Skin Art, Part 2

Alright, here's a survey: if you were to get a tattoo, what would you ink? and where?

Dead as a doornail

While out to lunch with my brother and his girlfriend this weekend, a comment about yellowing fingernails (because they can't breathe under nail polish/lacquer) spawned a discussion about whether nails are alive.

B: Nails are dead!
M: No, they aren't; they grow.
B: They're dead; that's why you don't feel anything when you cut them.
M: You don't feel anything because there aren't any nerves.
M: Mine are alive.
B: Well, mine aren't.

Skin Art

As if I weren't lacking sleep already, I got hooked on a new (to me) tv show this week.

Miami Ink is in much the style of American Chopper, about a group of 4 tattoo artists. Each episode shows various customers who come into their Miami shop during the week with their requests and ideas.

As expected, many of the tattoos have a personal significance, and it's interesting to hear their stories and the artist's design. Each artist has a specialty, be it portraits, or Japanese style tattoos, and the results are really quite impressive. Very fascinating.

Some of the tattoos I've seen:

• A father, whose 2-year-old daughter has Tay-Sachs disease, got her portrait done on his chest.
  
• A model got a mermaid across the lower back, in memory of her sailor father (who passed away when she was 21).
  
• Two brothers got a Polish eagle together (one on the calf, one on the shoulder) to symbolise their heritage.
  
• A breast cancer survivor had an Alphonse Mucha work done on her arm to celebrate her victory.
  
• Well-known chopper builder Billy Lane (often on The Great Biker Build-Off)! got the traditional "Mom" tattoo on the back of his hand. Now when she sees it, she'll be torn between his tribute to her... and her dislike for the ink.

We get see what goes around in the shop, the tattoo artists' distinct personalities, the team dynamics, and some insight into each of their personal lives.

Great show, but airs after midnight in Taiwan, Tuesday through Saturday.... I am SO so tired.

Drive often?

I must say, I am rather surprised at how many poor drivers there are in Taiwan. I expect that bad traffic conditions would actually hone your driving skills, but that's not what I observe here.

It's amazing how many drivers don't know their own cars. I'm not talking about people who drive once a month, borrowing their parents' car. I'm referring to people who drive every day, some commuting over half an hour to/from work.

The actual driving part is already bad enough, but in comparison, the parking skills - horRENdous. Especially parallel parking. Even with the help of rear bumper radar sensors! One might argue that spaces are smaller in Taiwan, but the starting position and approach angle are wrong altogether. And I've seen equally unimpressive attempts at parallel parking with ample working space.

Sometimes it makes me want to pull the driver out from behind the wheel and park the car myself. Unfortunately, courtesy forces me to suppress my impatience and groan silently to myself. ("Groan silently" - oxymoron?)