Tattoos come of age in Asia at Singapore show

[ensho]

http://my.att.net/s/editorial.dll?pnum=1&bfromind=7401&eeid=6317642&_sitecat=1522&dcatid=0&eetype=article&render=y&ac=-2&ck=&ch=ne&rg=blsadstrgt


-snip-

Tattoo artists from 25 countries around the world gathered in Singapore for the event that began Friday. Organizers said it was the first of its kind in Asia, highlighting the surging popularity of an art that has been practiced in the region for thousands of years.

-snip-

The three-day show - which was expected to draw about 5,000 people - featured tattoo and piercing artists, art theory seminars, equipment suppliers and fans vying to win a best tattoo contest.

"Tattooing has become so global, there are guys doing great stuff everywhere," said American tattoo artist Chris Garver of Pittsburgh whose hit reality show "Miami Ink" helped popularize tattoos in Asia. "Japan, the U.S. and Western Europe have always had a lot of high-quality tattoo artists, but now it's starting to spread."

Indigenous peoples of Japan, China, India, Thailand, Indonesia and New Zealand have used body markings as amulets, status symbols, signs of religious beliefs, and adornments for at least 2,000 years. Scientists in Europe even found tattoos on the fingers of a 5,000-year-old mummy.

-snip-

The show was organized by Tattoo.com.sg - a Singaporean event planner run by the owners of Utopia tattoo studio - and endorsed by the Singapore Tourism Board.
-snip-
---------------------------

[dysfunctional press]

1. tats are for kids...

hey man- i'm going to show off my individuality by getting inked just like everybody else...:eyes:

double-ditto for piercings.

[Warpy]

3. Every generation has its uniform

Mine had scruffy hair and sandals.

I'd rather deal with a kid wearing tats and/or piercings and/or bizarrely colored hair than one who looks like a half grown CEO clone.

If I live another 20 years it's going to be fun watching them with their teenagers looking down at the tats as old fashioned and square.

[dysfunctional press]

5. it's going to be more fun watching their tattoos fade to bluish-green blotches.

if/when we get national healthcare- if tat removal is a covered service, it may bankrupt the whole system.

[MADem]

7. The nice thing about the scruffy hair and sandals is that they're easy to discard.

So's green hair, for that matter. Even the stupid piercings will, worst case, leave a scar or a keloid.

The tattoos, though, are forever. Or they're a painful series of laser treatments and permanent scarring away from disappearing.

It's not really an either-or thing. I know lots of youngsters who don't look like CEO clones, but they aren't covered in tattoos, either. They wear jeans and t-shirts, indulge in faddish fashions, and they do the gaming thing with their friends, but they're not "inked."

The future may well hold an increase in modest dress among the "tat" generation, to conceal their youthful indiscretions.

I just can't imagine how the poor long-term care workers, sixty years from now, are going to be able to do their sponge baths on sagging ass tattoos that say things like "Sexy Lady" or "Hot Stuff" with a straight face....!

[Warpy]

9. The corporate world allowed scruffy hair in the 70s

in order to attract creative talent. They'll do the same with tats in the coming few years.

[MADem]

12. They're already doing it. Even the military allows them, so long

as they don't show below the uniform. They even make case-by-case exceptions for those that do (waivers are possible). And for especially qualified candidates, they'll even remove the funky ones with their painful laser!

Attitudes are already changing in the workplace, as this blog (with cites) notes: http://employmentblawg.blogspot.com/2005/05/tattoos-in-workplace-revisited.html

I just think that some of the choices these kids make will be regretted years down the line. A tattoo isn't pink hair or even a nose ring...

No skin off my nose, though--I simply find it amusing.

[cushla_machree]

27. You all sound like my mother

The tattoos, though, are forever

Isn't that the point?

Tattooing is an art and for many societies it has deep cultural meaning. IN my grandfather's generation, it was a sailor thing. Because something goes 'mainstream' doesn't mean that there aren't people still out their with works of art on their body.

I have a half sleeve that has taken over 18 hours to complete...just because someone picks tweety bird off the wall doesn't diminish what I have done. Tattoos are meant to be forever, because you are permanently altering yourself, i would no more remove my tattoo then i would erase a painting. Its carrying a piece of moving artwork with me.

I don't feel bad for the people who get tattoos because its trendy, they should have to live with their stupidity when they are 60 and have an ugly looking low quality piece of crap on their body.

I don't feel the need to "change on a whim" what i have done. As you age you carry with you the parts of your past.

also, tattooing has come a long way since the end result of "a sagged and faded tat with the once crisp ink lines blurry and purple."

And that guy sitting in the next cubicle at your corporation? Probably has two full sleeves and a back piece.

The nice thing about the scruffy hair and sandals is that they're easy to discard.

Yes, we all know that all the former hippies sold out in the 80s.

[awoke_in_2003]

31. I lived with my grandparents...

from 13 to 18. A lot of their friends, and a lot of the relatives, fought in WWII, and were people you looked up too. Most of them had at least one tat from their service days, and some had really cool stories behind them.

[Thothmes]

48. I suspect most of the storie about tatoos involved

copious quanities of alcohol.

[awoke_in_2003]

56. No, the most interesting stories...

involved commemorating the friends they had lost.

