excess verbiage

So JC and I were talking about people who are so afraid of the sun and its evil UV rays that they walk around with those gigantic Star Wars storm troopers-ish visors. I don't know if people in other cities wear this, but it's all over Vancouver - mostly asians. Actually, I don't think I've ever seen a non-asian wear one. But I think it's a definite cultural thing.

In Western culture, it's favorable to be tan, golden, and bronze, whereas in Eastern cultures, they like to be white as can be because it's a sign of higher class and purity. Only lower class people would be dark because they'd be outside working in the fields all day, while the rich would be inside. I'm not making this up - read this.

Actually, I remember when I visited China for the first time when I was 19, and we went to the village my dad grew up in. I was wearing jeans and a tshirt, and all the people were asking my dad why I was wearing jeans, because they thought that jeans were just for farmers. And my dad told them that jeans are what people wear all the time. (I remember everyone there was dressed like it was the 1950s - like I was stuck in a time warp. But maybe things are different now. It's been a long time since I've been.)

But back to my point, it's the reason you see asians walking around with umbrellas on sunny days. Because heaven forbid one ray of sunshine touches their skin! Don't get me wrong, in this day and age of skin cancer, I think it's reasonable to stay out of the sun and protect your skin as much as possible - but come on, can't you just slather on some sun screen and walk on the shady side of the street? Seriously, it's not that hard. You will not die or melt if the sun touches you. In fact, it feels nice. Try it. It's better than walking around like you're going to fight Darth Vadar or like you're on your way to weld some metal. Suck it up, and get some sun already!

The geisha look is not hot.

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