Extra Credit: Poetry Reading

discussing what work of poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction stuck with you and why.

The work that stuck with me the most was man in high heels. Well of course the title would stick out to me but the story was entertaining as well. He took us on an adventure though his life, though sad times and funny times. I feel like if I saw that as a book or even an article in a magazine or paper i would pick it up and read it. His descriptions were well written and I could visualize him walking down a hallway with on floors and as he walks by a classroom the classroom stares because of the clacking of his cowboy boots. He skipped over parts in the story, most likely due to time but I would like to read the whole thing. 

blog post 15

In this final blog posting of the semester, I'd like you to reflect on your progress throughout the course. What do you feel you have really improved on within the fifteen weeks? What do you still struggle with? Explain. (Consequently, the answers to these questions can pertain to your writing process, the way you conduct research, organizational skills, critical reading skills, or whatever else you can think of). Lastly, provide a suggestion or several suggestions for how the class could be conducted more efficiently in the future. Is there an assignment you think could be reworked? Would you have benefited from more conferences? Less conferences? Etc. etc.

I feel I have gotten better on my writing in general and getting my ideas on paper because, before i came to this class it was really difficult for me to do that. I had trouble staying focused when given readings. I find that when I try to read something like that I can get done with a chapter or story or even paragraph and not remember what I read. I feel like I would be more motivated to do blog postings if it wasn't about our topic. There was one blog posting I really enjoyed and it had nothing to do with our mini-ethnography or our subculture, it told us to describe a "special place". I feel if you did more blog posting not pertaining to the mini-ethnography people would be more enthusiastic. I think another problem was, was after a while all the blog postings started to sound the same and I had to ask myself  "didn't I already do this posting"? As for the conferences, I thought these were great. For me one on one time with a teacher is important. I feel like you should have conferences after ever rough draft for your class it really helped me a lot.

in-class cut ups

The day started off with stretching, then jumped straight into the most intense part of the whole process./ Coming to college I wasn't sure if I should expect the same thing, or with so many varieties of people at Ball State./ I had my friend/co-worker Travis sitting next to me driving the cart./ he told me something that I have wanted to hear my whole life… HE WENT TO WOODSTOCK!

Blog post 13

My research had gotten the better of me I wanted a tattoo, and from talking about it all the time my roommate, Abby did too.We both hopped in her car to try to find a parlor open at 9 PM. We drove to Dragonslayer (knowing they do terrible tattoos). When walking into Dragonslayer it was dark, the walls were painted black, right as you walk in the door you hear the humming of a tattoo needle grazing human skin, and right in front of you is a display case of piercing jewelry and their front counter. They were overpriced and were incredibly rude. We left and went to a different parlor. The tattoo shop was located in the oddest place, right above Jimmy Johns. As we walk in from downstairs the walls were bright It could almost be an apartment. The owner welcomes us and is enthusiastic about our ideas. He printed up designs and called us back. As I walk down the short hallway to the tattoo room my heart beats faster, my adrenaline is pumping through my veins, and i have a pit in my stomach. as soon as I was in the chair it all went away

writing quote

"I am a better writer when put under pressure"
-I am a procrastinator but if I am in a time crunch and I need to get it done all my focus is on that instead of getting side tracked and starting and stopping, you lose thoughts that way.

Way back in week one I asked you folks to discuss a paper you had written for a previous class and your writing process. Now, in week eleven, I'd like to hear about your writing process again. Has your writing process changed since we started this course? If so, how? Did any particular assignments give you trouble (both in terms of the type of assignment and how it might have conflicted with your specific writing process)? Were any assignments unexpectedly easy? And now, the million dollar (somewhat philosophical) question: Why do you write (aside from it's a requirement of this class and higher education in general)? What role does writing play in your life? What role do you think writing will play in your future (in terms of a career, family, etc.)?

