People ask me for advice nearly every day of my life. And I’d say that 95% of the time I have to give vague answers like “…in most cases…”, or “…usually…”. But every once in a while I’m able to hand out some advice that I feel is absolute. This is the best kind of advice, and Baz Luhrmann dished out some of this advice back in 1999 with the release of Everybody’s Free to Wear Sunscreen.

“Wear Sunscreen” or the “Sunscreen Speech” are the common names of an essay actually called “Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young” written by Mary Schmich and published in the Chicago Tribune as a column in 1997.
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Did you know that there are a total of 29 human blood group systems? Yeah, this means that you’re walking around with different blood than just about everyone you meet on a daily basis!

And did you know that if you got in a car accident and a nurse accidentally hooked up a blood transfusion for you with the wrong type it could kill you!

Well, it happens, and here is the proof:

In 2003 Tawnya Brown was awaiting bowel surgery in a Northern Virginia hospital when she decided to switch beds to be closer to the window. The move ultimately killed her. During surgery, Brown mistakenly received two pints of A-negative blood. She was O-positive.

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I was reading in the Mens Health magazine for May 2008 and came across an article called “Cleanliness is Next to Girliness” which goes a little something like this:

What’s on your washcloth? An antimicrobial ingredient in some soap may sap your testosterone levels, say University of California at Davis scientists. They found that when triclocarban enters a man’s bloodstream through his skin, it mimics testosterone, causing his body to ratchet down production of real T in response, say study author Bill Lasley. Ph.D.

Low testosterone has been linked to everything from infertility to depression. Go to hpd.n.m.nih.gov for a full list of soaps and other toiletries that contain triclocarban.

The new study was published online this week by the journal Endocrinology (“Triclocarban enhances testosterone action: A new type of endocrine disruptor?“).
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Hmmm. I’ve got a question. Why not let Marlboro sell packaged marijuana just like they do normal cigarettes or clove cigarettes? If one can believe the stats in the article below, the cost to fight the Pot war is simply amazing!

Arrests for marijuana possession — not sales or trafficking, just possession — totaled 738,916. By comparison, there were 611,523 arrests last year for all violent crimes combined.

Wow! I don’t understand that on so many levels:

1. How do so many people actually gain access to an illegal drug like that? I wouldn’t have a clue where to go buy some pot, and I’d be scared to ask anyone!
2. If 3/4 of a million people got CAUGHT, there must be 50 people for each one that got away! I mean, America must love it’s pot!
3. I never heard of anyone high on pot committing violent crimes. I thought it had the opposite effect? Making you tired and lazy, right?

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Folks, I’m neither a Democrat, nor a Republican. But my mom asked me to give her an unbiased, factual rundown on the political platforms – so what my mother wants, my mother gets! Here you go Mom…

I’m making the presumption that the two candidates who are going to actually be running for President are Barack Obama, and John McCain. So, below I’ve taken the liberty of narrowing down all the data to these two guys. What you need to do is line up as many of your political ideal matches and then you can rationally choose who you are voting for.
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The worst thing about emergencies is that you just can’t predict them. The only good news is that you can plan for them.

Since people are always under duress when an emergency actually occurs it is prudent to assemble a kit that you can pull out when needed that covers most bases. So, here is a fairly complete list of the items you’ll find in my personal stash, plus a couple of extras that might be helpful for some folks with special needs.

Now seriously, why don’t you take a couple of hours and really honestly think thorough this emergency thing. You never know, perhaps the reason you’re reading this article today is a sign. You don’t want to be the person that didn’t pay attention and were left unprepared when disaster struck!
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Ok. I’ve got a question for everyone. At what point does female bodybuilding reach the peak of the “sexy” plateau and begin going back downhill from there?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of healthy female bodies (like the “fitness trend” towards pole dancing), but at some point it seems to me these ladies (generously assuming they are all ladies) cross a threshold and simply no longer look good.

I guess the real question is, at what point are these women no longer “hot”?
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Yippee! According to this video,

“Schools offering pole dancing classes are shooting up in cities all around the globe!”

Did you know it’s the only exercise form where you can wear stiletto heels?

Oh, and while you’re watching, keep an eye out for the “style and grace”. In fact, I’m sure all the guys will be thinking about is, “Wow. This women has style and grace.”
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I’ve written about smoking several times in the past because “…a billion people will die this century from tobacco-related illnesses….” And everyone knows that smoking is bad for you, so why is it that smokers just don’t give a crap?

Sorry, but as a sidebar… I know this person who is a smoker and also a die-hard environmentalist. Can someone please tell me how you can complain about me driving a gas guzzling vehicle when the production of cigarettes is causing massive deforestation along with the production of waste from consumption (including paper and plastic packaging and cigarette butts)? I mean seriously, if you smoke you don’t give a damn.

Globally, tobacco curing requires 11.4 million tons of solid wood annually, according to Geist’s study. Adding insult to injury, tobacco plants may replace the trees cut down and leach large quantities of vital nutrients from the soil.

Worldwide, an estimated 5.5 trillion commercially produced cigarettes were consumed in 1995 (the last year for which statistics are available) and 83% of cigarettes were filter-tipped. Filters and plastic wrap from packages remain in the environment for long periods. Cigarette filters contain cellulose acetate, which persists under normal environmental conditions for 18 months or longer. Moreover, cigarette butts pose a health hazard to children and animals if they eat them.

Anyway, back to the point at hand. I’ve assembled a nice little collection of videos from around the Web that focus on the effects of cigarettes. If you’re a smoker, feel free to go ahead and ignore these. It’s always better not to know whats coming…
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Yes kiddies, I said Disney.

In 1946, Walt Disney produced an animated film called “The Story of Menstruation“. At the time, Disney was hurting for cash because World War II killed the European market, which cut off a significant source of Disney’s revenues. At home “Fantasia” was a major commercial failure, draining more money from the company treasury. Disney was in desperate need of new funds, so he began to take for-hire assignments.

During this time, Disney opted to take a commission from the International Cello-Cotton Company for an educational film designed to be shown in health education classes. What resulted was “The Story of Menstruation,” a 10-minute animated film covering an area where Disney’s films never went before. Indeed, “The Story of Menstruation” is the first film which uses the word “vagina” (both in the narration and in an on-screen demonstration).
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Sixteen of the world’s 20 most polluted cities are in China, according to World Bank research. Yet a report sponsored by the Chinese Government which uncovered potentially scary information was edited to “prevent social unrest”.

Missing from this report are the research project’s findings that high air-pollution levels in Chinese cities is leading to the premature deaths of 350,000-400,000 people each year. A further 300,000 people die prematurely each year from exposure to poor air indoors, according to advisers, but little discussion of this issue survived in the report because it was outside the ambit of the Chinese ministries which sponsored the research.

Another 60,000-odd premature deaths were attributable to poor-quality water, largely in the countryside, from severe diarrhea, and stomach, liver and bladder cancers.

The mortality information was “reluctantly” excised by the World Bank from the published report, according to advisers to the research project.

Sepa and the health ministry declined to comment. The World Bank said that the findings of the report were still being discussed with the government.

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This photo doesn’t require much of a setup. Now nobody wants to be wheeled into an emergency room, but suffice it to say that you really don’t want to be any of the people in this picture taken in the ER. If you aren’t getting it, examine the guy on the table closely.

Oh, and if you select the image you can see a larger version in case it helps.