[SpookyCat]

39. You. Buddy list. Now.

"i would no more remove my tattoo then i would erase a painting."

Beautiful. :hug:

[cushla_machree]

51. I asked my tattoo artist about those new inks

created with a new kind of technology that is easily broken up when radiated with a laser for easy removal later on, and he was horrified. The concept went against the whole purpose of tattooing.

[cushla_machree]

52. Buddy list

is for donors, right??

[MADem]

63. Knock yourself out, get as many tattoos as you'd like. No one's stopping you. Spend your money on

covering yourself from head to foot, if it floats your boat.

All I can tell you is this--if I were STUCK with the "fashion choices" that I made in my teens and twenties, for the rest of my natural life, I'd be fucking MISERABLE. Styles DO change, you know...or maybe you don't know. The young often think that they know everything. It's only as you age that you realize how litle you know, and how much fascinating stuff to learn is out there.

I don't sit in a cubicle. I don't work for a corporation. Disabuse yourself of that impression.

And I don't really get what the "sold out in the eighties" remark is all about. Are you suggesting that tattooed people are somehow "more authentic" because they've subjected themselves to pain to get crap written on their skin?

Sorry, I don't buy that. Although this guy is certainly "authentic" in his own way...

[comrade snarky]

66. Defensive and Condescending

My, my, what a post. How long did you search for a picture to put us in our place? I cant figure out how you found that old one of me before I got Shemp on my shoulder and after the Curly on my cheek. That was only like a week in 1994.

If only I had waited until I was as wise as you.

The 80s remark? That sounded like a commentary on how easy it was for the peace and love generation to throw those ideals away and become the coke snorting, greed is good bunch. With a suggestion that maybe other generations wont be quite so willing to chuck it's past for convenience and a fat check. But then you knew that already.

Oh and by the way, has anyone suggested that teenagers get tattoos or that it's a good idea to get one without a lot of thought and introspection? I think you may be arguing with the people inside your head cause no one out here said that.

[MADem]

70. No, it's neither.

It's simply an observation. I'm being honest about my views, and you don't like them, so you are "characterizing" them. And you're "characterizing" me, too.

I found that Stooges guy in seconds--he always makes me laugh.

You don't seem to understand--the older you get, the less wise you think you are. You become LESS of a know-it-all. You may enjoy getting older.

I was one of those Vietnam protesting types, and I never did coke in the eighties. I've never done it at all, in fact. I have spent my life in public service, and have never worked in the corporate "greed is good" world. That's not my experience.

One more time, since you don't seem to take my viewpoint....you want tattoos? Get them. Have fun!! Enjoy!!!

However, don't try to "guilt" me into:

a. Liking them;

b. Lamely pretending to others that, to my eye, they look good, when I think they're pretty hideous;

c. Finding anything "meaningful" or "individual" about them, no matter how much angst-laden thought or design effort or "personal meaning" is put into them.


I simply do not like them, and I find them ugly and disfiguring. That idiotic tribal design that is upside-down and doesn't have the meaning that the poor slob thinks it means, the Chinese writing that the wearer thinks means one thing and means another (see: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/02/fashion/sundaystyles/02tattoos.html ), the declarations of true love, it's not something I find attractive, interesting or uplifting at all. That doesn't mean I advocate banning them. If people want to sport them, let them. I don't care what people do with their own bodies.

But I still don't think they look good. That's MY opinion.

Now, you are NOT me--if you want to take a different view, and you have, go right ahead. You've every right to your perspective--as I have every right to mine. You may not like opera, ghourmeh sabzi, or word puzzles, and you don't have to like them, even though I do. I'm not going to insist that you be like me, see?

I certainly won't call you "defensive" or "condescending," because you are not like me, though, or any other pejorative descriptor, and I won't suggest you're a "greed is good" corporate toady, or even a coke snorter, just because you don't agree with me. That wouldn't be a nice thing to do. Making crap up about people you don't even know in an effort to press home your viewpoint is never a good idea.

You're getting too deep into your subject matter with your last paragraph. I think you might want to deal with the people inside YOUR head, who are telling you to call me names ..... only because I don't agree with you!

:hi:

[comrade snarky]

78. You are not being honest about you views

You are being unnecessarily insulting to other people.

In your own post is "ugly and disfiguring" "idiotic" "poor slob" "angst-laden" and please, tell me again how to attain wisdom through years. I mean I think I know everything since I'm so young right? After all I've been telling you how you have to love tattoos.

Oh wait, no I haven't I've just been defending those who have tattoos and enjoy them from your rather ridiculous attacks. You appear to have issues communicating your ideas without being insulting to those you disagree with. You may want to work on that. There is a lot of anger in your posts.

I do enjoy opera, my wife sings it. I also enjoy the symphony. I cant stand Chinese opera, absolutely hate it however I don't feel the need to insult those who do enjoy it and recognize it's a respectable art form.

[MADem]

88. I haven't insulted anyone. You've gone out of your way, though, to behave like a turd to me.

It is my OPINION that tattoos look ugly and disfiguring and IDIOTIC. Why do you feel a need to demand that I change my opinion? Why do you insist upon denigrating me because I do not share your view?

I don't want to help you "attain wisdom." I made my point, and as time goes by, you'll see what I mean. It's a journey--no one can take you on it, you go on your own.

