Discovering Lileks....

James Lileks

It seems that every time we mentioned tattoos negatively on the air, someone yelps. Apparently, it's a sensitive subject for some people. Now, hear me out; I'm not asserting that tattooing is a sin, or that you can't be a good Christian and have one. I just don't get the allure.

And apparently I'm not alone. My co-host, Darren Marlar, clued me in to the delights of the writings of Minneapolis Star Tribune columnist James Lileks, and I love what he has to say about tattoos:

"Let me be clear: I do not favor banning tattoo parlors. I do not favor stoning people with inky flesh, or herding them into pens, or encouraging anyone to shout FIE when they see someone who has decided to engrave his facial epidermis with a spider web for the rest of his mortal days. Whatever. Live and let live. It's your body. But after my last trip to the State Fair, I really wonder what people are thinking. …

"I'm not talking about the classics — the anchor tattoo, an emblem of service, a heart with MOM, or any other small embellishments of your biceps' terrain. I mean the florid decorations at the base of the spine, the spiky tribal symbols around the neck, the elaborate tableaux on the back that look like you were horribly burned by an old YES album cover. … All I'm trying to say it this: I know you're trying to tell us something, but it's really not coming across too clearly. Perhaps if you wrote it down on a piece of paper and handed it out, we'd get it."

Read the rest of the article here.

And check out Lileks on school truancy:

"I like this idea of taking away kids' driving licenses if they're chronically truant, but of course I would; I'm securely in the get-off-my-yard demographic, and anything that keeps these whippersnappers from speeding around snapping their whippers is as jack-dandy as cold sarsparilla and some horehound candies, by Gum. I live close to a school, and shortly after the last bell sounds they blast through the neighborhood full of youth's delusional conviction that there cannot possibly be a car coming in the opposite direction around the corner, and no child ever strays into the streets. One day I actually shook my fist after one. Nothing, and I mean nothing, makes you feel as impotent and coot-like as shaking your fist at a carriage full of heedless youth. I went right inside and changed into Depends."

Funny! I love his way with words. Oh, you can read the rest of the truancy article here, and/or check out Lileks' blog.

Longlasting celebrity marriages revisited...


Oft-wed Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, who she married twice

I love getting comments on my blog, but it happens infrequently, and even less frequently does something spark a discussion by more than a few readers.

So I was a bit surprised when my post yesterday--"Longlasting celebrity marriages--an oxymoron?" triggered some great comments.

Scott, AKA The Crusty Curmudgeon, pointed out a few more enduring Hollywood unions--"...don't forget George Burns and Gracie Allen (38 years), or Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy (52 years), or Paul and Linda McCartney (29 years). For all his other faults, McCartney says he and Linda were never apart except for one night. (On the other hand, he was spending that night in jail!"

From Tina: "...it's a sad state of affairs. So many young people today look up to those in Hollywood and what kind of example is being set?"

Rodney pointed out that Hollywood stars are accustomed to having everything done for them: "Marriage isn't like that. Marriage only works when we are prepared to put the other person first and look after their needs. Most of us find that difficult but many of us have reaped the rewards of working through issues that need to be worked through."

From author Jeri Massi:
"I think you and your colleague may have missed the difference about the culture of Hollywood----that which is sacred to the American public is retained, but it is redefined into something that is entirely different from what middle-class Americans would recognize or accept."

Do take a moment to read everyone's comments if you can.