I read: “Wear Sunscreen: A Primer for Real Life”

One Sunday afternoon while I was in Crossword (an Indian bookstore, like Borders or Barnes & Noble), I happen to sit on this book left on the couch, yes…in literal sense!! I picked it up to put it back on the shelf but its title got me curious, and I flipped the pages. I read the following article which was first published in Chicago Tribune as a column “Advice, Like Youth, Probably Just Wasted on the Young” written by author Mary Schmich. This article was an international sensation, even so much that it became famous as Wear Sunscreen.

Here is the famous inspiring article which was forwarded from everyone to everyone all across the globe. Or if you wan to watch its video which apparently was a huge hit too.

Wear sunscreen.

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they’ve faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.

Don’t worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 pm on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing everyday that scares you.

Sing.

Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts. Don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss.

Don’t waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind. The race is long and, in the end, it’s only with yourself.

Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch.

Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don’t.

Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees. You’ll miss them when they’re gone.

Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t. Maybe you’ll have children, maybe you won’t. Maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else’s.

Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don’t be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own.

Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.

Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.

Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents. You never know when they’ll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings. They’re your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft. Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you’ll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble, and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund. Maybe you’ll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out.

Don’t mess too much with your hair or by the time you’re 40 it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen.”

The other articles in this book were good to read but nothing out of the ordinary. For me, this is a coffee table book which can be read one article at a time, at one’s own leisure.

I saw and read: ‘Labor Day’

I have come to enjoy Josh Brolin as an actor hence went to watch ‘Labor Day’ on the weekend when it was released. Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin make for a compelling pair, but the movie has an exceedingly ill-advised plot. Too much of its plot given is away by the two-minute movie trailer so click here if you still want to. For me, its the song “Wings” by Birdy and the beautifully captured locations in Shelburne Falls, MA where the movie was filmed. Go ahead and click the video below for a nice background music while you read my blog further 🙂

Coming back to the movie – The first couple of flashbacks confused me; until I realized that we were seeing flashbacks for BOTH of the lead characters. Duh me…! At some point, I wanted to walk out because I knew that the only happy ending I could hope for was impossible. For me a truly great movie is one where I can’t guess the ending and the ending to labor day was so unexpected. As one critic put it, this movie is more appropriate for Valentine’s day.

Now, as this movie is based on the novel of the same name by Joyce Maynard, hence I was intrigued to know how much the movie might have been manipulated. I borrowed the book from a dear friend and read it as possibly soon as I can.

Just like the movie, the author, Joyce Maynard, takes us back and forth on the backstory of each character while unfolding the story gradually. Each character is presented in a memorable way in this relatively short novel (just shy of 250 pages). Those whom you might least expect become heroes. Even those who fall short are presented in a thoughtful light. People who could justifiably find themselves  bitter are not. Few parts of this book will delight you in an emotionally evocative way while some strain believability. I kept thinking about JD Salinger while reading this book because of the way both Maynard and Salinger really capture the characters thus making them seem so real.

Every word contributes to the story and the reader’s understanding of the characters and profound understanding of the human condition. Not the best story I have read as I felt like the story kind of wandered at the end but it kept my attention. I haven’t read To Die For and Baby Love by the same author, but I might now as she seems to be a  readable writer.

MG’s Two Cents: My feelings conflict when I think of the book and movie. Hell yes! I wouldn’t have liked the movie as much as I did if I had read the book first. The story is very predictable and I am surprised a movie was made out if it. If it had been told from the mother’s perspective, I believe it would have been different and I might have liked it. For me, it’s a quick summer read. For those of you with more literary taste please stay away! But, if you plan to watch the movie without reading the book, I would say – don’t knock it before you watch it!!

Sh”t My Dad Says

The title says it all about the language contained inside though, and much of the humor comes from a quite colorful vocabulary. The author, Justin’s story telling method is quick and to the point, which keeps the book all the more engaging and interesting.

When you read the book you really get the idea that the author is learning from his dad, who is admittedly a little rough around the edges, how to be a decent human being. Not every word the senior Halpern utters is politically correct, which is part of the humor, and he obviously embarrassed his son on occasion, but this book seems like a loving tribute to a guy who clearly loves his son even while calling him a dummy. Like MissUnderstood genius, finally, a man who says what he thinks – no political scheming, no worrying about the consequences – this man just opens his mouth and says the first profanity-laced thing that pops into his head. He’s a grumpy old guy with the smarts of a rocket scientist and the mouth of a Kentucky moonshiner. He drops pearls of wisdom in the crassest possible terms, but his comments are always dead on and endlessly hilarious. Although his language is “spicy”, his words carry deep insight and his fierce love for his children shines through all the swearing.

Justin’s dad is not mean, he just tells it like it is. It’s nice to see someone who was not afraid of his own shadow in his own house and who was not afraid to stick up for his son’s when needed-be. A love that inspires his son to recognize and realize his potential even when–or especially when–the s h*t of life hits the fan.

The quaintness and shock value of the fatherly advice in this book distracts from what a clever writer Justin Halpern is, which is actually pretty clever. The sayings are hilarious, crude, and 100% correct; rife with common sense and vulgar perfectionism. (Were Dads wiser years ago? or funnier?)

I’ve been reading the blog and enjoying it, sending and sharing it with everyone I know. I figured the book would be along the same lines – it’s not, it’s even better. If you like four-letter humor that tells it like it is…just get this book and read it!! Afterall, the truth is rarely pretty, and life is not rated G.

Caution: DO NOT read this book while you are eating, especially not popcorn. It is laugh-the-hell-out-loud-funny and if you laugh while you’re eating, you’re gonna hurt yourself.