I simply hope that at some stage of this discussion, you will understand that no matter how jerky you get to me on this here internet, it's not going to make me cry Uncle and say "Oh yes!! I now think tattoos are BEAUTIFUL! Oh, you've OPENED my EYES! I was once blind, but now I see!" when I think they look like utter dogshit.

See, I get it--you LIKE tattoos. You think they are swell, lovely, beautiful, art, etc. I'm entirely comfortable with you having that viewpoint; I'm happy for you, in fact. You, OTOH, cannot accept that I don't like them, think they are unattractive, disfiguring, distracting, and attention-seeking (but not in a "good" way), and because you can't, you're "characterizing" my opinions and making something out of them that they're not. They're just opinions. They aren't pronouncements. I'm no ORACLE, dear, and neither are you--understand?

How much clearer can I be to you? Are you really this dull of comprehension, that you cannot understand these few things?

---I don't like tattoos and I think (that's OPINION, now, dear, not "attack" nor "insult") that they are UGLY.

---I don't think that people who like tattoos should be banned from having them, enjoying them, or tattooing themselves from ass to teakettle if they'd like.

I am not ATTACKING anyone simply because I don't agree with your view on this matter. I am also not INSULTING anyone when I say that I do not LIKE something. Please learn the difference, it will make future discussions less apoplectic for you.

People do have the right to differ with you, you know. An attitude of totalitarianism in a supposedly progressive forum is very unattractive, too.

[comrade snarky]

91. Ahh there it is

Tell me again from your wise mountain top oh guru how I will come to understand other points of view as I grow in my journey "dear". That's not condescending at all.



Edited to add:
An attitude of totalitarianism because I think you are being unnecessarily insulting? Oh that's rich. This just gets better and better. I am worse than Hitler after all.

[MADem]

94. Now you are being juvenile.

I think you may have run out of argument, there.

Caps lock is shorthand for emphasis on a single word.

Caps lock is only shouting when it is used in the entire post or a full exclamatory sentence--as your illustration demonstrates.

I never said I was your "guru," yet you toss that out to infer something I never said. I said I can't help you--that's your road. And you grab that comment, and get all insulting...and follow it up with a silly picture.

I'm sorry I can't make you happy and tell you that I like tattoos. I don't like them. I still find them ugly and disfiguring, despite your insult and your little picture.

You like them, and I hope that is enough to make you happy. You haven't converted me, and it's quite unlikely that you will, with your "arguments."


:hi:

[comrade snarky]

98. Great Cesars Ghost!

You don't read the words in other posts do you?

It's your nasty attitude that has brought about this flame fest but you are so lacking in introspection or communication skills that you just cant see it. Again, I don't care that you dislike tattoos. I do care that you insult me and others who do.

Be sure to reply to something I don't say, I'd hate to see you break a streak like this one.

Oh and no, caps lock on a word is YELLING. Just so you know.

[MADem]

100. Now you're ascribing "attitude" to me.

And I'd have a great "attitude" if only I'd agree with you, I'm sure.

But mine is "nasty" because I don't agree with you. And I'm also "insulting" you because I don't agree with you.

Your assertion that all caps in a single word is YELLING is incorrect.

Just so you know!

[SpookyCat]

81. I have nothing to add to this jaw dropping screed...

...but I felt I should reply to it with my 666th post...since I'm all immoral and stuff. Really, Satan demands it...he's looking at me with his crimson eyes, so I gotta. <sigh!>

[MADem]

87. SCREED!!! You used an INTERNET word!!

What, no VITRIOL?

Look dear, if you like tattoos, knock yourself OUT. Have as many as you'd like. I don't know how many times I have to repeat that I am not an advocate of banning them. I am not.

Don't INSIST, though, that I have to like them, or pretend, to be politically correct, that I think they look anything other than really, really UGLY. It's rather unprogressive of you, your attitude.

Your use of insult to try to change my personal taste is curious. I am not trying to control your taste or fashion sense, now, am I? You're welcome to your tattoos, that's my attitude...why are you being so angry about my holding an opinion that doesn't match yours?

And, FWIW, all of that "Satan" shit is in YOUR head--I simply think they're a hideous fashion choice, not the "sign of the devil" or something. Apparently, though, you harbor some sort of feelings in that direction, since you made a point of the "Satan--666" nonsense.

That is all.

:hi:

[SpookyCat]

93. HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! What is an INTERNET word? LOL!!!

screed
   /skrid/ Show Spelled Pronunciation Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun
1. a long discourse or essay, esp. a diatribe.
2. an informal letter, account, or other piece of writing.


Oh, I stand corrected, DEAR, you aren't being condescending at all! LOL!

Sweetheart, I am not in the least bit angry. You are too fun a toy! :hi:

Darling, I do not insist that anyone like anything, only that people are treated with respect, which you have not done in this thread.

Pumpkin, the Satan thing is a joke to me...I could not pass up the fact that I was about to hit my 666th post, it was just too yummy! Plus I just knew you would post a sputtering response, you are nothing if not predicable. I was baiting you, you see...and you, you glorious creature, you bit!

Had you come at this in a matter of difference of opinion instead of finger wagging and insults, my response, and I can speak for Comrade Snarky as well, would have been very different.

