An Indelible Impression

Greetings:  Tattoo: a permanent reminder of a temporary feeling.

Sorry I missed yesterday......not really

OFF TOPIC:  Kindlee: I have been corresponding with the fellow that spoke of the B24's. He would very much like to here from you. His email is as follows. Please keep me informed. Small world eh?    capmike2003@yahoo.com

Please forgive me for going off topic right away.  I now have a new computer, having finally replaced my nine year-old Gateway but, due to a cable glitch, I have been without internet access for nearly a week.

So I have to ask:  Missive, how did the film festival screening go on the 6th?  Please, do tell.

Iknow, I know....hear from you.

I can't think of anything I need to have on my skin for ALL TIME.  So I've never gotten a tattoo.

Before coming to the Eye this morning ( once again reinforcing Rule #1: EYE first) I received a very funny email of a "redneck tattoo". The image was a well rendered cat, on the belly of a gent whose hair must be red, judging from the hair on his tum. Anyway, the cat has just turned around and is looking at you, but you can see his behind. Just below his upraised tail is his backside, centered around the guy's belly button.

As Mr. P points out, "redneck Tattoo" is no longer a redundancy.

Anybody ever see the SNL short about Back tattoo removal cream? It always reminds me of Steely Dan's HAITIAN DIVORCE.

Note to JP: Cache (no marks or "t") usually means to hide or hiding place. It also has a secondary computer meaning that I do not understand sufficiently to explain.Cachet with the final t usually means prestige or an aura of exclusivity or more generally a special aura. It comes from the name of a special ( wax or lead) seal attached to something to confer authenticity.  In view of yesterday's lexicographical, um, contretemps, I am hesitant to point this out, but it is early and I am optimistic.

Welcome home DPR. You missed an interesting one. You might want to put on the waterproof suit and have a look at yesterday. Or you might just want to go outside blindfolded and try to cross the street. The sensation will be similar, I expect. 

I know a really nasty joke about tattoos that even this group would probably rather not hear.  Maybe after supper.

Out and about earlier this morning I ran into some people who, on Friday, were in a serious business pickle. Since then, they not only received the quidance that they needed, but all of what they were, without much hope, seeking to sell before Christmas has been bought at a price they never dreamed of getting.

My reason for bringing it up this morning is that two of them had been offered good jobs as well. That is until without their heavy winter duds, the body art became visible and the jobs went away.

They were made to understand why they didn't fit in with the public image that the employer had worked to create but didn't get why they would'nt be considered for other behing the scenes work.

I wonder if there are not a lot of cases where people are left to figure out for themselves why maybe being clearly the best applicant is not enough.

The plus side must be that somebody out there will really admire what you have done to yourself.

Heiress-I just KNEW you were going to say that! *giggle* C'est seulement une jeu de mot, comme toujours avec moi...

I have Respiratory Care program student applicants with major tats. I tell them they will have to find a way to cover them or they cannot work in the hospital. No buts about it. They are unacceptable for the hospital, for they generate all manner of fear and loathing in some patients, especially older ones for whom the notion of tattoos brings to mind pirates or sailors like Popeye. Or worse...

I did have one patient, long ago: a lady in her nineties about whom everyone at morning report gave warning. They commented on her irascibility and startlingly diverse vocabulary of curse words. Not to be deterred, I decided to go see her first, and to make a long story short, we had a grand day (I suppose that says something about yours truly also). She had some interesting tattoos on both arms, and a wonderful mind, full of tales both interesting and bizarre. It was all I could do to tear myself away to see my other patients. And, she got well soon and went off to further astonish the world I am quite sure. I could only wonder at what a wee rip of divilment she must've been in her younger days. I have tried my poor best to follow in her footsteps *grin*.

I have 2, planning on adding to one of them, and getting another new one.  For me, it is just a personal expression.  I have dice on my lower leg, one with a 5 and the other a 4, which was my jersey number back when I played sports.  Then I have an Arkansas Razorback on my upper ar, which I do not regret, but I want to turn it into a mini sleeve, extending from basically my neck hole on tshirts down to where the sleeve ende.  That way I can keep it covered if I wish.  The one I want to get done is my scottish family crest.  Not sure where I want it placed though...

 Working in a professional environment I wanted to make sure that they were all easy to hide, so that I would not be discriminated against for having them.  I do think that the aura of disapproval that always hovered over tattoed people is starting to dissipate.  It has become more socially acceptable, which really takes some of the fun otu of it.  I always liked displaying my tattoos for co workers and getting the reaction, "YOU have a tattoo!"

But no tattoos. No, nay, never, no nay never no more...will I be the wild rover, no never, no more. Or tattoos. Or something, whatever. How the string of one's thoughts does play out across the universe!

More coffee...

Capt Neptune - Thank you for the reminder. I've been caught up in a bit of Christmas rush, here. I will send him an email today and keep you informed. It is a small world and thanks to the Internet we can find each other.

No tatoos on me, but I do have pierced ears, if that counts.

My son, the Marine, has a tatoo. My family went on a skiing vacation last Christmas and my son and his wife (also a Marine) were able to join us. After a long, cold day, we took advantage of an apres-ski swim and jacuzzi bubble. My other two sons and daughter-in-law kept trying to get my son to turn so that I could see his back. He was getting more embarassed by the moment, which only encouraged the others to be more persistent. I was confused (a little slow on the uptake) until I finally realized he was hiding a tatoo. Everyone else in the family knew about it and all of them have seen it, except me...I've heard it's just an artistic design with no meaning. 

Have a Wacky Wednesday everyone.

Sorry, forgot the other 't' in tattoo. Looks like it will be a wacky day...

Tattoo just never really appealed to me.  First and foremost, they just don't look professional, and I just spent 7 months unemployed.  I didn't/don't want to give potiential employers one more thing to turn me down over.  Secondly, I'm a wuss when it comes to pain. 

Also, many people I know got tattoos so they could be "different."  Yet you can't see these tattoos, so how are they making you "different?"  And how "different" are you when there are probably 100 other people with that same tattoo in a 20 mile radius?

