Science Tattoos - Wear What You Love

I'm used to thinking of tattoos as having more "artistic" or "aesthetic" or even "creepy" themes, but I stumbled across the book, Science Ink, by Carl Zimmer, yesterday and I have learned something new. Apparently a lot of scientists wear their enthusiasms on the sleeve--or arm--or back--or leg.

Carl Zimmer saw a scientist he respected relaxing at a pool one time and noted his tattoo. With his scientific mind, Zimmer began researching this phenomenon, and turned up a range of skin art.

There are animals represented, some living, some extinct. Some formulas, from E=mc2 and on, are gracing scientist skin. There are neurons and Tesla motors (not the car company), mass spectrometers, frog skeletons, trees of life--you name it and someone out there is wearing it.

The book is beautifully presented, and actually explains what the tattoos mean--both to the wearer and to science itself, so it's kind of an education, too. Zimmer writes the blog, The Loom, for Discover magazine online, so he knows of what he speaks, and he speaks clearly to laymen.

An extra treat is the Foreword by Mary Roach, who has written several fascinating and also hilarious books on sex, death, space travel -- from a scientific but also practical perspective. Her most recent one is Packing for Mars. I have an autographed copy from when I met her recently.

Barbie Gets Inked--Tattoo Controversy Erupts

I was fascinated to read yesterday about a new Barbie version (there have been thousands over the last half century). This one has permanent tattoos, pink hair, and a doggy in a cactus suit. The article in the Salon online contains the usual parental outrage and a very nice image (left).

I don't care much about Barbie in general, growing up a straight boy, but my wife enjoys some of the special (gorgeously dressed) Barbies and has dozens of them. There are all kinds of them, so this is just Barbie reflecting her times. Many people are tattooed today, including this writer, so it's no big deal.

The only problem could be if this were to generate thousands of nine-year-old girls seeking out places to get permanently inked. The law in California says you have to be age 18--period. Parental support and approval makes no difference. I know from personal experience that impatient teenagers become impulsive teenagers, so this could be a bad thing. You don't think long term when you're young.

But Barbie's new ink--what they show of it, looks like the fanciful images of Sailor Jerry--mermaids, cherries, hearts, (well, pistols, brass knuckles and knives are part of that aesthetic, too) and all the other images you see in Tattoo magazine every month. Nothing too odd or objectionable there.

Parents will have to deal with this. Images of tattooed movie stars are everywhere, so it's just another place where patience, calm and perspective will counter any ill effects of Barbie's new style.

Hot Tuna - Steady as She Goes

Hot Tuna, besides sounding just like the word for "wedding" in Hebrew, has always been centered around the musical synergy of it's two primary members--original Jefferson Airplane members Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady. This new CD, Steady as She Goes, is their first one in two decades, which they explain in the liner notes simply by saying "The time wasn't right yet." I'm not sure what that means, exactly, but this 12-song production is immediately satisfying.

Produced by Larry Campbell, who contributes various support instruments, and recorded at Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, NY, it has both a rustic, ambling accessibility and the burnished perfection of musicians who've honed their craft since the 1960's. With Teresa Williams' high, Grace Slick-like vocal harmonies, you'd almost think you were listening to the Airplane. That would be a good thing.

The band also includes Barry Mitterhoff on a collection of mandolins and Skoota Warner, who pushes everything along nicely with his drumming.

This is a CD that doesn't take several listens to like. I was humming pieces of it after one go-round. I'm especially taken with Jack's long bass solo on track 5, A Little Faster, and Jorma's guitar work is intensely satisfying throughout.

I'm glad I ordered the CD instead of simply downloading the music. The cover shows a variety of old photos of historical tattooed ladies--and if you look closely, they all have Hot Tuna, the album title, or Jack and Jorma's names added to their designs. The colorful front cover is a fresh take on classic Sailor Jerry tattoo images (mermaids, ships, waves and an octopus).

Mountain Tamer -- Youthful Rock

I was just stepping into Panama Red in Concord to get a cup of coffee when I met Andrew. He saw my bass tattoo and we discussed our ink. He had a detailed gramophone on his right arm, a gorgeous Canadian maple leaf on his chest near his heart, a long tableau of a night sky on his left shin, and a few smaller ones.

In any case, as he prepared a latte for me, the 19-year-old musician told me enthusiastically about his band, Mountain Tamer, and gave me his cd demo of four songs (pictured). It contained just over 12 minutes of surging, jangling songs, featuring guitar, bass and drums, with some vocals not unlike those of Robert Plant or Jim Morrison. It isn't the music I normally listen to, but it was pleasing in an intense way. It surely would entertain a group of young men and women in a club--not for dancing, but for setting the right mood. Urgent, yet laid back. Nothing sounded amiss or out of place for a band that is just playing its first gig.