Now I leave you to your rage filled world, and enjoy brunch with my friends. Thanks, you've been a lot of fun! :rofl:

[MADem]

99. An "internet" word is a word that people use in posts that they rarely, if ever, use in daily

conversation.

Screed and vitriol, or vitriolic, are two beauties that pop up all the time. So's diatribe, the cousin of screed. "Sputtering" is yet another rich one.

You were very sweet to try to help me by providing the definition of the word, though, because you failed to take my point.

Dear is a term of endearment, and I mean it that way.

I have treated people with respect. My only crime is that I'm not on the tattoo train.

I haven't wagged any fingers at anyone--that's disapproval, you see, and I do not "disapprove" of tattoos, I "dislike" them, which is a very different thing--in fact, I have repeatedly said, to those who like them, to knock themselves out getting them. If I "disapproved" of them, I'd recommend that people not get them.

I'm glad you tried to explain the "Satan thing" as being a joke to you. It was a joke that I didn't get, because I don't equate tattoos with Satan or anything evil. I just equate them with a bad fashion choice, and ugly disfiguring of the skin....and that is an OPINION, it's not "disapproval." See above.

I am not "rage filled" at all. I do hope that you have fun with your tattoos, really. Enjoy them. Get more if you'd like. It's not for me to tell you what to like, or what not to like.

I do notice, though, that you're awfully angry (would that be "rage filled?") at me because I don't happen to like what you like. It's a pity you can't be more accepting of the viewpoints of others, even when you don't agree with them.

Enjoy your brunch, now!

:hi:

[comrade snarky]

102. Maybe you dont speak with an expansive vocabulary

But I can assure you that Spooky does. Sometimes we'll even use polysyllabic words. Hey! I just did!

See, you claim to be respectful yet you assume she wouldn't use the word screed in a conversation. Why, because it's too educated or highfalutin for the likes of her?

And no, you don't mean dear as a term of endearment, that's obvious from all the insults and nastiness that surround it. If you are going to lie in a post at least try to make it a believable lie. Tell me you are a doctor or the prime minister of Burundi, something more likely.

"Dear" only came out when the CAPS LOCK began. Funny that.

[MADem]

103. Actually, I do.

And that's fine if "Spooky" does, too. And there's no need to be defensive about your language abilities--that wasn't my point.

"Screed" is not a word that comes up every day in conversation. It does, however, come up on the internet with astonishing regularity.

Now you're telling me that you know, better than I do, what I mean when I say something. You're mistaken. You're also repeating the same old arguments I've refuted about "insults." See posts above. My response is no different.

You're also calling me a liar, and that's against DU rules...dear.

You might to be a bit more open, positive and accepting that people don't, and won't, always agree with you. It might help your worldview. It will surely help your blood pressure.

:hi:

[comrade snarky]

105. Try looking in a mirror when reading that post.

Feel free to alert if that's what you want to do.

[MADem]

106. How can one look in a mirror while reading a post?

You'd have to be wall-eyed to manage it.

You have a nice day, now.

:hi:

[NashVegas]

97. The Tatoo As Stand-in For Deep Cultural Meaning

Is still a stand-in.

In the US, in 99% of cases, it says more about the accomplishments of the person applying it than the person wearing it.

[madamesilverspurs]

83. As a friend of mine notes,

"My kids will NEVER see my tattoo!" Her reason: She got the unicorn tattoo on top of her right breast. Two babies and twenty five years later, her unicorn has morphed into a rather odd looking giraffe. She knows what her kids would say about it, and she's not about to give them the opportunity.

[MADem]

4. They're also for drunks...."Say, I think I'll get that USMC bulldog on my left gun!"

Or..."Heh heh, nothing like a 'USDA CHOICE' tattoo on my ass! That'll impress the ladies!!!"

Most importantly, absent a great deal of laser agony and scarring, they're also FOREVER. That "cool" pic of Kurt Colbain's head on your arm when you were eighteen might look and feel pretty fookin-stooopid when you're sixty four!

I never understood why more people wouldn't go for the ability to change on a whim, to modify a design, or do without one entirely, and go more for HENNA.

I like the look of it:




Or even temporary tattoos--that should be a growth industry, where people could design their own, but eventually, they'd wash away--allowing people to be "individuals"...only not "forever." They ought to pair them with spray-tan salons; it'd probably be a great business in the right neighborhood....

When I think "piercings" I think "That looks infected..."

[dysfunctional press]

6. by the time they turn 64, it won't look anything like kurt cobain anyway...

more like a green-skinned version of phyllis diller.

[MADem]

8. ...

:rofl:

[Warpy]

10. Ewwww!

I don't think there's anything more hideous than a sagged and faded tat with the once crisp ink lines blurry and purple.

Blech.

I grew up around guys who'd been dumb in the Pacific in WWII.

[PM Martin]

20. I would be laughing excepct for the fact that I find tatoos to be hidious.

:puke:

[davsand]

16. I get Henna tats with my 11 year old. We go together.

It is not much different than drawing on yourself with permanent markers--you will have it for a couple weeks, maybe. If you find an artist that is good with the medium it really is a work of art. If you get a bad one it isn't a big deal it will be gone soon anyway. For us it is a sort of "girls only" treat that we do a couple of times a year.

My FIL was absolutely horrified last fall when my 11 year old told him on the phone that we had gone to get henna tattoos. He did not understand they are a temporary form of body art and was visualizing his granddaughter with a tattoo.

