"Everybody's Free To Wear Sunscreen" by Baz Luhrmann

When Australian director Baz Luhrmann adapted a two year-old newspaper column entitled Wear Sunscreen by Chicago Tribune journalist Mary Schmich in 1999 surely even he couldn't have known the global reach those words - alongside Bill Barminski's video - would soon have.

In the days leading up to Y2K, when seemingly half the world had the other half convinced it was all going to come an end because of a single line of programming somewhere on a computer, those of us in the latter group clung to whatever soothing words we could get our ears around, and not just to drown out the blathering of apocalyptards* either.

It's posted here today on the occasion of Luhrmann's birthday, as well as in honour of the delightful second summer that September often brings to Vancouver - a time in which it's important to remember that even though it's cooler, it's still important to wear sunscreen...

*Apocalyptard - any damn fool who thinks the world's gonna end while I still have outstanding student loans.
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