Sunday Simulacra - Version 6.12

This week's simulacra are a couple of free loading loiterers who got caught by our ever alert skull hunters.

Shawn Zook caught this creepy soap scum skull planning some dirty work in the lavatory...

...and Marty Busch found this stained skull hanging out on a roof hatch at the mall in West Dundee, IL. He, like I'm sure many more of us, instantly saw the Misfits skull.

 

We don't issue fines or put up "No Loitering" signs around here on Skull-A-Day. We welcome all of the hidden skulls a chance to show themselves and to be themselves. That's what this sharing thing is all about. Thanks, Shawn and Marty!

Odoskull

Nick Newton is from Calgary, Canada and he digs skulls AND our site. He's presented us with this smiley skull sketch that he created using odosketch.

I dig the way you kept us in mind once you completed this cranial creation.  Plus, the odosketch site is a pretty nifty place for spreading creativity.  Thanks for sharing both of them with us, Nick!

Yoga in the Park

Last weekend I went to a free class in the park offered by Lululemon.  The community class in the park is something Lulu offers every Saturday in every town I've ever seen a Lululemon, but I've never gone to one. Believe it or not, I'm really shy about trying new yoga classes and locations.

The class was at 9am in a park downtown and it turned out to be really nice. I like trying new teachers and practicing outside is one of my favorite things ever. It's always a little exercise in beginner's mind when you're meeting new teachers and experiencing their style. Gets you out of your head a little better than a home practice if that's what you do most often. I'm glad I went and I intend to keep going to these community classes. Getting outside of my comfort zone is a good thing and I can try a few different teachers.

This pic is from Wanderlust, but you get the point.

Get involved in your local yoga community. It can be with a lulu class in the park, a community class given by fresh new teachers (usually free or cheap), or just a meetup with some friends to try a new DVD... just get out there!

Snow and Ice Skulls

Design Student Chessie Rosier from the UK showed off some of the skulls that she likes to create.

Cool C says:

This is a refreshing collection of works to take us away from the “Dog Days of Summer”.  While these works are just memories of  a past season, they also serve as hope looking towards the next change in season as the cycle of  dormant and rebirth continues.  Thank you for sharing some of your work with us here as well as the other great work on your facebook page.

It's a Sign

Sweet sign seen at Wanderlust

Tension

To release tension - you first have to create it. - Seane Corn

Soapwalla at Wanderlust Test

Being the modern-day yoga hippie-girl that I am - I am a huge fan of natural organic "chemical" free cosmetics. Anyone that's ever tried cleaning up their self-care routine knows that deodorant is right up there with waterproof mascara and toothpaste on difficulty of finding a good quality replacement. I've tried quite a few things, but I've been a big fan of Soapwalla Deodorant Cream for a while now. Yes, it's a cream. As in - you put it on with your fingers just like you do your face cream. At first that really weirds people out, but if you think about it - it shouldn't. You put on lotions/gels without too much thought, and yes you're rubbing something on your armpits - but it's while your armpit is still clean!

I love the stuff, but I'm an active girl - sometimes I take it to it's limits. I have found that on particularly crazy gym days while weight training it kind of foams. That is not fun, but I like it enough to put up with the occasional lightly foamed pit. Maybe those are the days I put too much on. *shrug* 99% of the time it behaves normally, does it's job, and doesn't stain my clothes.

When I started packing for Wanderlust I thought - I'm going to have some long hot active days - should I just pack my "other" deodorant? I did pack it... just in case, but I really wanted to give Soapwalla a chance and put it up to the serious hippie test - the Festival.

Test a hippie deodorant at Wanderlust!? That's Crazy! and perfect.

Outlined below is how the deodorant held up each day. I'll also add that I don't usually shower every single day, but during Wanderlust I did (so that probably helps).
In addition to all classes listed - add in a default of about a million hours of walking around and playing outside in the sun and heat.

Day 1 - Only one 2-hour class.
Temp: 75 degrees Farenheit
Peachy! Just as fresh at the end of the day as when it started.

Day 2 - Around 3 hours of tough classes - including 1.5 hours of slacklining in the sun.
Temp: 77
Good, not Great. Very mild musk at half an inch from my pits at the end of the day.

Day 3 - 1.5 hour lecture, 1.5 hour backbends outside, 1.5 hours hoopdance in the sun.
Temp: 80
Okay. It was going great until hooping non-stop under the sun from 4pm - 5:30pm. It was a very active class - lots of jumping and whatnot. After that I got a bit musky.

Day 4 - 1.5 hours self massage, 1.5 hours backbends in the hottest dome ever, 1.5 hours yoga nidra.
Temp: 86
Fine just Fine. Didn't really do a whole lot of active stuff, but the activity I did do was in a dome of heat. It was like doing hot yoga. I really regretted wearing pants to that class instead of shorts.

Overall:
Soapwalla clearly holds up great for low-medium activity. Even high activity in mild heat. But if the heat is way high and you're going to be outside for 6 hours - you might want something tougher if you tend to stink a lot. I'm not a strongly-scented person, so I can get by just like this. I never pulled out my back-up deodorant, and I think I'll just throw it out for good.