:evilgrin:

There are also the airbrush body painting things that allow for the use of color, but I think those are only a very temporary thing--like for a day or two. I've never tried one.

:shrug:



Laura

[awoke_in_2003]

32. The first thing tattoo artists check these days...

is whether or not you have been drinking. Alcohol slows the scabbing process, which can cause excessive bleeding and could possibly lead to law suits.

[MADem]

64. I'm betting in Hong Kong and Singapore they still don't give a shit.

You can be three sheets to the wind, and you'd better hope you drunkenly point to the example posted on the wall that you actually want!

[comrade snarky]

69. At an international tattoo show?

I doubt it. Did you read the part about how alcohol inhibits clotting?

You really have some odd preconceived notions about tattoos and the people who have them don't you? Very 1950s. Did you know that Winston Churchill's mother is said to have had a tattoo of a snake around her wrist?

They were quite fashionable amongst the upper class ladies around the turn of the century.

[MADem]

72. No, at the tattoo parlor two blocks from the pier where your ship is berthed.

Not at "an international tattoo show."

These aren't "preconceived notions."

I've SEEN it. I've seen the idiots with Tweety Bird, Yosemite Sam, USDA Choice, the USMC Bulldog...and much, much worse, stumbling back from liberty, shitfaced and tattooed. And they were getting these tattoos much more recently than the 1950s.

But there's that insidious "characterizing" again.

I don't agree with your view, ergo, the sly "characterization:" I'm OLD! From the FIFTIES! Ewwww!

What Lady Churchill did over a hundred years ago certainly doesn't influence me to think that "Oooh, tattoos are good" because someone from the "upper classes" had one.

After all, her husband, Lord Randolph, suffered from syphilis, and I don't think that's a recommended example to follow, either.

One more time, if you like them, enjoy them. I don't care for them. It's really just a simple difference in view. One perspective is not "worse" than the other, no matter how much you insist that I'm old, or condescending, or defensive, or whatever else you might come up with...simply because I don't agree with you.


Edit: Spelling.

[comrade snarky]

82. You could run a movie

On a 20 foot screen with this much projection.

wow.

[MADem]

86. Now you're just being silly. Wow, indeed.

I'm sorry I can't make you feel better by agreeing with you that tattoos are wonderful when I don't feel that way about them.

You'll just have to live with that.

Your insulting and lame commentary directed at me because I don't share your opinion, though--that might be a bit of projection...or something.

[comrade snarky]

89. You really dont understand

That you have been quite insulting here do you?
Fine, dont like tattoos. At this point I prefer that you dont, I'm thinking about changing my avatar to avoid confusion with you.

I keep reading that I've been telling you how to feel. Haven't done that. Not once. You however have been going on and on about how everyone else is trying to force you to like something and making assumptions about them.

Projection, Persecution and Prevarication.

I love alliteration :hi:

[MADem]

92. You really don't understand

That you have been quite insulting here do you?

I am not the one demanding that you share my opinion. You are doing that, despite your protestations.

My opinion is that tattoos are ugly and disfiguring. Your opinion is that they are art and beautiful.

That's the difference in a nutshell.

I ACCEPT that you, and others, have a differing opinion. I have said that from the git-go.

You do NOT accept that I do not share your view.

Projection, persecution, and prevarication, INDEED.

:shrug:

[comrade snarky]

96. The problem I have with you

And I'll say it again in smaller words this time.

Is that you can not disagree without insulting the people you disagree with.

[MADem]

101. "Disagreement" is not "insulting."

You're having a bit of a problem with word definitions, I fear.

Opinions are not insults, either. It is my opinion that tattoos are ugly, disfiguring, distracting, and in a few cases, disgusting to look at. That's an opinion. It's mine, and mine alone.

You don't share it-you think they're lovely, art, attractive, and enhancing. That's your opinion.

It is different from mine. That's fine. That's what makes the world go 'round.

I have no problem with you at all, even though you are working real hard to live up to your screen name, because I understand that you do not share my view, and I can accept that without taking it personally.

You're having a harder time accepting that I don't share your view, so you falsely insist that I'm insulting you, when all I'm doing is not agreeing with you.

:hi:

[comrade snarky]

104. Had you insulted me

I would have let it roll off my back considering the source and all. Had you read the thread you wold have noticed I don't have any tattoos. Instead you insulted a whole bunch of people including some I care about. Friends and family. You seem utterly unable to see that or accept the idea that something you say could be insulting. I'm getting a good idea of what you are like and it's not pretty.

Though typing back and forth at you (I wont say communicating because there's been none of that) has become a fascinating experiment in psychology and defensive projection I must go.

Try listening to other people some time, you may find yourself in fewer arguments. Though that may not be what you desire.

[MADem]

107. See, I didn't insult you. You just said so.

I do listen to people. I listened to you tell me you like tattoos. I understand that this is how you feel. It isn't a requirement that you HAVE tattoos to like them--I never said that liking them mandated having them. I did say you should knock yourself out and get as many as you want, if you like. That's up to you. And your friends? They should do the same, if they'd like. Your family, too!

