Tattoo you?

Ready for an old-fogey moment? You’d better be, ‘cause here it comes.

Unless you are literally blind (and maybe adding the word mercifully wouldn’t be hyperbole for this particular subject), you can not have failed to see the insane proliferation of so-called body art, aka tattooing, that has shown up on America’s collective epidermis over the last 10-15 years.

I was reminded of tattooing’s pervasiveness, not to mention its unattractiveness, yesterday when I went to the Colorado state fair. You couldn’t swing the proverbial dead cat without hitting at least six people of both sexes with varying degrees of epidermal-embedded ink. One young woman, who was quite attractive otherwise, had some type of scroll work splashed across her chest, which she proudly displayed via her low-cut blouse. From the distance I first spied her she looked to have a hairy chest. (I don’t know about you, but, to my mind, women should have hair in only two places, and the chest ain’t one of them.) In addition, I saw many, MANY “tribal” armband tats, pictures, words, and indistinct--for lack of a better term--somethings, all permanently affixed to various arms, backs, chests, ankles, and necks.

It was ghastly.

Why do people do this to themselves, especially women? Say it, spell it, say it with me people: It’s ugly, U-G-L-Y, ugly!, as Mr. Kunstler points out in his latest 17-min. podcast (#29). I’m not sure about some of his theories as to why indelibly marking oneself has become such a cultural phenomenon today, but it’s fun to listen to him slam on the whole tattoo-nation thing anyway.

Even though I find the whole idea of tattooing distasteful and primitive, I don’t believe anyone should pass a law prohibiting it, not that I have heard anyone actually contemplating doing so. I’m too libertarian for that. This works both ways, however, and I believe employers should be, without fear of prosecution, free to deny employment to any person wearing a tattoo if they so choose.

Finally, I understand that to be young is often to be dumb and possess a herd-like mentality; I was both dumb and herd-like in my younger years concerning bell bottoms and longer hair. I’m just glad I could easily alter my appearance with a change of clothes and a haircut. I feel sorry for the folks with it-seemed-like-a-good-idea-at-the-time tattoos who, ten years hence, will not be able to change their look. (Yeah, I know about laser removal of tats, but that’s an expensive and, from what I’ve seen, less-than-perfect solution.)

I can magnanimously give a pass to those under 30 who permanently mark themselves and chalk it up to the indiscretions of youth and the aforementioned herd mentality. But what completely poleaxes me are the people who are in their 40s and 50s I see sporting fresh tats. Huh? If I could make one statement to them, it would be this: “Look, you are NOT young anymore. Get over it. You look ridiculous. Do you raid your daughter’s/son’s wardrobe too? Since you seem to think you’re so young, let’s add an additional three years to the age you can begin collecting retirement. How do you like that?” (As you can see, it’s a good thing I’m not invested with absolute power.)

Oh well, this tat thing too shall pass. Upcoming generations are likely to look at today’s tatters as hopelessly out of touch and hideous, especially after a few decades have taken their toll on skin and ink.

Take care.
DAL357

P.S. Did you notice the misspellings in the photo above?

Here dupe, dupe, dupe!

Have you ever felt like a dupe? Come on, admit it, it's okay, we've all been duped from time to time in one way or another.

One good duping I remember getting was when the Republicans took control of both houses of Congress back in 1994. I thought things were going to change for the better towards smaller government and more personal freedom. Yup, as much as I'm chagrined to admit it, I actually thought this. What a dupe!

Another duping I received began about ten years ago and has only recently subsided. After a long absence from guns/shooting, I got back into them/it in a big way. While I'll have to admit I learned a lot and found a few keeper guns, it's mostly--but not entirely--been a waste of time and money. (Sorry to you hard-core gun-guys/girls for the blasphemy.) The biggest lesson I've learned is to find what works best for me and stick with it, marketers and 'Net know-it-alls be damned. For example, after trying three different small autos for carry, I eventually sold them all in favor of a snubby I already owned, and which I still use. (I could go into a diatribe here about the slavish emphasis on autos as carry guns so many folks hold, due, I believe, directly to the gun rags and 'Net commandos/keyboard cowboys, but I won't at this time.)

When I look back on the times I've been duped, though, I have no one to blame, ultimately, but myself. Sure, it would be convenient to lay it all at the feet of the marketers, 'Net know-it-alls with thousands of posts (I wonder how they find time to become such experts when they're stuck behind a computer for so many hours a day), gun gurus, politicians, etc., but I know I am the real cause for getting duped. Wishful thinking, ignorance, naivete, and a lack of reasoning, all personal faults of mine from time to time, combine to form poor decisions. Now that I've stepped back from guns somewhat, although I still enjoy owning and shooting them, I can see the mistakes I've made; I won't repeat them.

