Alarming News: I like Morgan Freeberg. A lot.
American Digest: And I like this from "The Blog That Nobody Reads", because it is -- mostly -- about me. What can I say? I'm on an ego trip today. It won't last.
Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler: We were following a trackback and thinking "hmmm... this is a bloody excellent post!", and then we realized that it was just part III of, well, three...Damn. I wish I'd written those.
Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler: ...I just remembered that I found a new blog a short while ago, House of Eratosthenes, that I really like. I like his common sense approach and his curiosity when it comes to why people believe what they believe rather than just what they believe.
Brutally Honest: Morgan Freeberg is brilliant.
Dr. Melissa Clouthier: Morgan Freeberg at House of Eratosthenes (pftthats a mouthful) honors big boned women in skimpy clothing. The picture there is priceless--keep scrolling down.
Exile in Portales: Via Gerard: Morgan Freeberg, a guy with a lot to say. And he speaks The Truth...and it's fascinating stuff. Worth a read, or three. Or six.
Just Muttering: Two nice pieces at House of Eratosthenes, one about a perhaps unintended effect of the Enron mess, and one on the Gore-y environ-movie.
Mein Blogovault: Make "the Blog that No One Reads" one of your daily reads.
The Virginian: I know this post will offend some people, but the author makes some good points.
Poetic Justice: Cletus! Ah gots a laiv one fer yew...
Via Kate at Small Dead Animals…you have got to read this…
My most recent scheme involved tattoos. I noticed how many people were getting tattoos of Chinese characters, and wondered why Americans of European descent think there is some special magical property to all things Asian. Buddhism, acupuncture, kung fu, feng shui: if this crap originated in Germany, no one would care.
:
Anyway, we’re in the middle of the busiest time of the year at work, and we have about 100 temps working for us. It is out of this group that I pick my mark: a young woman, probably 20 or so, and very pretty, in a kind of higher-class New Jersey trailer-park way. Sort of a skinnier, dirty-blonde version of Jessica Alba. She has a little haze of pot smoke around her, and a Chinese character tattooed on her bicep.
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So I launch into the questions: what made her decide on a Chinese symbol, who was the artist, were they Chinese, everything except what the symbol stood for. She stammers through the answers, which boil down to no real reason for the Chinese, no real interest in Asian culture or language, just got the tat from some white American dude in a shop in Sayerville. Then she launches into an explanation of what it means: inner peace or some nonsense.“No,” I tell her, “it says ‘hao fu,’ which means bean curd.”
“What?”
Oh…dear…sure if it’s your body, the argument could be made that it’s all fine & good to mark it up any way you want to. But to those who think it’s a wonderful idea to carve away without understanding exactly what it is you’re doing, this might offer some new insight.
And to the rest of us, it’s just plain funny.
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There was an article a couple of years ago about similar foolishness. A Chinese tattoo artist putting things like “Insert General Tso’s Chicken Here” on the belly of a credulous teen. I thought it was kinda mean, I mean it’s a PERMANENT insult to the intelligence of the wearer. Buyer beware though, get a book on Chinese characters before going to the tattoo parlor with big ideas.
- Tom The Impaler | 02/08/2008 @ 10:34Oh, MAN. That’s just over the line.
I mean, the guy in this story (assuming it’s true) was playing a joke on someone, purely a mental thing. To actually carve something like that in to someone just starting what’s presumed to be a long, full life.
When I think about it some more, “my dick is exceptionally small” would be much more decent (presuming that’s true). What the Tso-chicken and bean curd things say, have to do not so much with intelligence, but with self-respect — if the wearer had the self-respect to do the research on Chinese characters beforehand, which is a level many of us would consider minimal, the tattoo would certainly not be there.
And you know, you can acquire true self-respect after your teenage years. Wisdom, too. A monstrously huge dingaling? I’m inclined to think, zillions of innernet spams flying around aside, not so much on that one…although of course I’ve never had need to find out. 😀
- mkfreeberg | 02/08/2008 @ 11:45Ah, she apologized and the tatooed girl probably learned a valuable lesson. Verify.
If you’re going to be permanently inked, you should at least be certain what it is that is being permanently inked on you. She didn’t suffer long, and will remember the lesson.
On top of that, don’t believe everything people tell you. (This works particulary well when reading newspapers and watching CNN et. al. )
Plus … it was a brilliant prank!
- philmon | 02/08/2008 @ 11:55Inner peace through bean curd. Mystical. She might onto something here.
- dstanley777 | 02/08/2008 @ 12:11Yeah, I posted then went on to read that this incident was a practical, but not permanent joke. The other incident I believe was unfortunately real. But I did survive the eighties as a teen and managed to avoid piercings and tattoos. reading stories like this one makes me glad.
- Tom The Impaler | 02/08/2008 @ 12:34My all time favorite tatoo was one an Army buddy of mine had on his arm. It was a woman in a bikini with “True Love” over the top of it. Underneath it, a woman’s name crossed out. The incongruity of it was delightful.
- Allen L | 02/08/2008 @ 15:34[…] [Discuss This Topic with MKFreeberg] Share Article Sphere: Related Content Trackback URL […]
- Webloggin - Blog Archive » On Chinese Tattoos | 02/08/2008 @ 18:30