I have not insulted anyone else, either, by expressing an opinion about my view as to the attractiveness of tattoos. That's what you don't seem to get. I still am of the "opinion" that tattoos are ugly, disfiguring, distracting, not art, and a very poor fashion choice. That's MY opinion. Mine. It belongs to me. I do not insist or even desire that you share it. It is simply my honest, unvarnished, unadulterated opinion.

My having that opinion is not an "insult." There's where you get wrapped around the axle, and are a bit intolerant.

You, on the other hand, refuse to listen to me. You refuse to accept that I don't like tattoos. You denigrate my view, and me, because you don't agree with it. You call my opinion an "insult" because it doesn't match yours. You say things like "I'm getting a good idea of what you are like and it's not pretty," simply because I am not agreeing with you about the visual appeal of tattoos. Now, that's quite a comment. Who's insulting whom, here, now?

I can put myself in your shoes. You're not able to do the same. I don't suggest or demand that you change your outlook or your attitude on this subject. I don't advocate the banning of tattoos, or the shunning of people who have them, or anything of that nature.

I simply dislike them and find them visually unappealing, and for daring to say that, I earn a boatload of accusations from you.

:hi:

[SpookyCat]

79. Oh Comrade...Awoke...there is no point...

She has been a fun toy, but there is zero new information coming in and it is now beating heads against cyber walls.

I vote to leave her alone with her sad, inexplicable, lightly veiled seething hatred disguised as "wisdom", and enjoy a cup of coffee.

Comrade has one here, so I send one to you Awoke...






Ah...back to my wonderful life! :hug:

[awoke_in_2003]

95. I have been needing a cup. nt

[SpookyCat]

11. Meh...I'm 40 and I love my ink.

I've designed both my tats as something meaningful to me. Not just "oh, I like that one in this book, do that on me..." but something I can point to and say "ok, this one means..." It's just a different aesthetic, a truer definition of who I am than a Prada bag or something.

Unless you consider 40 to be a kid, in which, you are now my very best friend. :-)


Oh, BTW...got the nose ring too...and don't see it leaving me anytime soon.

[dysfunctional press]

23. what colour beetle do you drive...?

and- do you have an imac or a powerbook?

just how deep do your krunchy credentials go? :shrug:

[comrade snarky]

24. Krunchy?

Dude, I'd defend my wife against your charges of mac snob krunchieness but it's gonna be a lot more fun to watch her tear you a fresh new ass.

Enjoy! :hi:

[awoke_in_2003]

34. So what type of Apple does she use?

I only ask because I am jealous. My 5 year old eMac really needs replacing.

[comrade snarky]

37. I'm no use in that

No macs in the house. I don't want to pay the $300 design fee that goes with most apples. Like macs? Cool, enjoy em and good luck getting a new one.

I was just trying to point out the stupidity of the above poster for deciding that because someone may not agree with his distaste for skin ink then that person must also be every other caricature he can think of. The ridiculous assertion of mac snobbery with nothing to back it up but his own preconceived ideas of what a person with a tattoo or nose ring should be.

Except for iPods, love my pod. :evilgrin:

[awoke_in_2003]

42. Yeah, I was just being...

a smart ass. One thing about the Apples, though, is they last and resale value is pretty good. I just like the operating system, and switched when they came out with OSX. I still have to use windows at work, and while it may have improved it is still annoying as hell. If you like your iPod, get a Touch- greatest thing ever. It is nice to go on business trips and not have to lug a laptop around to check your email.

[comrade snarky]

46. I travel for a living

Was in Dallas about a month ago in fact. Sad thing is with what I do I'm glad when I can get away with only humping 1 laptop through security. Been using a stinkin blackberry for the past year but I'm hoping to replace it with an iPhone if I can get the company to spring for it.

Uh Oh, what am I gonna do when I get my tattoo and cant have a good job anymore! Oh wait, the other guy who does what I do has about a dozen tattoos including a Viking ship that covers his upper arm and shoulder. Nevermind.

[awoke_in_2003]

59. To tell the truth...

the new blackberry that just came out looks like a good copy of the Touch (or iPhone).

[SpookyCat]

25. LOL...pathetic!

I quake in the shadow of your intuition and intellect...that innate ability you have to be at one time so absolutely wrong and yet so smug and dull.

Sweetheart, I am about as far from a hippie as a human being can be. And what is the deal with your nastiness? Did some meanie with a tattoo take your milk money when you was only little? Aw, do you need a cold cloth or a binkie or something?

You know what? You don't like tats, don't get one. What is this need to define someone based on an aesthetic choice? You don't know me, don't know anything about me. My response to you was friendly and trying to show a different point of view. There is absolutley no call for your sad little attack.

But now that you did, you are a toy for my enjoyment. FYI...do not fuck with an old Goth...you just will not win.

[juno jones]

35. This old tatted punk

whose tats are still in good shape twenty years later says you go get 'em! I have never seen a bigger bunch of stuck-up sticky beaks on DU. I mean tats are so declasse and all. We obviously are displaying great moral failure.

The nose ring sounds cool. :hi:

:popcorn:

[SpookyCat]

43. ......

:hug:

Isn't this the oddest thread to turn into a flame fest? Great googaly moogaly!

If you find yourself in SF come on by! Lots of "old punks" in my immoral world! LOL!

[ensho]

75. I posted the article thinking it would only appeal to a few DUers.

never realized how much some people don't like people who get tattoos! jeez.