Cher, who at one point had nine (haven't checked her body recently), once said that if you have to explain to someone why you did it, chances are they won't understand anyway.

Nonetheless, I'll give it a shot. We all navigate the tension between our need for togetherness and our need for separateness. When our togetherness needs are high we engage behaviors that help us get along with others and mark us as members of the crowd. But when our separateness needs are high we do things that differentiate us from the masses and highlight our uniqueness. Tattoos are a way of distinguishing us from others, a permanent mark that represents our individuality.

My own collection began in a misspent youth (okay, I was 45) and marked the beginning of a significant personal transition in my own life. It was more than "adorning the canvas," it was a token of change -- a personal reminder as well as a sign to the world that "I will not be the man I was" (Ebenezer Scrooge).

The collection soon evolved into a travelogue of sorts. Some people collect Hummel figurines, chatchkas, or T -shirts to mark the places of note they have visited. I picked up ink. In the end, I settled on six (or got tired of that particular form of self-expression). I have to admit that now I don't think of them much, except for the one that marked the end of a major depressive incident. As I stand before the mirror in the morning, it reminds me of the continuing agenda -- "No fear."

My father was in World War II in the Pacific on a Destroyer. His ship was hit by a Kamikaze taking out one of the stacks. Dad had to help pull his shipmates bodies from the burning wreckage. It was horrific as you might expect. As soon as they got to port he and most of his ship mates got full sleeve tattoos on both arms to commemorate their shipmates. They were beautiful tattoos. I wanted one so bad, but he explained to me how he (a career chef) had to wear long sleeves to cover the tattoos in order to keep a job. He told me it was not the best decision he ever made, but they did mean a great deal to him. He said that if I wanted to be taken seriously I could not get one, that and the fact that if I did get at tattoo and he ever saw it, he would take a disk sander to me and grind it off.

I have students come in to our school with tattoos, their girlfriends have tattoos. One of our students went to interview for a part time job, I suggested that he be sure to wear long sleeves and long pants as he likes to wear ‘wife-beaters' and shorts hanging down on his hips. Also that he remove the ‘hardware' from his face - not in those exact words but that is what I meant. He told me that he was proud of his tats, that each one meant something and people "HAD TO RESPECT THAT!" He went for a job interview to Lowe's Home Improvement...needless to say he did not get the job - no respect there I guess. His girlfriend has an accounting degree and can't see why she can't get a job as a bank teller. She makes it through all the online tests with perfect scores, but as soon as she goes in for the interview, she is told she would not fit into the company image.

I still would like to get one, lower back kind of thing - ‘tramp stamp'? LOL!

Getting a tattoo is truly an individual thing...beauty is in the eye of the beholder...

Though I'm capable of making plenty of decisions I will regret in the future (guys, see yesterday's postings if you're wondering), a tattoo has never been on the list.  Suppose the reason is like most of the others posted here.  Also, because I've never seen anything that I would want to look at the rest of my life every day....my thighs are punishment enough.

As for putting it on my back or other hidden site, why bother?  If you like the image enough to permanently apply it to your body, you should see it, right?

Okay, I'll just admit it....I avoid pain when possible. Plus, I work for the state health department and I know what happens when tattoo artists aren't scrupulous with their infection control practices.

Yep. The complete alphabet in band around my thigh. Just in case I need it for a sobriety test.

Not really. I'm a good Presbyterian girl. I'm more of a piercer. 

No tattoos on my body...yet. I have vowed to complete an Ironman distance triathlon in 2010 (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run). When I accomplish that goal, I will adorn my body with some version of the Ironman symbol: the M-Dot ( http://www.ironman-store.com/images/uploads/Kona_M-Dot.jpg).>

For me, getting that tattoo will remind me of the effort it took to complete such a task. Hopefully, it will also serve as motivation that with planning, effort, courage, and tons of sweat, I can do damn near anything I want.

My girlfriend currently has two tattoos and would like another one day. She falls into the lower back dragon category Mr. Peterman mentions above. And I love it. I definately matches her personality.

And here's a funny SNL skit featuring Turlington's Lower Back Tattoo Remover. Classic stuff. http://www.guzer.com/videos/snl_tattoo_removal.php

I have two, one on each upper arm.  Easily covered with a t-shirt.  The one on the left arm is a simple design that I like.  I've had it for about 10 years and haven't gotten the slightest bit tired of it.  The one on the right is the outline of a quill pen, that I got soon after I recieved my completely useless Masters Degree in Creative Writing (Fiction).  But I like it anyway, and have never heard of anyone else having that particular design. 

I don't have any deep spiritual connection to my ink, they aren't particularly symbolic . . . I just like them.  Nobody knows I have them unless I show them.  They weren't spur of the moment (I spent about a month thinking about each before getting them). 

I have, however, seen some people get very dumb tats.  I knew a guy once, got a smurf  on the back of his shoulder.  Knew another guy, had a very poorly drawn tiger (at least, that's what we thought it was) done on his calf, so it always looked like it was crawling into his sock.  And then there are the folks who get the Kanji tattoos, thinking they have something like "Strength" or "Princess" when they really got "Balloon" or "Toad".

I was going to get one... I got my navel pierced instead. I was 22. The best change of a decision I ever made.  I don't have an huge hatred for them or anything, its just that it seems everyone now is getting one & therefore its not out of the ordinary realm anymore & it's just really conformist. Yes I understand that so is piercing but at least I can hide the "crime" unless its Swim Season.   

Read the "Getting inked...at the Mall" linked above. The owner of Tattoo Nation wants to franchise: "Very similar to what Starbucks did for coffee, we're looking to do for tattoos.'

"I'll have a to go Grande, Non-Fat, No Water, 180 Degrees, Tazo Chai Tea Latte please. Oh and add a Celtic armband to that! Got to honor my heritage!"

No tats here, but I've known plenty of people who have them. 

I did get my navel pierced when I first started belly-dancing, my body HATED that piercing.  I kept it clean and sterile, I followed the instructions to the letter, even erring on the side of caution, but it kept getting infected.  After a full year of problems I took it out completely, my body healed up perfectly in 2 weeks...no infection, no scar, nothing.  I learned my lesson, my body doesn't like me to punch holes in it for fun.  Same thing happened when I got my ears pierced in 6th grade...but my mom insisted that I not take the earrings out and by the time I was a freshman they were ok.

