An Introspective Retrospective of a Prospective Genius

More Tattoo Pictures

Here are more pictures of me in the throes of getting my new tattoo.

An early sketch phase

Me in the midst of Tattoofest

A top-down view of the tattoo fun

Pam, the kick ass tattoo artist, and some loser

Tattoofest

Generally, I'm afraid of crowds, loud events, confusion and trusting myself with new people when in the previously mentioned situations. So, what did I do last night? I went to Tampa's 7th annual Tattoofest with my newly hired rockin' assistant of one week. Was it crowded? Oh yeah, it was wall to wall tattoo people. Was it loud? You bet, it was a rockin' kick ass tattoofest! It was everything that I normally wouldn't do, which is one very big reason why I decided that I had to go. I'm really trying to push the envelope on things that would usually freak me out. Of course, I didn't go just for the experience and the really hot gothed out tattoo girls (though they never hurt). I went to get my second and most ambitious tattoo...

I've had the idea for this tattoo for awhile, but the level of detail required a really good artist. If this tattoo went bad, it would be REALLY bad. So, I figured Tattoofest would be a good place to find someone who could handle it. It, it, "what the fuck is it, man?" some are probably asking... It's an image from Tori Amos' Spark video. Aside from the disturbingly beautiful visual imagery, I totally dig the metaphor behind the video. After a miscarriage, Tori battled an incredibly dark period of depression, but eventually realized that if she was ever going to feel better, she would have to dig her way out of the hole herself. She saw that nobody could "make" her feel better, that only she could fix her situation. So, the video depicts Tori blindfolded with her wrists bound behind her back, running through the woods, fleeing the wrecked vehicle of her kidnapper. My tattoo is an image from the video in which she's swimming across a little stream, just before freeing herself from the blindfold. It's an awesome video and a very cool metaphor. I don't get tattoos just because they look cool, I like something with a good story/metaphor behind it.

Here's the scene from the video.

Here's the actual tattoo.

The whole process took about 3 hours, but I'm really happy with how it turned out. Pam, the tattoo artist, said right from the start that she could pull it off and she totally did. I'll post more pictures later.

Ripley's Life

Since nobody seems to want to discuss whether or not Ripley's life had purpose or meaning, I'm simply going to write up my thoughts in true losery style.

First, I've decided that Alien 3 is my overall favorite of the trilogy. I love Alien 3's unflinching hopelessness and religious symbolism (religious symbolism is usually pretty fun, except in the Matrix where it was painfully bad. I still have nightmares of that kid screaming, "He saved us!"). Though, the unflinching hopelessness is possibly why the movie isn't widely the most popular. I think what I like best about Alien 3 is that it seems kind of like a labor of love, rather than a grab for box office cash. I feel like they told the story they wanted to tell, whether it would make people happy or not. Nobody walked into the theater thinking, "Okay, at the end, I really hope they kill Ripley, because that would ROCK!," but they did it anyway! I love that sort of "screw the fans, this is my story" sentiment. Hence my delight in Alien 3, or something like End of Evangelion, the second most depressing anime movie I've ever seen. As I write this, I'm thinking again about the ending of the Matrix trilogy and how one COULD compare the depiction of Neo's end to the depiction of Ripley's end. Sure, they're both martyrs and die to save others, but there's one BIG difference between the two. Ripley's death isn't sugar-coated with punch in the face Christian symbolism. The ending credits may as well have said, "NEO IS JESUS, GG N00B!" That's just a weak use of the craft, it gives no credit to the audience and their ability to interpret artistry. But back to Ripley and whether or not her life, struggle and death were meaningless...

Despite the fact that she never managed to protect anyone around her, when one considers life as a big picture, sacrificing herself to ensure that a queen alien never reached the whole of mankind gave her life meaning. She killed not one, but two queens, effectively wiping out the species and permanently protecting the universe from possible demise. That's a tortured life, but not a meaningless life.

Of course, Alien: Resurrection obliterates the previous paragraph, but Alien: Resurrection doesn't count.

V is for Very Boring Movie

I won't waste much time on this, because I don't feel that the situation warrants such. Thus, in the spirit of brevity, I say the following.

If you dig movies in which heavy handed political/social commentary is delivered to the viewer like a punch in the the face, completely bereft of any style, symbolism or artistry, please go see V for Vendetta. If you dig pseudo-intellectual and oversimplifed concepts discussed ad nauseum with no real purpose, again I implore you to see V. If you love Natalie Portman and her inability to act her way out of Junior High drama club, V will give meaning and joy to your entire year. If compelling visual elements in film make you uncomfortable, V is the answer to your cinematic prayers. If any of the previous rings true, by all means means, slam down your $9, sit back and prepare for the Goddamned ride of your life. V for Vendetta will deliver!

Ellen Ripley - A Meaningless Life?

Let's pretend that Alien: Resurrection doesn't exist and all we have is the Alien trilogy that ends in Ripley's death. Was Ellen Ripley's life and death generally meaningless? She dies, but not before everyone around her meets their sticky end, so does any of her struggle really matter? I've been thinking about this since I just watched all 4 Alien movies in the last few days. I have my own opinion, but I'd really like some others. A little sci-fi based philosophical discussion is always fun.