Multi.Colored—tattooed people, tattoo dreams

I’m a big fan of the comic strip “Luann.” A week or so ago, the artist, Greg Evans, started a storyline about tattoos.

First, super-hot firefigher Toni Daytona got one.

Then, super-schlub firefighter Brad DeGroot got one (but not exactly on his own initiative).

Then, airhead queen Tiffany Farrell got one, apparently in an area not normally on display to the public even in the skimpy outfits she favors. (Is Tiffany 18? If not, how’d she manage that?)

Now, strip heroine LuAnn DeGroot has gotten caught by her parents, trying to sneak down to the tattoo parlor.

Not that I advocate getting tattoos for the reasons anyone but Toni got hers… but it’s sure going to be fun to see how this all turns out.

Check Luann and her family out here (and in other books of Luann daily strips) and see the series here.

Submit this post to:

Hide Sites

I used to watch all the tattoo reality shows. I thought they were a good idea, getting people used to the idea that tattoo parlors aren’t just places for bikers and sailors to hang out. But the more I watched, the less I liked what I saw.

Naturally, a reality show isn’t really reality. The camera crews have to be there, and no matter how much the people in the show get used to the presence of the crew, they are never going to act the same for the TV show as they are when nobody else is watching. Plus, the show’s not going to waste time filming the humdrum events of the average day–they want drama and flash and stuff that’s out of the ordinary so as to attract the audience. I think “Inked” came closest to showing reality and that’s because it focused more on the artists and their interactions than it did on the customers. But how much can you do with a half hour show, especially in a shop where the owner is taking care of other businesses as well?

I’ve seen reports in several places that life on “Miami Ink” isn’t what it’s cracked up to be. The artists aren’t there every day, the people who supposedly spontaneously walk in to get a tattoo have actually been auditioned ahead of time, and so forth. I don’t know if all that’s true, but it certainly seems to be a common topic for discussion. It is pretty obvious that the entire process of applying the tat to the skin can’t be shown, because good, careful work takes hours, and the audience would go to sleep. Not to mention that they want to show multiple customers, not just the work that goes into one piece.

I haven’t watched “LA Ink,” but I did think Kat got a raw deal when they booted her off “Miami Ink.” Too many big egos in one small shop. I’m glad to see she got the last laugh. But I doubt her show reflects the reality of life in her studio any better than the previous one did.

Do shows like this encourage every Dick, Jane and Harry to go get inked? Does it mean that people have unrealistic expectations when they walk into the shop? Is the process shown clearly enough that people realize that it’s messy and painful and time-consuming to end up as beautifully decorated as you want to be? It just seems to me that cutting everything down into a few quick clips gives people the entirely wrong idea.

Anyone else have an opinion on that?

photo credit: leedsyorkshire

Submit this post to:

Hide Sites

I quit watching the Academy Awards ceremonies… well, about the time my son was born, and he’ll be 31 in April.

Up till then, we’d gone to the movies almost every week no matter what was playing, and the chances that I’d actually seen the pictures that got nominated were pretty good. Afterwards, we didn’t go to the movies anywhere near as often, and that was in the days well before video rental stores.

And as time went by, I cared less and less about any of it, to tell you the truth. It was plenty good enough to pick up the next day’s newspapers and glance over the list of winners. I still haven’t seen several of the award-winners from that day to this.

After we moved to California it got better, because the show would be over by the time the 10pm news came on, and we could watch the winners without having to watch all the drivel as well. Pretty sweet deal.

All this is by way of saying that I think Diablo Cody had the best Oscar outfit of all. More red-carpet folks should follow her example, right?

Submit this post to:

Hide Sites