Tattoos run the gamut from small and attractive elements of 'decorative art' to massive 'uglification' -- just as buildings run from Fallingwater to hotdog stands.  That said, I never did get the tiny black scorpion to fit just to the left of my pubic bone (this is the most delicate way to describe my 'fantasy' tattoo.  A combination of factors (not the least of which was the risk of type C hepatitis infection) has left me with an unblemished body.  (Those who know me and have seen me are now chuckling.... unblemished!?! HA!)

An interesting sidenote... In contemporary Japan, tattoos are COMPLETELY unacceptable.  A gym or a hot spring resort (onsen) will expel any person discovered to have a tattoo -- no questions, no explanations, no discussion.  Out!  A Japanese friend living in the States was shocked (SHOCKED) when she joined a gym in Houston and saw WOMEN with tattoos around her!  

I don't know it for a fact, but I suspect the use of tattoos by 'yakuza' (members of Japanese organized crime families) has a lot to do with the revulsion 'normal people' in Japan feel toward tattoos.  It would make a cool term paper, magazine article, or thesis to trace 'Attitudes of Contemporary Japanese Toward Body Markings'.  But I'm not up to it.  Volunteers?

Can't say I've ever been tempted.  Perhaps I've seen too many former hipsters who now sport their tats on a body which has become naturally adorned with wrinkles and stretch marks over the years.  Tattoos, like people, don't always age well.

P.S.  As a male, I rather like the erotic element of *tasteful* tattoos (see the photo at the head of this page for what I consider an erotic tattoo.  I have thought about this and have concluded (1) tattoos indicate a woman with a sense of adventure and 'devil-may-care' insouciance -- a turn on in a world of the fearful and rule-bound; and (2) *tasteful* tattoos indicate an ability to appreciate nuance, delicacy, proportion, and other elements indicating a thoughtful and perceptive mind.

We should not neglect the role that 'encounters' from one's past influence one's taste.  I will leave that door closed for now!

I love the story of how Queequeg, Ishmael's cannibal friend and shipmate in Moby Dick, came to be. A young Melville, born to an old, prominant Presbyterian family and with an intense wanderlust (hence Miss Ive's deep devotion to him), boards a whaling ship in his early twenties. Ever the rebel.

Half way through the voyage, he is treated poorly in some manner, and jumps overboard (true story) when they near the Marquesa Islands. He lives amongst the Typee tribe, known to be cannibals. He loves it and is treated very well, especially by the Edenic, sparsely-clad ladies. A Presbyterian boy's dream come true. I imagine he sat at the fire in the evening praising himself for his primal-ness, for his open-mindedness—a Presbyterian boy no longer. A true man of the world.

And then they tried to tattoo his face, and he boarded the next ship to near the port.

It's hard to hide a full facial tattoo when you get back to Boston and want to settle down with a wealthy judge's daughter.

You hear a lot of that acknowledged hypocrisy in Moby Dick. 

I've been that kid, too. Most Westerners have. I don't think there's one post on here that doesn't address the paradoxical rebellious ink, easily hidden by day.

If you're going to pierce your naval, don't do it the day before Sunday Service. It hurts like a bitch during the meet-and-greet hug session. 

I know a beautiful girl whose first tattoo was a picture of an extremely crudely drawn monkey drawn by her brother.  Where was it?  On her back.  I suspect she was too young to be familiar with the expression.

My best friend decided to get a tattoo when we were on Spring Break (and drunk, of course) in college.  At the time it was attractive, but two childbirths and a c-section later, not so much.  I'm glad I wasn't that drunk.  Most I've gone for are those temporary tattoos. 

My ex-husband had two "tribal" tattoos.  I don't know what tribe a white boy from suburban New Jersey could possibly belong to. 

Wasn't it the comedian Orson Bean that said his wife had a rosebud tattooed on her breast when they were married?  After 25 years of marriage she had a long-stemmed rose.

How about someone--not anyone here, of course--revive the Mullet?  Business in front, party in the back! 

My sweetie occasionally works with a lawyer in one of her client firms who is the absolute paragon of conservative virtue when he's at work. But what nobody else knows about him is that he's tatted from wrists to neck to ankles, is a witch, and spends his off times on a giant motorcycle with other witches. But once that suit of armor goes on and he's in the office, nobody knows nuthin'. Suffice it to say, he's never one to "roll up his sleeves". Probably not even metaphorically.

One Doc- I saw that lady in the grocery store once.  Not pretty.  I think I used her as an example for my nine year old.

Agent666, if you do qualify for Kona 2010, let me know so I can be there to cheer you on from our lanai.  All 3 legs of the race pass right in front of our building.  On Ironman Saturday we get up early and eat breakfast out on the lanai and watch the swim.  Then we have a long break waiting for the bikers to get back from Hawi, then we head down to the finish line and wait for the runners to come in.  So much fun.

Doc I know what you mean about tats in Japan.  One of my bellydancing friends has several small decorative tats, nothing offensive.  She went to Japan 2 years ago with her uncle and teenaged cousin.  She was taking her cousin to the hotel pool (under 18 had to be accompanied by an adult) and they wouldn't allow her in unless she wore a long sleeve t-shirt to cover the upper body tats and an ace bandage to cover the ankle tat.  When she asked the attendant why they said it was because tattoos were a gang sign and they didn't want their clientel to be afraid.

I like the show No reservations with Anothiny Bourdain, (IMHO He's Great Tells it like it is) One episode he was in Laos I believe & he met a young guy keeping the artistry of the locals Tribal Tattoos alive. The only Triebmens who got tatoos though were ones who had killed an enemy. It was very interesting & kind of told the REAL story of tattoos & why cultures use them.  

How about a pair of Golden Arches right in the middle of your gut? That would be funny. I could dig that sort of irony. 

