transcontinental, a bicycle race of 4000km across Europe. https://dotwatcher.cc/race/tcr-no8?post=34p4cOKwoPRSffwYwnBw...

Thanks for posting something positive here... the other comments are really depressing for someone who's in their early 40's :(

[deleted]

Re: Mary Schmich's “Wear Sunscreen”, which turned into an unlikely 90s hit (2019)

#150

I was in high school when this came out so I can recite this song word-for-word because in 1999, it was all over MTV, the radio, and most importantly, on Napster. I remember the original 1997 edit (even though I first heard it in 1999), because that was the version I downloaded off of Napster as a 15 year old. Even back then, there were all sorts of weird attributions to it (I think that my Napster copy had a Kurt Vo…

I was in highschool when I first heard it too - class of 2000. I loved the song and Kurt Vonnegut. I have even played it for some friends within the last year.

I had absolutely no idea about the true origin until today.

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