other interesting stuff...

Just as there are an immeasurable number of tattoos existent in the world, so too are there a sizable amount of blogs regarding them. The same goes for the variance in type of tattoos; the blogs about them range in voice, consistency and premise.  My own personal interests are directed in the philosophical and social aspects of tattoo, though I can appreciate interests in aesthetics, authority or even humor. 

The most alluring that I have run across is a blog that deals with the social effects of tattoo, from the perspective of one witty, educated, and tattooed woman. Marisa DiMattia writes daily blogs that "look at the fine art and culture of the world of tattoos, she covers artist profiles, event listings, convention news, tattoo's impact on society and more". The artistry that goes into needled's structure is remarkable, and there's loads of multimedia to keep oneself amused. 

On the complete opposite side of the spectrum,  I ran across a blog that frankly, made me laugh out loud. Perusing "Horrible Tattoos" is funny, mindless activity, much like watching reality television shows. We want to see what other people are like, especially if they do something outrageous... like have a giant tattoo across your back that's misspelled. It covers the side of tattooing that most aficionados shy away from, especially when arguing for the normalcy of tattoo. After all, it's hard to defend a practice that has been historically categorized as deviant behavior, when there are individuals who make (by means of "horrible tattoos") the entire medium seem absurd. Though, that raises an interesting question, as tattooing is a way to adorn the body, much like fashion; do we laugh at people who choose to wear clothes that are not in vogue? Well, most likely not, but even if we do, it's nothing more then mildly amusing, given wearing clothing is a temporal phenomenon. The permanence of the faux pas somehow takes "horrible tattoos" to a whole other level of hilarity. 

The field of Visual Anthropology is severely lacking in its blogospheric representation. Nonetheless, I have found a few sites and one blog that might be able to clear up exactly what the discipline is all about. Don't think that just because I see the lacunae in the blogosphere having to do with my specialization, that I intend to do anything about it. I do plan to incorporate the jargon and ideologies, concomitant with explication, but a whole new blog is not something I'm equipped to launch; I lack the time and inclination.