DPR,

Was wonderful. Thanks so much for asking. I had a fashion question for you last night! (See the end of yesterday's post) You can always email me for more scoop (click 'profile' at my site and there's an email option on that page).

rings90 - I don't agree with what you said about tattoos being conformist.  They only become part of conformity if the person getting one did so because everyone else was getting one.  And that may be the case on occassion.  And those will be the people who, later in life, will want to get the tat removed.  But getting a tattoo does not mean you're trying to join in on anything.  Most people don't know I have mine.  I didn't do it to impress anyone, I didn't do it to show how "mystical" or "special" I am.  I got them because I want them.  Neither deep nor shallow reasons.

Rings, there are a lot of pacific islanders living in my area.  I went to high school with a lot of Samoans.  One friend went home to Samoa for the summer after we graduated and came back just before the fall semester at university.  He's gotten a traditional whale bone "genealogy" tattooed on his body.  It went from his mid back all the way down to his knees and it wrapped all the way around his body.  He said he would have come home sooner, but he developed a massive infection and was hospitalized for a couple weeks. 

Never once did I see him intentionally show off that tattoo.  It was sacred to him, a record of his family and a guide to how a true Samoan man should behave.  I'd seen them before, but never up close.  When he came to the clinic at my massage school and I worked on him I noticed that the design is actually indented into his skin...it was the strangest sensation to work on him...like working over corduroy.

Massage school and my following practise was my closest encounter with tattoos.  We saw all types in clinic.  The one that I had the hardest time with was a woman who had been in a Nazi prison/research camp, she came every Saturday morning like clockwork.  She'd been a twin and she and her sister were taken and experimented on as children.  Her body was twisted and scarred from the "experiments" and she couldn't stand up straight.  She had numbers tattooed on her arms.  I wished I could erase them.  Later the clinic supervisor asked this woman to come and speak to our class and she told us about what happened to her and how we helped her fell better and lead a healthier life.  I asked about the tattoos and she said it was a reminder to her to treat everyone like a human being and not a number.

Coyotemike & Nachista ~ I didn't mean to intend that EVERYONE who has any ink is a conformist, but most of the little 20 year olds getting the tiny flower, or a sea horse, or the Chinese Synmbol (that most likely has no meaning translation to begin with)  reaks of conformity to me. Really the prevailing attitudes of the girls in H.S. around here is when I turn 8 I am getting a a tatoo because everyone else has one, or the we went on spring break & thought it would be fun to get one mentality. Its like being a vegan because Natalie Portman is one & you are a fan of hers.

I have no problem with the people who get them as actual meaningful symbols for their lives or culture. It's the people who get them for the wrong reasons that have ruined the art form, to get one to show off & watch your parents faces be overcome with dissapointment. I can't stand behind that reasoning.

Now if you get one because you trained & ran for this really grueling race, GO FOR IT ~ GET 3. It's all very well earned & it will be respected by you & by everyone who sees it.

Nachista you should read the young adult novel called "The Devil's Arithmetic" Jane Yolen its a very interesting story about WWII & the tattoos play an interesting role in it.   We read it for Book Club a while back & I was so impressed by it that I gave it to my mom to read.

Dude, I love conformity. The very reason I dressed myself this morning. That and the ice-covered world outside my window.

And when I get a tattoo, it will absolutely be a tramp stamp. I'm thinking a butterfly that says 'peace' in a scrolling font underneath it.

I never said people who get tattoos are conformists.  I'm confused.

And an exclamation point, maybe three, after the word 'peace.'

Does anyone remember the exclamation point episode in Seinfeld?

I do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rd7j-aSqFU

Seomfeld Exclamation Point

Sorry Nachista ~ I thought you were alos referring to my first post as CM was in saying that not all Tattoos are gotten because its the in thing to do. You were actually commenting on the Tribal Tattoo posting...

MissIve ~ Just becuase you tied 8 woolen veils instead of 7 silk veils around you to keep warm on this cool AM still does not make you a conformist... Get the Tramp Stamp, then you'll be a conformist...   

This is a tattoo that my friend Jason has...

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b299/nachista/Friends/tattoo.jpg

It makes me smile everytime I see it.  Of course it could be that HE makes me smile everytime I see him.  He's one of those emotionally bouyant people who you can never feel down around.  He lifts everyone up to his positive level.

Rings,

When you are wired like Miss Ive, you try VERY, VERY hard to blend. You look around, in both directions, often, and say: tramp stamp, check, eat with utensils whlle in public, check, don't drink directly from the wine bottle, check, when traveling alone, it is more appropriate to sit in the back seat of a cab, check, when in a board meeting, refrain from raising hand and asking who brought snack, check. . .

I could go on. Or I could just get the tramp stamp and cut holes out of the lower backs of all my shirts and dresses. Maybe then the world would forgive my faubles.  

Rings I was just sharing a tattoo story.  But there is a big difference between white guys getting so-called "tribal" arbands, and actual indigenous tribal tattooing practises like Moko, Pe'a, Malu, Kakau.  Polynesians who get culturally historic tattoos rarely refer to them as "tribal".

Just clicked, watched and spit beverage, Cynthia. I love that episode. One of my fellow grad students had it out with our prof over Cynthia Ozick's use of explamation marks in The Puttermesser Papers.

I'm lauging still, right now.

Am seriously considering taking my lunch break to get a tattoo of a plain old exclamation point. And maybe the YouTube link to that episode. That might hurt. Lots of code.

Where would you put a tattoo of an exclamation point? It's gonna appear that you are very excited about that particular part. I'm very excited about my right elbow. Maybe there. 

Ooooh, maybe Peterman's Eye on the back of my neck. 

FYI, if you are not Maori, do not get a Moko Maki (facial maori tattoo).  Moko Maki are very special forms of Ta Moko and it is insulting to Maori for any non-Maori to have one.  They are less strict with body Moko, but many Maori will tell Pakeha (non-maori) NO when they Pakeha ask if it is ok to get a Moko.  As with many indigenous forms of tattoo, Moko is seen as sacred, it is a birthright...not a cool decoration.