I also posted it as a look at harmony. Miami Ink's guy goes to Asia and everybody had a good time. harmony all around.

[SpookyCat]

77. LOL! It's a good article ensho.

I enjoyed it and am glad you posted it.

Amazing what innocent or well meaning things can become someones hot button...and by golly, everyone else better feel the same way! :rofl:


We could certainly use a little of that...what did you call it, Har-mo-neee, over here!

[juno jones]

109. Isn't it odd?

I don't get the reactions of some people especially on a site that promotes tolerance.


But back to the subject, I've had a couple of friends travel to Asia for tats. One has the most beautiful calligraphic upper sleeve that was actually done by a monk in Thailand.

I love the cultural cross-fertilization that is occuring around tattooing and body adornment.

[juno jones]

108. I may do

I have many friends down that neck of the woods.

We'll compare tats, LOL! :hug:

PS I once had a black cat named Spooky, he was one of our favorites :)

[AlCzervik]

30. i drive a black beetle convertible and i do have an imac and macbook.

no ink though.

[Ikonoklast]

84. Tourist.

:hide: :rofl:

[awoke_in_2003]

33. I am 40, too...

my first was 4 years ago, a wedding band on the appropriate finger with the wife's name. Sure beats taking off a ring every time I work around electricity. Will be getting shovelhead engine on the left shoulder in a couple months, to commemorate my second love :)

[SpookyCat]

38. Nice! That's a good idea, the wedding band.

I'd love to see a pic of the engine when it's done. Never seen ink like that! :hi:

[awoke_in_2003]

41. I had to go to 5 different people...

before I could find one who would do it, most don't like doing fingers. Don't know whether it was because it was a ring, or that my wife's name was in it. I joked with the guy who did do it, and said if I ever got divorced (not likely), my next girlfriend's name would be Mary. Since I prefer Latina women, that is not a hard task to accomplish.

Here is a shovelhead tat (harley's engine from 69-83). He has 84 down as the last year- 83 was last official, but 500 were released in 84- all of them cop bikes that were already contracted). Not sure if I will go this big or not:

[SpookyCat]

44. That is an amazing piece!

The photo realism is stunning! I guess you'll have to go fairy large to get that level of detail.

[awoke_in_2003]

57. Yes, the person who did that...

does amazing work. It takes an artist to do such a thing, and like it or not, the people who do tattoo today are artists.

[Lucian]

13. I just got my first tattoo...

and I'm 26. Yeah, I'm such a kid. :eyes:

[dysfunctional press]

22. well....yeah.

:shrug:

[anigbrowl]

55. I'm beinning to think you're not old enough to get a tattoo yet or something

Your snootiness over this hilarious. And no, I don't have any tattoos.

[Lucian]

60. I wish I could be an adult.

But damn. I'm always going to be a child because I have a tattoo. You know, because of that stupid remark, I'm going to get another one. Next week.

[awoke_in_2003]

29. I work around a lot of high voltage...

and got tired of constantly removing my wedding ring. I also couldn't stand getting water under it when I washed my hands. Got one tattooed on my finger, with my wife's name in it. If if fades, I get another one.

[comrade snarky]

40. What? You dont want metal on your finger around voltage?

Pansy :-)

I'm just about 40 and will be getting my first soon. It's taken me a long time to decide what it should be and I'm still working on the art.

When I'm old and it starts to fade I'll get it re-inked.

[Book Lover]

47. This coming from a (presumed) adult who watches cartoons for entertainment n/t

[comrade snarky]

49. Now I have to defend cartoons!

Geese! What is this the "mock everything comrade snarky loves" thread?

Now I need someone to dis noir film, photography and travel!

[Book Lover]

71. Oh friend, you don't have to defend a blessed thing

I appreciate you taking the time to ... engage our other friends here who look down upon us poor, inked souls. It seems like PETA is the only other topic that gets folks so immediately fired up for no good freaking reason!

[comrade snarky]

80. Who'd a thought?

Ah well, it's Sunday morning. Sponge Bob should be on somewhere.

Ooooo Sponge Bob tattoo!

[ret5hd]

2. i thought maybe Ricardo's fantasy was finally legal.

[DainBramaged]

14. It amazes me that so many in this thread are so pissy about tats on kids

"eeewww when they turn 64, ewwww green skin, ewwwwww". How progressive. :eyes: My beautiful Daughter has some fabulous tats, and I was with her for her first one, an orange koi on her shoulder about 3" long. And she gave me a gift cert for a tat for Xmas, and I'm having a Chevy bow tie put on my very large upper can crusher.

[awoke_in_2003]

36. Dude, that is just wrong. Try this one:

[MADem]

65. Why is it "unprogressive" not to like a fashion choice? I think it's rather "unprogressive" to

demand that people pretend to like something that doesn't appeal to them. Trying to lay on the guilt doesn't cut it.

You want tattoos? KNOCK YOURSELF OUT!!! Get as many as you want! Get fancy ones, ugly ones, expensive ones, cheap ones...I don't really care! I don't have to like them, though! EWWWWWW!

I also don't like bell bottoms, fake boobs, fu-manchu moustaches, beets, or heavy metal music, either. Am I "unprogressive" because I don't like these things, or is it only a dislike of "tats" that draw "faux progressive" ire?

