Tattoos

I was thinking of getting a tattoo. Turning thirty soon. Nae bothered about getting older - I always figure another year on the count is grand if you've done a year's worth of stuff, and this have has been a very good year. Thirty is still significant, though - by common cultural agreement if nothing else. God knows there's none too few finding the very idea of me reaching such a benchmark hilarious. You know who you are.

So, the tattoo thing. Marking this significant event by marking myself. Still not sure if I'll do it, but if I do, I was thinking one of these:

They're chinese characters, obviously. They mean 'honour'. Outdated concept, maybe? Certainly not a word you hear every day - I think it's a good one.

There are dictionary definitions, obviously. I like a more up-front approach. How about being able to look yourself in the eye? Knowing you've done the right thing, behaved in the right manner. Done your best. I've got this theory. Half-baked, one might call it, but go with me.

When you study something, it's generally useful to have a comparison. So, with Sociology and Psychology - things I spent sometime at Uni with - we often looked at Western socities as opposed to Eastern. In basic terms, individualistic vrs a more societal focus. What does that mean to us?

Personal services are on the increase: psychologists, life coaches, social workers. We've got a plethora of programmes on TV around child care - isn't that all indicative of the way we live now? Without contact with your neighbours, no large family groups. No 'herd' back-up. Now, I don't argue against that. I think it's great that there's such a drive towards personal development, but do we have to lose our focus on the group, the whole as well?

And that's where honour comes in. Personal honour. It's mine - it's part of my development, part of me. By its very nature, however, it holds responsiblity (another dirty word these days, it seems) for the group. A requirement to do my best for others.

I think there's quite a nice balance there. Maybe it's not such a half-baked theory, after all.

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I don't have a link for this, but it's from New Scientist. Apparently, we're not allowed Googling any more!

FWSEing

SO WHAT'S this "FWSEing", you ask? Lawyers for a famous web search engine (FWSE) beginning with G have been sending out letters to remind publications that we must not use their trademarked name as a verb, lest we "dilute" it and turn it into an ordinary English word that nobody can sue over. So we shan't. "Foosieing" it is from now on. I FWSE, thou FWSEest, she, he or it FWSEies...

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Have a good one,

C