Moderately Confused by Jeff Stahler for May 22, 2021

Me neither.

I think that’s honestly the only thing that’s stopped me getting one.

True story. Got a tat loooong ago that was the Kanji (Japanese symbols) for “fighting spirit” (Tukon). Didn’t realize that the Japanese heavily borrowed symbols from China and modified most of them. Mine excluded. Was at a Chinese restaurant when the waiter inquired if I wanted a job. Slightly confused, I asked why. “Your tattoo! It clearly says. ‘GOOD COOK’ in Chinese!” After a small discussion, I discovered the symbol (Kanji/word) for “warrior, fighter, etc.” in Japan is translated as “Cook, chef, etc.” in China. The symbol for “spirit” in Japan (“steadfast attitude, perseverance”) is “proficient, accomplished” in Chinese. Thus, you’d better be sure of what you are getting when you get a tat in a foreign language. The misunderstandings can be comic, or perhaps lead to employment opportunities.

Why debase something that actually comes from cultures where tattoos are culturally significant?

After her third surgery for ovarian cysts, my friend had a zipper tattooed across the incision site!

In the 1950’s I learned that there were two major language forms in China: Cantonese and Mandarin, but also that there were over 80K different dialects across both areas and that Chinese glyphs varied to match. Attempts to make Mandarin the standard were imposed by the government but with so many millions of people spread across such a wide area, I wonder how much each influenced the other over time.

Get a tattoo of your bucket list, along with a little square by each one for the tattoo artist to check as they get done. You may not live to see the final one checked off, but at least you had fun trying.

“I am the Lord’s,” they’ll proudly say … and tattoo upon their hands the name of God …

Isaiah 44:5

You, I don’t think that reason has stopped 75% of the people with tattoos from getting them.

Good for you, friend!

How about a mermaid with butterfly wings?

And vice versa. No tattoo is worth carrying around your whole life.

I know what I want, but without the proper physique, it would look ridiculous. And every time I would start to see progress in the gym, I’d pull something, and have to stop for months.

Yeah, I think that can be said about tattoos for everybody.

My niece, who got a small tattoo on her ankle, is now in the process of getting it removed. I wonder, as they get older, how many people are going to regret getting tattoos that they can’t afford to get removed.

I’m so unique I got a tattoo!