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November 19, 2003
Kathy's Idea for a Tattoo (and Mary's footnote)
Kathy had a great idea for a tattoo, which is to have one of an atom. It would be super cool because it's kind of '50s cold war'ish (which we both study), and it kind of looks like a flower, and it's simple, yet geometric. It means something, but it's pretty, but not insipid, etc. etc.
Anyway, I thought this was a terrific idea and decided if I ever had a tattoo, this would be it. My only hesitation was that it was really Kathy's idea, and I would feel kind of bad if she didn't get some credit for it.
SO -- I decided if I ever got the tattoo, I would have to (get ready!): FOOTNOTE IT! You know, like, a little note on my foot crediting her. I would have the atom tattoo where ever (on my calf or hip or boob or what have you) and then a little superscript "1" and then on my foot (maybe opposite my arch?), I'd have a little superscript "1" and a note saying, "I am indebted to my colleague Katherine P. for this tattoo concept" or "Katherine P., personal communication, October 20, 2000." (Kathy, let me know if you want to be credited by full name on this website, and I'll do it.)
It would be great! I've been tempted to get a tattoo ever since I had this idea, particularly when I was living with Kathy, because the town we were in, Adrian, Michigan was home not only to the world's largest collection of cement lawn geese, but also more tattoo parlors per capita than any other town in the midwest (Mary W. and Kathy P., personal communication, November, 2000).
Then I told my mom about the idea and she suggested that if I was so excited about getting a tattoo, why didn't I try drawing it on myself first? It would be free, and I could see how I liked it.
I did that for a few days (just the atom, not the footnote -- too lazy, and too ticklish) and then I got bored and forgot about it and besides, atoms are actually hard to draw. I realized Betsy was probably right: If I wasn't stoked enough about the idea to take the 2 minutes a day to draw it on, I probably didn't want to look at it on my flesh for the rest of my life. Maybe I'll do it all in henna for some special occasion.
If any of you do it, now you'll have to say, "Katherine P., Personal Communication, October 20, 2000 as cited in Mary W., Mary's Great Ideas [website], November 19, 2003, retrieved November 20, 2003, available from marysgreatideas.com." or however the heck people are citing websites. To tell the truth, I've never really learned any citation style very well. I don't even really know what historians are supposed to use -- Chicago? Turabian? Is there even a difference? I hate APA. Thank god for Endnote. At least it's not like the sciences, where every journal has it's own darn style format. It's crazy!!
Maybe I'll make up my own citation style and anyone wishing to comment on my blog must submit their work formatted according to the Mary style guidelines. That would make me feel powerful! Then I could endlessly hassle people for messing it up. And I could update it every week. Maybe I'll do that. Probably not, though.
Posted by mary at November 19, 2003 12:23 PM
Comments
For Thor's sake, don't get a tattoo, unless it's the kind that costs a quarter and disintegrates pretty much on contact (traceless within two days). You strike me as being a fairly dynamic lady to have something shot into your skin that you can never alter. Oh, and as a cheerful aside, it hurts.
I have to say it's tempting to think of clever ways to foot/endnote it. I thought I was the only person who threw rages over the confusion of citing Web sites--and citing Web sites is pretty much the norm for me because I'm too lazy to go to an actual academic library*. I grew up with a newspaper writer for a mother, so I'm generally chained to the AP Stylebook, but I defected in college and went all MLA and Chicago on her ass (boy, there were some rows over that). Why can't they all just get along?
My favorite professor in college used to make us stop right before handing our term papers. She would say:
"Do you see the word it's anywhere in your papers**? If so, don't turn them in,"
as it was wrong no matter how you slice it (she being of the ilk that demands no split prepositions, contracting something like that if you meant it is and really screwing up if you meant its were Significant Crises). You may have noticed that I'm using my favorite style choice: asterisks, a la Special Offers and spam.
* Which reminds me, my (non-academic) library books are overdue. Crap and crap.
** I didn't have any it's-es in my papers. Perhaps that's why she/PSU gave me the $250 best-term-paper-of-the-year-for-an-undergraduate-in-art-history award in, what, 2000 or something. How do you pluralize it's. That's just upsetting.
Posted by: Lyza at November 19, 2003 7:52 PM
I feel a new contest coming on ...
Posted by: Mary at November 20, 2003 1:50 PM
I gotta tell you, my aunt Lissa has done cadaver dissections and witnessed how tatoo ink goes right down through whatever tissues are beneath it onto organs, bones, etc. So for instance if you get a tatoo on your boob you will end up with the ink in your lungs and heart, and lots of scar tissue too. In other words it's probably not particularly healthy - but if you're going to do it anyway, choose limbs rather than your trunk, neck, belly etc. Love, your friendly neighborhood health know-it-all.
Posted by: Rachel at November 20, 2003 4:07 PM
I think this design is really kewl. If I were to get it though, I would do a henna one around my nipple. I guess you could say that the "atom" part of it would be a nipp.
Love your design!
Posted by: Sally Anne at February 7, 2004 9:01 PM
I think this design is really kewl. If I were to get it though, I would do a henna one around my nipple. I guess you could say that the "atom" part of it would be a nipp.
Love your design!
Posted by: Sally Anne at February 7, 2004 9:01 PM
I saw a tattoo just like that today, July 16th 2005, at the Anarchist Bookfair in Providence. A very pretty girl had it inked quite big on her right shoulder. I told her about my project to have models pose in front of nuclear power plants all over the country, and completly forgot to ask her if I could take a picture of her right then and there. You wouldn't be her by any chance? I suddenly got really curious about atomic symbols used in tattoo art and landed here.
theenvironmentals (dot) com
Posted by: RemyC at July 16, 2005 8:57 PM
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