tattoos.

Lately I've been contemplating the art of tattooing.

Body art in general is something people do for a variety of reasons. Crying for attention, remembering someone or something, celebrating a milestone, enjoying the experience, attempting to make oneself more (or less) attractive, or simply wanting a piece of art permanently etched on oneself are all reasons that I've deduced that people get tattoos.

Since I hit junior high (when I realized that life wasn't as black-and-white as I had originally thought), I've wondered what it would be like to get a tattoo. I had a nightmare a year or so ago where I got a tattoo, and then realized after the fact that it wasn't something that I would ever want on my body forever (..ok, so it may not have been the scariest nightmare ever, but the feeling of panic has not escaped my mind). That's probably my biggest issue - not what people would think, or what it would look like when I age (everyone gets old and wrinkly, so what if I have a little ink on my skin).. more so, would I get sick of it? My attention span is that of a three-year-old, so I imagine that I would tire of it fairly quickly. I think that's why I gravitate towards piercings - still body art, just less permanent.

Miami Ink is a television show that (since I've been home and been blessed with the luxury we call cable) has been central in my increasing interest in this art. In addition to having a rather attractive incredibly talented cast (including Ami James, one of the owners, who is like an artistic, Israeli, more tattooed version of Vin Diesel) the show displays many different ideas and stories behind tattoos. While scanning through episodes on YouTube I found yet another reason why people get tattoos: as an evangelical tool. As bogus as that sounds, Pastor Cleetus (yup, that's actually his name) has a point. And apparently, he has a very cool church as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjF2B7q9RiQ&mode=related&search=