For those of you who watched the Lark Film, our Videographer graciously did not edit in Miss Ive's ways to live. Now that she admits to them on a public forum, maybe he will... :)

LUFF the Petermans Eye on the back of the neck, giv eme a few gimlets & some vikadin before we go see the artist & I'm in.

Hi Missive,

I found your question yesterday.  The answer lies in the contextual definition of the word "formal".  In today's culture, the word "formal" has been distorted and abused to the point of obliteration.  When men wear neckties to the Oscars and still insist they're in a "tuxedo" (they're not), the question seems to be, how formal is formal?

If this is the sort of party where the gentlemen are in suits and neckties or blazers and odd trousers, then your chocolate ensemble sounds absolutely magnificent.  If this party features the more classic definition of "formal" then you will feel very under-dressed.  Remember the old cliche about confidence being the ultimate foundation garment.  We don't want to lose any of that, do we?

The ensemble sounds delightful beyond belief.  I am a great fan of equestrian boots (somehow, you knew that, didn't you!).  My only quibble would be the tights.  I would go with a contrasting color -- basic flesh tone always looks great over equestrians -- just to avoid chocolate overload and to allow the dress and the boots to pop out even more vibrantly.

Let me know how it goes!

MissIve - Maybe you should just get one big exclamation point, from the nape of your neck on down . . . just be careful of where you put the dot.

DPR,

Good notes. It's definitely formal and very creative. Fashionistas. I may wear the Portrait Dress. But not with the boots.

Coyotemike,

!!!!!!!! 

!

By the Gods, I just realized I have a tatoo-theme joke appropriate for the day.

A guy, Bob, gets married to his dream girl, Wendy, and he is so happy that he gets "Wendy" tattooed on his johnson.

The happy couple is on their honeymoon in the islands, and our happy groom has to take a leak so he shuffles off to the men's room.

Standing at the urinals is the steel drum player from the band. Bob takes the urinal next to the drummer, and with a furtive glance happens to notice that the dummer has "Wendy" tattooed on HIS johnson, too!!

"Wow," says Bob, "is your wife named Wendy, too?"

"No," says the drummer, "it says 'Welcome to Jamaica, mon, and have a nice day'. "

Congratulations to Patti D from alaska for winning the shopping spree.  Patti come on the Eye and tell us what you're getting!

FROM ALASKA? ALASKA?!!!

Way to go, Peterman. Now THE ENTIRE FASHION WORLD will see your clothing.

I guess the same could have been said if Miss Ive of Detroit had won.  

Or Suzzz from Utah.  Suzzz from Utah was really hoping for it...would have made Christmas gift giving this year a lot easier.

Miss Ive and Miss Nachista of THE EYE,

Cordially Invite All Contributors 

To Join Us on the Travel Tab

To Break Bread with Senor Peterman

And Partake in the Lovely French Feast He Hath Set Before Us.

(Please do so before we are left to ourselves so long that we lose all regard for social decorum and continue down the seedy path of inuendo.)

Missive...did you have to mention bread and food?!?!  Its 1pm and I've been on the bloody phone since noon with no break in sight.  I'm starving.

Ahhhh screw it.  Come on over to the travel section and lets talk baguettes and cheese, diet schmiet.

Wait a minute!  When did I ever have regard for social decorum?  Are you sure you're not talking about someone else?

i used to do henna, but I've fallen out of practise and now just draw henna markings with pen or marker on the back of my hand when I'm bored. As to a real tattoo, it would definitely be the sort of thing that I wouldn't see in the mirror when I'm sixty and realise that it's now more of a mark of shame than a mark of beauty.

Plus, it hurts.

Shibbolethian at the desk, I used to do henna as well, I just don't have time to do it anymore.  There is a very large Indian population here and you see a couple of them offering mendhi at every local fair and festival.  Its fun to try on temporary designs.  In the summer I get my henna out of the freezer and to the top of my feet and my ankles.

I would LOVE to have a intricate Henna piece done. Like some of the Brides get done in the far east. I find them fascinating & beautiful. 

Congrat to Patty in Alaska, please share some items with Gov. Palin. on the plus side we get 20% of so now the $200 pair of pants I want are at least down to $160. Hoping they are scheduled yet in the 12 days sale.    

Nachista,

When we meet in France (when is it? 2012?) we'll have random pieces of food tattooed on our bodies.

Take that, French chicks. 

Can't we just eat the random pieces food?  Much less painful that way.

Thanks Agent 666 for the SNL link. at is the one I was speaking of.

Tats.

OK, a friend of mine had that small city experience- you know, wghere you walk into a strip club and there is an old pal from high school? working. On the runway. And she had a cute tattoo of Tweetie Bird pushing a lawn mower into her pubic hair.

OK,II. BB King was having a birthday and his wife wanted to do something special. So she got a B tattooed onto each of her "cheeks" ( lower cheeks, as Dudley Moore would say). When the Bluesman came home on the special night, she said she had a perm,anent reminder of the man she loved. She turned around and flashed her backside.

NOw slightly agitated, Mr. K asked "Who the hell is Bob?"

And no, that is not the one I didn't want to tell before breakfast. 

www.amiright.com/jokes/nelsonwillie.shtml

or

www.ebaumsworld.com/jokes/read/80411/

All right. Since I am probably heading for the naughty list anyway ( Saw ELF the other night, you've got to love Ed Asner as S. Claus) here it is about the two dogs. I am only doing this for Nachista and Missy and Olivia.

First, this has nothing to do with Kindlee, except that her name fits so well and the hero of this story has a name that also fits him well.  Or at least the story is about names that fit.

 (To be sure everyone understands,  this is a story that respects diversity. I have offered multiple options for certain details. Each reader is free to insert the choice of his or her conscience.)

A young Native American boy asked his father, "Why is it, father, that my sisters are named Running Doe and Falling Star?"

His father smiled and answered "Because, my son, on the night your older sister was born, I stepped out of the teepee/tipi/condo and saw a falling star, so I thought it would be proper to name her Falling Star. And early on the morning when your other sister was born, I walked out of the wigwam/hogan/suite at the Plaza and spied a beautiful doe running by. Why do you ask, Two Dogs Fecking?"  

