Tattoos and piercings

[Phaedrus]

Hehe, wow Kerry, how did you get to be so "darn" knowledgable about everything??   Thanks for clearing it up. I don't speak greek, thats just what I read/heard along the way somewhere.    I take it you've read the book also? I've been known to give out copies to my friends of ZAMM for Christmas. hehe. I've read Lila also, but was not quite as impressed. Even that is still my second favorite book, right under Zamm.  

[Kerry]

You had every right to think that Phaedrus meant "wolf" in greek.  I think Pirsig said as much in the original book - that's what he thought!

Yeah, I've read the book 3 or 4 times.  It wasn't until I started the 3rd reading that I realized I could follow along in my road atlas.  (You know how much I like trips ... and maps! )

Anyway, it's not that I know a lot - it's more that I remember certain kinds of things (usually useless trivia) fairly well.  And once in a while I'm actually able to retrieve the stuff I want! :dunno:

[Roadstergal]

Ja, "light" or "brilliant" - hence the greek myth of Phaeton, the son of the Sun God, who persuaded his dad to let him drive the chariot of the sun (Can I have the keys, dad, please?).  He drove wildly, started a buncha fires, and Zeus killed him with a lightning bolt; the horses, once given their heads, took their normal course, and Apollo never let anyone else behind the wheel again.

Lykos is greek for wolf, if I'm remembering my mythology aright.

[Kerry]

Lykos is greek for wolf, if I'm remembering my mythology aright.

Yep, according to the Pirsig quote on the previous page:

the character that Plato likened to a wolf was not Phaedrus but Lycia, whose name is similar to the Greek lykos that does mean "wolf".

[Roadstergal]

Whups, I didn't read that whole citation...

I'm a huge fan of greek mythology, and really like Robert Graves... I especially like Homer's Daughter.  He took the stance that the tedious and genealogy-obsessed Iliad was not written by the same person who wrote the rather fun Odyssey, so he invented a female character who goes through a bit of a real-life version that she adapts to the one we know.

[Kerry]

Sounds interesting.  Did you ever read C.S. Lewis' rewrite of the Cupid and Psyche myth in his book "Till We Have Faces"?  It's been a decade or two since I last read it; I'll have to tack it onto my reading list again.

[Roadstergal]

Ja, I've read most of C.S. Lewis; he was a devout Christian, and that suffuses all he writes, but he is intelligent and an awesome writer, so it doesn't bother me where it does with others.  You've read the Out Of The Silent Planet books?

[Kerry]

Not yet.  I picked up the 2nd and 3rd paperbacks at a thrift store a LONG time ago, but I don't want to skip the first one.  Maybe I'll check it out of the library.

[natecoop]

sorry, gotta add some more info to this thread regarding my earlier posts.  i just finished up a cover piece on my left shoulder.  here is the link again to check out the new work.

http://photobucket.com/albums/y252/natecoop/tattoos/

[neonfly]

My one and only so far but i'd love to get more.

[pantablo]

a bit late to this thread but...

15 years ago I had a nose ring for a couple years. took it out when an employer told me in not so many words, "leave it in and you'll spend your days in the back room drawing, take it out and you'll meet with the clients.". it was a career deciding moment.

I was always interested in getting a tattoo. In recent years, with the birth of my son I thought it would be nice to get our astrological signs tattooed on my back, my wife, son, future second child and mine. I'll have to wait until the second one comes though.

With tattooes being so personal though, I was intrigued when I read about writer Shelley Jackson. She is writing a book, one word at a time, in tattoo. You submit a request to be included, and if chosen she sends you a single word you must tattoo and document with a photo to her. This takes the personal aspect out of the equation and the tattoo becomes a way you connect to a larger idea. THAT is fascinating to me.

read more about it here:
http://ineradicablestain.com/skin.html

[Jake D]

Re: earlier thread jack, I read a book that you might like Kerry, called the Preservationist.  It is written by David Maine, I think.  He took the story of Noah's Ark and adapted it into a novel.  It is pretty wild.  It has a bit too much "rooting" for your taste, I'm sure, but the story IS about procreation, in a way.  Thread jack over.

I think that is pretty cool about the idea of a book made from tatoos.  Could you reject the word if it was crappy?  Let's say she sends you the word "crotch" or "the" or "lobe" or something, could you write back to her and say "nevermind, please send the word crotch to someone else"?

[pantablo]

nope, you get what she sends. only rule about placement is that if you get a word naming a body part it cant be located on that body part. otherwise, the word you get is it, but placement is up to you. Also has to be in specific classic typeface. its an interesting idea in that the book will never be complete. people die.

[Roadstergal]

That's hardly going to be bedside reading.  I don't have enough room in my apartment for more than a terse sentence at a time.