Sheesh.

[madmom]

85. MADem, I don't like tattoos either, but I really don't care if someone else wants one that's

their business. My SO has 2, by son has 1, and my daughter is thinking about getting one. But that doesn't mean I have to like them.So I guess I'm unprogressive too, oh well opinions are like assholes, everybody has one!:shrug:

[MADem]

90. Ah, a soulmate!!

How dare we have one opinion ....and don't mind if someone has a differing view!

I think people who do mind an opposing view have a bit of a totalitarian streak they might want to work on, though!

[uppityperson]

15. That would be a fun show to attend. I always recommend to get tats where you can cover them if you

want or need to because yes, there are people who will condemn you for them and you may just need to pass as "normal".

I've an acquaintance who has a full body suit, done (mostly) by a friend of mine. It is very fun to walk down the street behind him in the summer when he's out in shorts. Locals are used to him, but the tourists!

Advice for anyone who wants to get a tat, get it where it can be covered up, and get it where YOU can see it as ones on your backside can be very nice, but it is good to be able to see it yourself.

Edited to add, I'm a middle aged white female with a tattoo.

[DainBramaged]

17. My beautiful Daughter on her 18th birthday had 24 stars cascading

from her shoulder to her butt cheek in assorted colors and sizes done. It took about two weeks going every day for about two hours for the outlines and then the fill colors. She is a tough kid, but it looks great and she is so proud of them. She laughed when she showed me the final results, and said "guess I can't work for the FBI now huh Dad?".

[JCMach1]

18. I started getting inked at 40- had some very serious work done over the last two years

I am a university administrator, so very serious job....

Will never get face/neck/hands done, so people only see me in the gym...

Who gives a fuck what they think!

[uppityperson]

19. I love going to pools, showering in public showers and the little kids stare at my

usually hidden tattoo. Right at eye level for some of them. Have one on my shoulder which I can easily cover with a t-shirt at work. I have started wearing nice armless shirts in hot summer and have gotten comments, both pro and neg, about it. If someone who is a long time customer changes their mind about me because of it, oh well. Have had that happen only once and was a fundie person. Aw well, probably for the better.

[JCMach1]

21. Upper arms, huge piece on back, and two tattoos on chest until now

my backpiece is my DU icon

[SpookyCat]

26. That's an impressive piece!

What is it? I can't make out the detail.

BTW...I misread your post at first, I thought you meant the ink on your back was the DU icon..as in, a tattooed "DU"...I thought WOW! You are dedicated! :-)

[JCMach1]

62. It is a Celtic shield...

Here is my latest-- done by Mohan in Nepal:

[comrade snarky]

68. Nice work

I like the Nepali one a lot.

There is one I'm going to get the first time I travel to the Southern Hemisphere. I know what it's going to be and where it's going to go. Now I just have to get there.

I met an old merchant marine sailor years ago. He was covered in tattoos that some on this thread would look down on and insult. They were old, faded and wrinkly but he could point to every damn one of the and tell you where he got it and why. They were all memories of family, loved ones, friends and events.

His life was written on his skin and if someone can't see the beauty in that I pity them.

[JCMach1]

73. Mohan is absolutely fantastic... if ever in Kathmandu...

I certainly will re-visit his work when I go there...

http://www.mohanstattooinn.com/

http://www.bmeink.com/mohan_s_tattoo_inn001.html

http://www.tattoonow.com/facemaster.cfm?task=message_list&thread_index=5127&generate=1

[SpookyCat]

76. I am speechless. Those are amazing. n/t

[JCMach1]

110. Thanks...

I only get custom pieces done...

[alfredo]

28. I have an army buddy that goes barefoot most of the time. He had

bear claws tattooed on his feet. It looks pretty good. He has claws not toenails.

[CRF450]

45. My tat only shows when I'm wearing shorts

First and only one so far. This was a week after I got it, so of course it looks scabbed up.

[KitchenWitch]

50. I have eleven tattoos and I do not regret a single one of them

I have had them all for over 20 years.

[davsand]

53. I am struck by the people on here who are SO nasty about body art.

Wow. Like I said, I do the henna stuff with my daughter but if I ever feel passionate enough about the art I'd probably get a permanent tat put on. I have considered getting one when I finally hit Crone status, but even THAT is kinda nebulous for me because I just have NO idea about the design...

:shrug:

Maybe someday, but not until I know for sure what I want it to be.

Until then I look at other people's stuff and admire it.



Laura

[Political Heretic]

67. Totally suprised the hell out of me. I never would have expected it.

I happen to have no tattoos, but I think body art and artists are amazing!

[blockhead]

54. I've often wondered

if Asian people have English word tatoos on their necks?

[anigbrowl]

58. No. They secretly mock people white people with Chinese tattoos.

So if you've avoided that particular fashion fad, you can feel superior about it :-)
I'm serious, by the way. It's a running joke among my Asian friends/in-laws.

[davsand]

74. You could get inked with all kinds of insults and never know.

I do not read Chinese nor do I speak it. They could ink on Dumb F*ck Asshole and I could easily go thru the rest of my life thinking it said Honor Duty Loyalty. BIG difference and I would never know.

:evilgrin:

Not terribly shocking to hear that people laugh at that.



Laura

[crimsonblue]

61. yawn.