Intersting that most comments are from tattood folk.  I've never been even tempted -- on some level, it has to do with why deliberately 'despoil' a perfectly fine body; additionally, though, having seen thousands, probably, in recent years, I've never seen one (I thought) beautified or improved said body.  Too, one can't ignore the 'morning after' aspect: Look ahead to jobs you may long for; to what 'the style' may then be.  I'm not alone in (a) finding them distasteful and off-putting and (b) sterring clear of what ubiquity, i.e., if everyone else is wearing it, I don't. 

If you've a soapbox to mount or an agenda to further, why not buy a t-shirt? Most significant: fashion comes and goes, but taste is timeless, unrelated to 'fashion,' thank God -- and thank JP's unique, wonderful catalogue that enables you NOT to look like everyone else.  In high school we strive to look alike because we're uncertain who, what we are; beyond that phase, though, grownups are more desirable companions. 

Oh, dear, I see no place to edit out one's typos, and my first word, 'interesting,' is certainly one, as are, in P#2, 'steering' and an extra 'what' before ubiquity.  Might you make those changes fort me, to save  my blushing?  Oh, I hope so....

I see a lot of tattoos in jail and in court. Some have been done by pros and some, well, some have been done by cons.  As you might imagine, incarceration is not one of those places where everything that works there will work elsewhere.  Whether or not the tattoos do what they are supposed to inside is anybody's guess. One of the first things they do elsewhere is to let people know you may well have been inside.

Fairly or otherwise, the American Red Cross asks the recently tattooed to wait a year before giving blood. They feel the same way about piercings, but also about bone grafts. They have some other preferences that seem unecessary for a group that is asking for a favor, but those are their rules.  Come to think of it, they don't want blood from people who have been in jail for more than 72 hours at a time, either.  I expect their reasons are clear. You know, abundance of caution, &c.

I agree with Georgia, except I have to admit, my body is not perfect now. I just can't imagine a tattoo that will improve it, even from its present sorry state. A Savile Row suit, perhaps, or a nice pair of overalls, yeah. A tattoo, naah.

Has anyone ever noticed that most tattoos, especially non-colored ones, end up looking like a bluish-green blur after about 15-20 years? 

Georgia don't worry about typos...

http://www.petermanseye.com/interesting-times/entertainment/326-tpyo

I just had to see what I could dig up with the phrase 'tramp stamp'... as usual, Wikipedia came up: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tramp_stamp. ; I rather like the expression since it is very suggestive (yum!) without being crude or explicit...

Wasn't it Jerry Hall who said a woman should be a lady in the drawing room and a tramp in the bedroom? 

Then again, I can understand that many women don't find tattoos in any way sexually suggestive... it's in the eye of the Beholder, as the old joke goes... (Gamers will understand.... http://fantasymenagerie.wordpress.com/2008/06/03/beholder/beholder/ )

Willie, did you see my ex-neighbor?  We referred to him as "The Tattooed Misery".  This was the neighbor who didn't seem to have a job, ran and hid every time there was a siren heard or a cop cruiser spotted in the neighborhood, and who spent most days sitting on his driveway (not on a chair in the driveway ON the driveway) drinking and giving himself homemade tattoos with a pen and what looked like a pushpin.  He was right handed so almost all his tattoos were on his left arm or his legs.

I'll be honest. I think tattoos on sightly women are just a lovely excuse to let the gaze linger for a tad longer than I ordinarily would. The flip side of my admission is that one can own a Monet, and yet still visit the Louvre now and again; you just can't take any paintings off the walls.

I've been pondering getting "The Futhark" (for them that haven't Googled it yet) scriven into some part of me someday. Maybe a circled array between the shoulder blades. My sweetie threatens removal with the afore-mentioned belt sander, though. I'll have to wait, probably, until we move onboard our boat and depart. Sailors with tattoos are de rigueur. And there won't be a belt sander on board.

There was a program on The History Channel a couple of months ago where one guy tried to travel around the world getting different types of tattoos.  I think the most painful looking one was where a thread was actually sewn into the skin to make the design.  They said they found that method of tattooing on some bog bodies.

Wow, as fascinating as this has been, it has done nothing to answer that nagging question: Is it necessary or even proper to butter/margarine bread or toast before applying or trying to apply the peanut butter?

I'll just keep waiting then.

Purely personal preference Stoney.  Me I like straight peanut butter, but I won't burn you at the stake if you choose to butter up before the PB.

Trask,

Thanks for the 'splainin.' Olivia emailed me earlier and cleared it up, too. Very funny.

In jail often?!

All,

Night friends. Had fun today.

Chista,

Go eat real food. Miss Ive says 'diet shmiet,' too.

Hmmm ok, something just happened at work that has annoyed me.

We've been reorganizing our files and moving older files to storage.  Our building is over 100 years old and moving files dredges up dust and musty smells.  We clean thoroughly but there is only so much you can do with an old building.  So the last couple of days several women here have complained that it smells musty or dusty and can't I (I am the cleaning lady too) do something about it.  Well today our copier repair man came in and he smelled like cigarettes and unwashed man funk.  The preggos claimed the smell was too much for them and they left on a 2 hour lunch break.  Febreeze didn't cut it for them so they asked for something stronger oh and could I possibly make it a holiday scent?

The annoyance at their demanding condescion aside, I was annoyed that they didn't just do it themselves, but then again I'm used to their BS so, whatever.  I checked with our funder who is highly allergic to many scents and seasonal allergens.  He said he'd never had a problem with cinnamon so I picked up some cinnamon scented pinecones at lunch.  I figured I'd tuck couple in corners around the office, no biggie. 

I get back and I put out maybe 4 pine cones on one side of the office and 4 on the other side (2 separate buildings with the walls knocked out inbetween.  I asked funder-guy (ryan) if he was ok with the smell, he said "yeah" so I didn't think anything about it.  A little while ago the preggos decided 8 pine cones weren't enough to really get the full effect so they took the bag of extra pinecones and filled our side of the office with it.

