Skin Illustrations

There's been a bunch of recent talk about body art (aka tattooing); people are talking about who has them and why they have them. Why people choose this form of expression is difficult to fathom, as this form of self-adornment means many things to many people.

Tattooing has a long history going back over 5000 years. Cultures around the world practice the art. However, since it was forbidden in The Old Testament and by the Torah, Europeans were without this custom for the majority of the last two millennia.

Because of this religious intolerance, and the social stratification which existed in the monarchies of European societies during the 18th century, the sailors who returned with "souveniers" from their voyages to Aisa and the South Pacific were often looked down upon. They were seen as marks of paganism. Hence, Western cultures have regarded tattoos, and tattooed people, with a mixture of xenophobia, classism, and anti-apostasism.

Discussion of this topic would be incomplete without reference to a seminal book published in the early 90's: Modern Primitives. The editors have compiled a collection of essays and interviews. The entries actually range through the entire spectrum of Modern Primitivism (aka Modprim), including piercing, branding, scarification, and whole host of other delights. You will find an interview with Fakir, regarded to be the father of the Modprim movement. But, the one that fascinates me the most is the story of ManWoman. After reading about him, you will never look at tattoos or swastikas the same.

Around the time this book was published, there was an incredible growth in the acceptance and availability of tattoos. Tattoo shops were springing up everywhere; I remember Santa Barbara going from one shop to eight in a 3 year period while I was in college there. This is when I began my affair with skin art. For me, skin illustrations have always been an iconic form of transmitting information. Take a look at my first piece, done by Jeff Rassier:


The character up front is The Lorax of Dr. Suess fame. He's standing in the classic "orator's pose". Behind him is a hemp leaf (aka Cannabis sativa); he's speaking out and telling everyone, "I speak for the trees. Grow hemp if you please."

Many people say that tattoos are addicting; I think they may be right. I've got ideas for all kinds of tattoos, but they are usually squelched by the cost of a tattoo fix. For my next illustration, I decided on getting some work done in New York:


This is actually a two-part tattoo. The colored center, symbolically representing the universal energy (Qi) was the first part, done by some nutty woman on the Lower East Side. She did a very poor job, but when I went to have it fixed up by adding the tribal portions on the outside, the second artist was surprised and stated that the woman in question usually did very good work. Well, Craig Cooley from Abstract Tribal fixed it up nice.

Next, while I was in the Marine Diving Technologies program, I got a little memento:


This reproduction of the MDT program's logo was done by Sebastian Orth in the late 90's. The coincidence is that this past spring my buddy Emmet benefited from Sebastian's fine work as well.

Well, all this talk about tattoos kinda got me hankering for some fresh ink. Even my wife suddenly became interested and started thinking about it. She's a tattoo virgin and her birthday was coming up, so I recently treated her and myself to another little visit to Sebastian, since Emmet had reminded me of his talents:


And here's the finshed product:


Happy Birthday, sweetie!

Well, I hope you've enjoyed my little show and tell; let me know what you think.

©2005 hpb©reations

#241

Chant one million times for world peace, they told me. Pray three times a day to end all wars. Practice austerities to liberate all living beings. But the world's miseries have never diminished Deng Ming-Dao

Fire on the Mountain

For those unable to hear the background sound, please use the button:

This past Friday night, around 8:30 in the evening the dog started barking; she was running back and forth between the front door and the back door getting really worked up. Finally, the wife opened the front door to see what she was barking at. Well, it didn't take long to figure it out:

FIRE!
The hillside at the end of our street was on fire! It was crackling away; sounded like lots of little fireworks. I grabbed the video cam and headed out for a closer look.

Before I get too far along, I should show you a map:


Our house is right in the middle of the map. The street to the north of us is where the fire fighters had set up their command post. We had a few fire engines on our block as well. The blue area is where the fire burned the hillside; it's about 200 yards away from our house.

Take a look at some of the video I shot:


Those firefighters worked long and hard to keep that blaze under control. We went to sleep after 1 AM, and you could hear the chain saws buzzing as they cleared a fire break.

There was a small article about the fire in Saturday's paper, but it did not mention the cause of the fire. I went out and shot some more video in the daytime on Saturday morning. There was also a little piece in Sunday's paper as well, but again, there was no mention of the cause of the fire.

