Saturday, May 23, 2009

Radar Said No and You Can Too!


     Tattoos are mildly annoying at times.  Sometimes they can be cute, sexy, or inoffensive.  Other times they score high on my Annoyance Meter (soon available in fine retail stores).  Why do they annoy you Gramps, you ask?  Well let me tell ya.

     First off the tattoo fad has been going on for awhile now, but not as long as the young people may think.  About 25 years ago the only people with tattoos were ex-Navy guys or bikers.  It was definitely not a cool thing to do.  Unless of course you thought being in a biker gang was cool.  Somewhere along the line most of these tattoos became old news and the young folks didn't know about them and tattoos became cutting edge fashion.  Now most youngsters are sporting them.  Even my younger brother has one and he's not so young.  

So what you say? Well, I remember the M.A.S.H. episode in which Radar wants to get a tattoo and he is talked out of it.  It was very educational and had plenty of good reasons why you shouldn't get a tattoo.  So there.

     What really bugs me about tattoos is not the odd little tattoo someone is sporting.  It's when the tattoos start to dominate the human canvas.  What's with covering oneself in the damn 
things.  It really looks silly to me and I'm sorry, annoying.  Beats those piercings though.

     I have no tattoo anecdotes other than I learned tonight that tattoo has three t's and not just two.  Who knew?  Good thing the spell check caught it for me.  Would have been two misspellings in a week!

     

8 comments:

  1. Thank goodness when I was 18-19 working on the railroad in Northern B.C. (we were on a couple of days off in Prince George)I passed out in the tattoo parlour and the guy said I was too drunk to give a tattoo to! Otherwise I'd be a mid 50's guy with one of these on my upper right arm. My choices were a rose, the Rolling Stones lips, or the Led Zep' ZOSO sign? Proof perhaps that drinking isn't always bad! Cheers, xelA.

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  2. I like George Carlin's quote: "One reason not to get a tattoo is that a tattoo is positive identification. No one should ever do anything to help the police, especially when you may be the object of their interest."

    But beyond that, it's like buying a pair of earrings... and having to wear them every single day for the rest of your life. Do the people who get tatts not realize that styles change? What if you bought a fanny pack when they were all the rage, only this was one that attached permanently to your midsection and you could never take it off (except with expensive surgery)?

    And while the drawings may be good in a comic book sort of way, it's ugly art. Hell, even if DaVinci painted Mona Lisa onto your torso it would look ugly.

    And why the need to commemorate anything by applying it directly to your skin? Can't you just take a picture, jot it down or commit it to memory?

    But I make an exception with face tattoos. I like to know right away if someone is crazy and that's as good a way as any.

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  3. My favourite nickname is the "tramp stamp" (small-of-the-back tat, always on girls, visible when tattooee wears low-rise jeans and bends or stoops). Because this posture also reveals plenty of upper bum along with lower back, sometimes, ironically, the tramp stamp goes completely unnoticed.

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  4. Well said, Guy. Why carve something permanent into your skin? There appears to be no valid reason in modern society.

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  5. Of course the tramp stamp is always visible. That's the whole point of any tattoo. I've long held that tattoo ink is impossible to cover up for any length of time. If you've got one on your lower ankle, it seems you always wear low socks or none at all. If you've got one on your forearm, you always roll up your sleeves. If you've got one on your upper arm, you wear sleeveless shirts. If you've got one on the back of your calf, you must always wear long shorts, even in winter. And... well, you get my point.

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  6. True, but I know many people who have gone to considerable lengths to hide their regrettable tattoos.

    However, I do agree that a tattoo is impossible to cover up for any length of time--some way, some how, it's going to show its ugly head.

    Speaking of which: that "Death is your gift" tat is one of the ugliest I've seen. Nice work, Little Jackie Showers!

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  7. Yes up the arms, back and everywhere looks a little ridiculous. No covering up, and a reminder of your youth when you get older, How 'artistic' was I?

    And oh, that 'tramp stamp' area. Visual: in Vegas, 'big boned' lady, lower back Energizer Bunny logo. Why would you advertise for free? People pay good money for ads.

    I know quite a few people with them, some good, some 'uh ohs'. Look forward to seeing your Mom's! (just a head's up ;))

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  8. You are all idiots. Screw you.

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