A few minutes ago a woman from the other side of our office came stopping over in a snit because Ryan was sniffelling and that meant he was allergic to pine cones and how could I be so inconsiderate.  She threw the pinecones she'd collected at my head and stopped off like she owned the place (excuse me honey its MY freaking family name on the building not yours).  The part that really steams me is that she and her assistant were asked not to wear perfumes or scented lotions because Ryan was allergic and they threw a fit and refused to stop wearing their odious perfumes, even though it made Ryan suffer.  But they can get indignant about something he told me was OK?

I have anger control problems, so I thought typing this out might help me calm down a bit.  Its only pissed me off more.  I'm off to set the record straight and try NOT to slap those 2 clowns silly.

So if you see on the evening news that a Utah woman was arrested for assaulting 2 women with cinnamon scented pinecones...that's me.

[Quick response, no time to read, homework, you know my schpeal [sp?].
Don't look at me like that, you'll get me over winter break.]

I'm currently typing with the signatures of my entire theatre class scrawled in red and black sharpie on my right arm and a heart on my left arm with the name of a friend written backwards inside, above a heartbreaking haiku and some random smiley faces/stray marks.
Granted, all this will come off in a day or two, but still, I'm all for body art.
I've wanted the Dark Mark [from Harry Potter, the scar that the death eaters have of a skull and a snake that pulsates when Voldermort comes to power] on my arm since I was old enough to read, and I'm convinced that if I ever meet Jeffree Star I will get him to sign my arm and get that tattoed over.
For now, I'm satistfied with sharpie.
Oh god, gym class memories.
It was required for all freshman to take year 'round, so most day's we would put on our shorts, stretch out, run a mile and lie on the floor for an hour. So much exposed skin started a daily tradtion of my arms, legs and what have you becoming a canvas for doodles and works of art as I quiety lay there listening to the gossip.

Side note, my friend goes to a crazy contemporary christian church, and I've been with her a few times. In my short time with them, I can't help but notice how many people have piercings. It's not just the "emo/scene" kids, either. Pretty much every member has a stud in their eyebrow/lip/nose/face.
Any reason I'm not getting for this, or is it just that kind of person who's attracted to nightly electric guitar prayer?

[This was longer than anticipated.
Now I feel bad for not reading all the comments.
*walks off in shame*]

I always found it somewhat odd that Jeffrey (Project Runway Fame..yes I'm totally hooked) thought the way to celebrate his kicking the drug habit and having a child was to tattoo his neck...of all places. Ugh.

Nachista,

All of the pine cones that I have seen had a bit of a directional slant in their orientation so that if shoved up somewhere, they could be a lot harder to get out than they were to get in not that you sound like you care.

Muwahahahaha, my brother lit into them before I could, they both snuck out early.  I suspect they got upset because they didn't like the smell and they were using Ryan as an excuse.  After they left I asked Ryan how he was doing and he told me the smell hadn't bothered him at all.

So...

Would it be terribly childish for me to take all the pinecones and fill the 2 ladies drawers with them and let them sit over night.  Then take them out when I get here (an hour before they do) in the morning and repeat that for about a week?

Thanks Stoney, you mean places like their, um, tail pipes?  On their cars of course.

I know I haven't made a single comment on topic today.  But I just want to say that I hate Patricia from Alaska.  It's nothing personal and, if she reads this, I'm sure she'll understand.  Unlike nachista, I would not have used one single penny of those sweepstakes for Christmas gifts.  Not one!  I would have decked myself out the way I have always envisioned and I would have worn it all at work.  Remember, I live in the fashion capital of the nation and I meet people from all over the world every day.  I could have been a walking advertisement for those clothes.

Pardon me as I go into the other room to cry.

I asked our head of HR in passing what she thought of tattoos.  She said her advice to students was always that a tattoo was a potential "CLM", or Career Limiting Move.  Perhaps the sight of a tattoo on a healthcare professional is one that might cause some patient's confidence to slip a few notches?

Ahhhh DPR *hug*.  I'm bummed too.

CLM?  Yeah, we had a receptionist that we hired a few years ago.  She wore trousers and a suit jacket to the interview.  Her first day of work she showed up in a sleeveless blouse and a knee length skirt.  She had tats on each upper arm and one on her right calf, all motorcycle related.  I didn't care but we have a diverse customer base and many of them are offended by tats or view them as unprofessional so we asked her to cover them up as much as possible.  The one we saw the most was the tat on the calf, it was the Harley Davidson Shield done in orange and black and on it was written "Ride to Live ~ Live to Ride" backwards.  I asked her why it was reversed and she told me so she could see it in the mirror.  When I took a second look I realised that it actually said "Ride to Liver ~ Live to Ride".  I asked her where "Liver" was and why she was riding to it and she didn't get it, I pointed out the typo and she freaked out.  She'd had that tattoo for 3 years and hadn't noticed it was spelled wrong.  Needless to say she didn't last very long here.

One Doc:

As a healthcare professional (LMFT), there's little about my life (let alone my body) that's available to my patients. While I'm not a strict Freudian who felt that the analyst needed to be tabla rasha, I've found that transference is impeded significantly if the client has too strong a sense of ownership of (and thus control over) the therapist.

On the rare summer day when my non-rasha upper arm ornamentation has peeked below a short sleeve, my clients have remarked that it 1.) adds to my humanity and 2.) makes me very interesting. I do find that they continue to engage because of what's in my head and in my eyes, not what they might find on my biceps.

My MD, on the other hand, just loves to poke out the eye of my Rampant Lion with my annual flu shot!

In retrospect I guess I shouldn't have been suprised that that particular receptionist wouldn't have noticed a typo.  She brought in sugar cookies one day and everyone loved them, they were REALLY good, people were raving.  At the end of the day she was getting ready to leave and several people stopped at her desk to once again tell her thanks for bringing in the fabulous cookies.  This is her response...

"Oh actually my mom made them, but I'll pass your condolences on to her."

Um, yeah.

Tattoos are nothing if not conversation starters.

Nachista, if you are going to be messing around in their drawers, you might as well go for the tailpipe... Once you are in the drawers, further exploration is expected.