Take care.
DAL357

Play your part, then vanish

After giving the subject quite a bit of thought over the years, I've finally come to the conclusion on what to do with my carcass once I'm no longer in need of it: cremation. I want no ode to human vanity, AKA a grave with headstone, to stand in mute testimony to my former existence; my son and, I hope, future grandchildren will be my living memorials.

I came to this decision in the time since my mother died of cancer in 2005. While visiting her grave, I began to notice the many graves from the early part of the 20th century that had undoubtedly not been visited in years, perhaps decades. The folks to whom these graves meant something, close blood relatives, had likely passed on themselves, leaving a forgotten plot and marker.

This is not the fate I want for my mortal remains. One thing I have taken a bit of pride in during my life is knowing when to vacate a given place, in other words, knowing when to leave and not wear out my welcome. After taking my final bow, I'd really like not to leave my clutter behind for future generations to deal with. Just fire me up, spread my cremains at a location of my choosing, and get on with life. If, on occasion, I am remembered fondly by those who've loved me, what more can anyone truly wish for?

Of course, all of this is contingent upon still having a supply of relatively cheap energy. If energy costs become prohibitive in 35-40+ years (I hope I won't need this service any sooner), it might be cheaper just to leave me out in a field somewhere. Oh well, only time will tell, and that's just part of the adventure of life.

Take care.
DAL357

Yawn

While listening to The Phil Hendrie Show last week, I heard about Democrat Senator John Edwards' marital infidelity story before it broke nationally. Phil had the reporter from the National Enquirer who ferreted it out on talking about it.

Okay, great, so this dude screwed around on his cancer-stricken wife. Is anyone really surprised by this, other than his most rabid supporters, and folks who just fell off of the turnip truck? (One thing I'll bet you is that the DNC is thanking whatever, if anything, it is they pray to that Edwards didn't win the nomination.)

Finally, this isn't a Dem. or Rep. issue. It is, first and foremost, a character issue, and it illustrates how little of that precious commodity our ruling elite has. (Of course, all ruling elites throughout history have acted like this, which is exactly why the United States shouldn't have one.) Now, lest any of you Republicans begin to feel smug, don't forget about Republican Senator Ted Stevens' recent legal problems. No, he hasn't been convicted of anything, yet, but I can't believe he is without blemish.

Take care.
DAL357

Foreign entanglement

Short of residing under a rock for the past few years, you could not have failed to notice the constant streaming of news pieces on Iran's nascent nuclear program. At first, the pieces were not all that frequent. Lately, though, they seem to be reaching a fever pitch. I don't know if this means Iran is closer than ever to having nuclear capability, or if there's nothing more interesting to report on but, regardless, we are being inundated with stories of Western threats and Iranian defiance.

I have a simple solution for all of this threat/defiance garbage: The West should bow out of the issue and allow Iran to continue with its nuclear weapons program unfettered. The prospect of an Iran with nuclear weapons does not excite me but, short of another war in a region of the world renowned for backwardness, poverty, totalitarianism, illiteracy, outright idiocy, racism, misogyny, and holier-than-thou piety, practically all of it institutionalized and canonized, and none of it worth one drop of American blood, I don't see how it can be stopped.

There are two things, however, that the United States could do that might very well lend stability to the entire region. First, take the short leash off of Israel by allowing it to do, without comment, what needs to be done to ensure its security. If that means a preemptive strike (Nuclear? Israel has never publicly acknowledged having nuclear weapons, although it's widely believed, perhaps wrongly, that they have them.) on Iran, so be it. Second, clearly state, sans all ambiguity, what the US response will be if Iran ever does use its nuclear weapons, whenever it actually develops them, against another country: annihilation so total, via nukes (of course), that cartographers will leave a blank space on future maps for where Iran used to be.

Tangentially, a third option actually exists, at least for those with a decidedly libertarian bent, and that's to bring all US troops home from everywhere around the world, discharge 90% of them, fix our own crumbling country, and let the world tend to its own problems. But that would mean facing our own faults/problems and finding (uncomfortable) solutions to them, and we all know that's not going to happen. No, the US seems to find it easier to insert itself into others' messes than to clean up its own, a behavior it will continue until it no longer has the wherewithal to do so.

Take care.
DAL357