There's a lot of music out there for the listening. I feel like I'm 19 myself when I pick up the bass and play with my band. And Andrew, who's about the same age as my younger son, and I shared something today.

You can find Mountain Tamer on SoundCloud. I learned about this exciting music site from Andrew, too.

Big Fun at the Tattoo Show

My wife and I had a fine afternoon attending the Body Art Expo in San Francisco this afternoon. The venue was crammed with booths full of people talking about, showing off, and, in some cases, actually applying tattoos to people. The event was friendly, fascinating and definitely worth going to, despite the $8 glasses of Coors. The photo at left shows Stevie, who graciously posed in her booth.

It was my first tattoo event. Since receiving my tattoo last December and January, I have become more interested in the art and industry of skin decoration. There was a wide range to see there--on people's bodies and in the notebooks full of their best work. At many booths, I was offered the chance to get a new tattoo right there! But--not today. I believe that permanent art needs to be thought about a long time, carefully, before an ink-filled needle hits the epidermis.

I picked up a sexy calendar from the H2Ocean company and a huge stack of business cards. You'd expect an artist to have an attractive--or memorable--card, and many of them are (see below).

My wife used the opportunity to do something she's talked about for a while--getting her nose pierced. So now she has a beautiful little sparkly spot on the left side, artfully placed by a man with multiple piercings, earrings and tattoos--who is also the owner of High Class Tattoo in Fresno, California.

A great time, and for my wife, a new adventure.

New Year, New Goals

So, it's 2011. Another year--another number. There's really no reason to do anything different just because the odometer turned over again, is there?

Well--My plan for Test Driving Life all along has been to go beyond automotive test drives. Yes, I've been writing them weekly for 19 years this month, it's true. You can find them in the San Leandro Times, Castro Valley Forum, Tri-City Voice, Autowire.net, and other places--as well as here. But I have always believed that if you can test drive a car, you can test drive anything. How about a bottle of wine? A sunrise? A concert? A tattoo? (see below).

So, for 2011, I will put up something every day. It may be a photo of something that means something to me or struck my fancy. Or, it could be my thoughts about something that's happening in the world. Or--it may even be a car review.

My Tattoo

On December 4, I went into Everlasting Tattoo in San Francisco to get my two basses permanently drawn on my left arm. The photo at the left shows my first tattoo after five days, when the initial swelling is gone.

Why would I do this?

Until quite recently, I believed that tattoos were favored only by sailors, who, on a drunken leave, staggered into a tiny tattoo parlor in some foreign port. Or, they were popular with motorcycle gang members, with Harley-Davidson marked in ink somewhere on their bodies. In more recent years, I’ve seen a lot of teenage girls getting “tramp stamps”—permanent decorations to fill the area between their waists and rear cleavage left open by dramatic, low slung pants designs. I certainly have never identified with or particularly been interested in any of those ink customers.

That all changed when my son, Cameron, got a beautiful tattoo done on his chest. We paid for it as an 18th birthday gift and high school graduation commemoration. I was so impressed by the work of Doug Hansen, the artist, that I commissioned him to do one for me.

I took in a sketch and Doug created a very quick drawing from it--already improving it tremendously (see left). He later sent me another, more finished drawing. I felt it needed its proportions changed, and he sent a third drawing. That was the one we used as a basis for my actual tattoo. In fact, Doug used a method of transferring the art directly to my arm to use as a pattern.



The drawing to the left shows the final artwork before going it was applied to my arm. I enjoyed looking at this image over and over while waiting impatiently for the day when it would become part of me.

The process of being tattooed is pretty simple. You lie down (or sit--depending on the part being worked on). The artist cleans and shaves the area. Then, he or she applies the design--or at least Doug did. The artist could work freehand. Then, he or she uses an electric needle tool to etch the design into your skin.

Yes, it hurts--but the pain is manageable, and with the release of endorphins, you begin to separate from it. My tattoo took about 2-1/2 hours to apply after the initial preparation.

Afterwards, you wear plastic wrap over it for a few hours, then begin applying A&D ointment for a few days, then switch to skin lotion. The important thing is to avoid picking at the tiny scabs that appear so you don't lose any of the image.

I love my tattoo, and am scheduled to go back next month to have more detail and some color applied to the instruments.