DPR, I am afraid if everyone who hates ( really the wrong word, but we know it is a form of hate) P from A were to follow through on it, Mr Peterman would not be able to reveal that it really was Willie from somewhere in the South who won, which is why we agreeed to say "Patricia from Alaska."

Or maybe it was Missie from Missigan, since she has already left. Do we KNOW she isn't spending her $5K as I type this? I mean, with the bailout and all, she is probably getting several more K as a Christmas bonus, but still she can't admit that she stole those $5K from her friends at the Eye.  I hope all of those things she buys turn out to be unflattering on her or something.

Lovey, I think it is spelled spiel, though at least one online source ( hah) suggests it is pronounced as if it were spelled the more extravagant way...

Nachista,

In case you've been wondering what happened to that genius, she went directly to work for our dermatologist.

Having actually to go to the office to get to the bottom of an unusual claim denial, I found that it had been submitted under some one else's card information. Small wonder it didn't fly.

When I insisted that she continue checking, my card was found in the other man's file.

"Hey," she wondered, "What are you guys trying to pull?"

Yep sounds like Taryn.

Don't complain about YOUR geniuses.... I once worked at a place where our 'brain' was discovered filing customers by their FIRST name... oh, my!   

And then there was the receptionist who (it turned out) took all incoming memoes, faxes, etc that she didn't know who they were for -- and put them in a pile, never to be given a second thought ever again.  (When headquarters notified 'the boss' that we'd been underpricing for almost THREE MONTHS it was discovered that the notification of the price increase was in the 'mystery pile'.  She was no longer at her desk the next day.... ) 

Ah, workplaces!  Zoos of unusual lifeforms!

Willie Trask....Meooooooooooooow!  *gigglesnortgiggle* Luff your thoughts about contest winner.

Doc Nolan that receptionist wasn't named Lisa by any chance?  We had one of those too.  This was the same girl who didn't like filing so she just took the folders and shoved them in where ever there was a gap in the files...and not actually in numerological order like the should have been.  After she was fired, my nephew and I spent 2 full weeks, after business hours of course, going through every single filing system (we have 5 separate systems that she was supposed to have filed in, all different), one file at a time, pulling the missing files out of the wrong places and properly filing them where they should go.  100,000 folders/cards/microfilm packets later I was ready to quit and join the circus.

Lovey - I get the sharpie thing. Once, in a fit of rage, I took a sharpie and drew a thick black line all the way up from my wrist, up my arm, to my shoulder. When it started rubbing off on my white shirts, however, I realised that it was a bad idea.

Though I'm sure I'm not the first to mark my body in a fit of less-than-sanity.

Stoney. The peanut butter goes on, and THEN the butter on top of it. Didn't they learn you nuthin' in that fancy school?

drdgscott,

I think it's more that we're an inpatient oncology setting.  What could be seen as humanizing in a therapy session might come across as troubling viewed on your oncologist or surgeon. 

Here's a tattooing idea that will never go anywhere.... Surgeons could tattoo internal organs.... the two kidneys could be marked 'Pee-er' and 'Pee-or'.  The liver could bear the words, 'Love her or leave here! And the heart could bear a red 'I heart you'.  

I suppose one would need to use special inks so that CAT scans could see the tattoos -- but not metallic inks!  (Consider MRIs!)

I wonder how one could put a tattoo inside one's skull?  And would you do it mirrored or not?

Whew!

The word 'butter' had been thrown out there and it took over two hours for Jonathon "Last Tango" Isles to respond. I was beginning to wonder...

Peter Lake!?

Any news??

Sorry! I was making soup.

Subtletytales,

Sarah, that looks like honor roll material and not just because it was an off day for the rest of us. Very nice.

"I asked her for credit she answered me nay, says a customer like yours I can have any day."

And it's no, nay, never!
No, nay, never no more!
Will I play, the wild rover
No, never, no more.

I'll go home to my parents, confess what I've done.

And ask them to pardon their prodigal son.

And if they'll forgive me like ofttimes before,

Well I never will play the wild rover no more.

Who was the comedian who said he was getting a full body tattoo of himself, only taller?

OncDoc:

You've got a point! Of course, it might be particularly heartening to see a radiology provider with a target tattoo somewhere that had "Survived!" beneath it!
:-)

William, I just KNEW you couldn't NOT tell that joke. Why I told many offline, those who hadn't heard it, and I also told them you'd eventually have to finish it. Miss O knows...

Doc, it wasn't Jerry Hall, but a lady far sharper and further back in history. Maybe Madame Pompadour. I can't remember atm.

phony and Jonathan-thanks for carrying on with me Irish tune there. Sometimes ye prime the pump, ye nivver know who's goin' ta chime in. Good on ye...

Willy, willy...now, where have I heard that before? Jonathan, your middle name isn't Thomas, I hope. And Stoney's not Richard, I trust. Boys and butter...

Suzanne, sounds to me like you managed your anger beautifully-good show!

I can carry a tune in a bucket, but only after I've drunk the ale that was in the bucket before.

Welcome Sarah!

One Doc, I've heard some surgeons use a cautering iron to brand their initials into patients tissues while they are finishing up surgeries.  Guess its as permanent at tattoos.

My mother shocked me last night.  We were on our way to my nieces' elementary school holiday program when I brought up the topic on the Eye (she's a closet J. Peterman fan).  I brought up one of my former massage clients who had her medic alert bracelet tattooed on her wrists.  She was an Israeli national so she had it tattooed in English on one wrist and in Hebrew and Arabic on the other wrist.  She said it was in case her medic alert got lost or broken.  I commented that I'd also heard of some Marines tattooing their blood types on their bodies. 

My mom goes "Oh yeah I have one of those"...*car rolling to a stop* Whaaaat?  I've seen my mom in a swimsuit and I'd never noticed a tattoo so I thought she was joking.  She turned arourd in her seat so she was facing me and rolled up her sleeve so I could see the inside of her upper arm, right near the axila.  Sure enough there was a TINY O+ tattooed there in faded blue ink.  She told me they gave it to her in grade school and all her classmates had them.

So my ultra-conservative mom has ink and me, the long rebellious daughter...none.  Go figure.