Richard Cohen is a Buddhist? Color me surprised.

And during Celtic times.

They're not that common, actually.

Just ask most Pacific Islanders who are really old, they could tell you stories.

@4 - Tattoos may have stopped being cool 5 years ago. Right about when it became cool to brag about not having a tattoo.

*rolls eyes*

1- even dumberer is quibbling over grammar avoiding the main point that tattos are dumb

2 - "Tattoos don't have to have "family significance". Also dumberer: mis-stating what @11 said.

3 - And then you don't know how to use quote marks yourself. Tsk tsk. Thou art hypocrit.

4 - the art work is fantastic -- sure it is.

Please note all tatooed people: they're ugly; they're odd; if that's why you did it you get a pass if u r in denial pls. wake up.

5. Name one famous painting or statue or person widely held to be good lookin' who's got a prominent tatoo.

6. oh please please hope I used apostophe's correctly. Oops dammit I didn't !! Arrggg'ggh.

Angelina motherfucking Joile.

As for me, I have the Cross of St. George on my upper right bicep as a testament to my support for England football, also because I am half English. It's sedate, hidden and reflects one of the great passions of my life. Sorry I'm a loser, but I'll try to survive nonetheless.

tattoos are a form of personal expression, they hold meaning for the tattooed only, and they are aesthetic in nature, in short they are subjective. calling them ugly is ridiculous as is disparaging another persons culture or mode of self-expression.

finally, yes tattoos are odd, but are most of the clothing choices humans make. people do tons of weird stuff to their bodies.

AND. SHUT. THE. FUCK. UP.

Passing judgment on what people do with their bodies is pretty lame. And something i thought only right wing fundies did.

Is Mr Cohen's next essay on the cultural relevance of Seinfeld?

All of my tattoos have personal, and professional significance - to me, in addition to being interesting images in and of themselves, and that's really all I care about.

So, yeah. What @ 23 said.

Besides, everybody KNOWS it's the people putting RF chips and magnetic nodules under their skin, or getting their penis split in two who are the real "sure losers" for whom Mr. Cohen should be concerned. 'Cause in 10 or 15 years, HR Depts. will have already struck out the paragraphs about visible tats & piercings being against "dress code" from the employee handbook.

He wasn't so concerned with the sanctity of permanence when he was having an affair with Peter Jennings' wife I guess.

Oh well, he may think "Israel is a mistake", but at least he agrees with the orthodoxy on one point.

So I'm unlikely to miss it.

If one doesn't understand the powers and principles of branding in today's society, fartf, one needs to be very careful one isn't completely taken advantage of by the darker forces of marketing and it propagandists. Knowledge is power, old bean...

@14 - I'm not saying that ALL tattoos have artistic value. Most don't. But some do. Why do you even care? Why would you argue with your friends that have them? It doesn't affect you one bit.

Do you know for a fact he cannot read or write? That he cannot speak? He captained England under three managers -- all of whom, as different as they are, would certainly agree that being less than a compelling speaker and persuader of men in the dressing room is not on. Judging by the evidence, I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt that you seem unable to.

I do go wobbly for football. I'm a sucker for a beautiful pass. For a last-gasp winner. For a set piece that converts to a brilliant goal or an outrageous save. I have to to watch some games at home because I know I'll tear up when my team wins a major game. You want to see a blubbering mess? Roll tape on 28 September 2004 when a young Rooney debuted for Manchester United and scored a hat trick. I live vicariously through those men because I'll never achieve that level of greatness; I am overcome with emotion because I can only dream of such things. And I make no apologies for that.

So yeah, I go gooey for Becks, who was practically run out of England after the Argentina red card and then, through sheer force of what I see as great character, came back to lead his team and country to important victories. Character counts for me. If his voice is squeaky, I could care less.

I get it. We disagree. You be you, and let me be me.

I'm tattooed pretty much everywhere, including the back of my head and around my jawline.

It is generally agreed I have a nice style about me and that I am adorable.

and yes, you seem cuddly and family-friendly. very good housekeeping and all that. :-)

1. My argument about Brand Beckham was that it takes more sense than you were giving him to achieve and maintain what he has done. That includes the sense to hire and retain the right people to do most of the work. I am not commenting on the good/bad/ugly of the pursuit, merely the fact he's not a dunce.

2. We may have some similarities, fnarf, but my impression of you is "brutal absolutist" and me, beneath a rather fragile layer of mean candy-coating, have a whipped nougat core of squishy consensus building. I kind of want more people to like me than not, and I sense you wouldn't care if the entire world hated you.

I'm going to dinner.

You're TEARING ME APART!