I find it odd that there was no cause mentioned in Sunday's paper; when I was out on Saturday morning, the Batallion Chief was at the end of my street making up his report. I asked him if they knew what caused the fire. He answered that it was almost certainly a bottle rocket:


This really kind of gets me because, as some of you may recall, I expressed my concern over the use of illegal fireworks in my Letter to the City Manager post. He seems to feel that breaking the law and shooting off some fireworks is just some harmless fun; take a look at his commentary for yourself. Now, watch that video again, and you let me know if you think shooting off fireworks is just some harmless fun. As I have repeatedly said, Rick Cole is an idiot!

One thing that was mentioned in Sunday's paper is the new need for monitoring the hillside. Due to the lack of vegetation, it is now a distinct possibility that we could have La Conchita style mudslides this coming rainy season.

Ah, well, such is life in Paradise: Earthquakes, Wild Fires, and Mudslides.

©2005 hpb©reations

Looks Like Rain

For those unable to hear the background sound, please use the button:

Well, the wife left for 2 weeks this morning. She was supposed to wake me up before she left, but I guess with my sleep pattern improving recently, it was not an easy task to roust me at 3:30 AM. It kind of freaked me out at 6:30 AM to wake up with her gone.

I had to miss this trip: It's a ladies' outing. She went with her mother, and they are meeting up with my mother in the City of Sewage Canals, Venice. They will be staying there for a week. Afterwards, they will be heading south for a visit to the Papal HQ, Rome. They will return after a second week.

What does this all mean for me?

Well, some things will be easier: I can eat when I want , sleep when I want, and I can even bathe when I want. On the other hand, some things will be harder: I won't be leaving the house as much, I'll be checking the door locks much more frequently, and I'll probably screen more calls.

I guess I'm just marvelling at the knowledge that my life is so entwined with another's.

Fretta domestica. Ti amo, bella!

©2005 hpb©reations

The Dark Side...?

Many of you have heard me speak of the Evil entrenched in City Hall; statements such as these tend to be of a more humorous aspect, than based in reality. Although, there are times when I really do wonder about what's going on in our fair City.

Every once in a while, it's possible to catch a glimpse of the dark under-belly of the beast. It really reminds me of the quintessential pomo film extraordinaire, Blue Velvet.

I haven't seen Mayor Brennan running around whiffing Nitrous, or Mr. Cole getting jiggy with any fabric samples, but I did notice something recently. A subtle change that has gone somewhat unnoticed.

Take a look at the two photos shown below. The first one was taken a few years ago, before all the nefarious activities started happening in our town. The second one was taken last week....


City Hall Awash in Light

City Hall Cloaked in Darkness
Well, what do you think...?

©2005 hpb©reations

# 78

Nothing in the world is as soft and yeilding as water. Yet for dissolving the hard and inflexible, nothing can surpass it. The soft overcomes the hard; the gentle overcomes the rigid. Everyone knows this is true, but few can put it into practice. Therefore the Master remains serene in the midst of sorrow. Evil cannot enter his heart. Because he has given up helping, he is the people's greatest help. True words seem paradoxical. Lao Tzu

Man vs. Machine...?

The wife sometimes tells me that I should have an ethernet cable plugged directly into my head!

For my work, I spend a considerable amount of time in front of several computers; I also use the computers for just about everything else in my life. In fact, if I could take a hyper-dump, I would!

Well, we just got one step closer to that reality. I saw a short little piece in Popular Science that is closely related to this very subject. The article basically told of a new microchip implant that can record nerve impulses in the motor cortex. The impulses are transmitted to a computer that controls a robotic arm. Here’s a diagram:


I can see many pros and cons to advancement of these ideas. Should we be integrating with machines and computers in this way? How does this advancement in technology make everyone feel?

A Peaceful Place

Sometimes in life, we all need to get away for some rest and respite.

Stay here and meditate for a while....

 

 

 

 

# 9

Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill. Keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt. Chase after money and security and your heart will never unclench. Care about other people's approval and you will be their prisoner. Do your work, then step back. The only path to serenity. Lao Tzu