My writing process really hasn't changed much I still procrastinate and it takes what feels like years to get one idea from my head into words on paper. No assignment really gave me any trouble, I enjoyed the first one for the most part, the annotated bibliography wasn't really hard just tedious and time consuming. When I was younger I used to write all the time. I wrote poems (not very good ones) I felt it was a release of anything I was feeling. However, as I became a more serious visual artist I left writing behind and never really looked back. I never really had a passion for writing but every once and a while I feel the urge to tell a story. I actually wrote a graphic novel for one of my classes last semester.In the future I probably wont find myself sitting at a desk writing the next big novel but probably sitting at the dinner table with my kid helping them write. Since I am interested in tattooing as a profession I probably wont write a lot. However, if I become an art teacher I might write more. I lost the love I had for writing when I was younger through school and being forced to write papers on awful topics such as how a layout of a mall can convey spiritual meaning BORING!

In class

My Grandma and my dad's step-sister are the drama queens of my family. My grandmother well in her 60's and my dad's stepsister, probably 30 or 40's both have facebooks. However, they do not use it for the social aspect of facebook they use it to spy mostly on my cousins and I. I said "fuck" one day on facebook and they called my parents. I am 18 leagally an adult, can vote, buy cigarettes, and I am in college I am pretty sure that I can say fuck without getting in-trouble. On holidays they will gossip to everyone about everything even if that person is still in the room.

tattooing glossary

sleeve- a tattoo (or multiple tattoos) that covers the entire arm
tramp stanmp- a tattoo on the lower middle back
ink- refers to a tattoo "I'm getting ink done."
prison tattoo- I tattoo done in prison using items such as a staple, soap, and newspaper ink.

here are some I found online

Tattoo Equipment
Gun - term for tattoo machine used primarly by scratchers and loathed by artists.
Irons - term of affection for tattoo machine used by artists.
Works - needles and tubes.
Tattooing Slang
Carving - as in carving out some PHAT lines.
Slinging Ink - hopefully not too much slinging!
Pounding Skin - another term makes it sound much worse than it is.
Grinding - grind out some tribal.
Kickin' it Into Third - picking up the speed on the fill cause they know you can handle it.
Know You're Getting a Tattoo - doing the underside of the arm!
Airbrushing - when the ink sprays all over your pants.
Tight - as in phat, tight tattoo work.
Tattoo Customers and Browsers
Wrastler - one who faints and comes up fighting.
B-Back - the customer who says, "I gotta run to the ATM, I'll be back" right at closing time and never returns.
Cadaver - customer who refuses to talk to the artist during the entire process.
Human Larva - small children running around the tattoo shop.
Showcase - the customer who wears extensive amounts of an artist's work.
Meat - Locals who frequent the tattoo shop and always have a fresh piece still healing
Geeking - Acting without thinking how stupid you will be.
Tenderfoot - self explanatory.
Michaelangelo - the customer who asks for "victory red", "infantry blue", or "purple passion" and tells the artist where and how to shade.
Yo-Man - Potential customer who walks in the studio saying, "Yo man, I got $20. What can I get?" or "Yo man, I NEED a tattoo. What should I get?"
Dealers - Potential clients who little to wheal and deal on the price of their tattoo, and try to bid the artist down like they're at an auction.
Closers - people that KNOW you close at 10 p.m. and take your last customer at 9, but walk in at 9:30 expecting you to stay to do a three hour piece.
Other Slang Expressions
Goo - as in "put this goo on a couple times a day...".
Pussyball - tennis ball given to the customer who won't stop whining.
Squicked - grossed out, disgusted as in being squicked about your new piercing because it looks like it hurt.
http://tattoo.about.com/cs/tatfaq/a/tat_slang.htm

blog post 10

Although I know we are still concentrating on the research proposal assignment, now might be a good time to begin thinking about the shape or structure of your mini-ethnography. So, what structure do you plan on using for your mini-ethnography? How do you plan to begin? Will you start by profiling a specific informant? Will you talk about your interest in the subculture or your place within it? How might you proceed through the paper? Will you take the reader chronologically through your research process? Will you create sections based on themes, focal points, observations, etc? How do you think you might conclude the piece? Finally, why do you think that the particular structure you've chosen (or might choose) will be the best for what you want to do?

For the beginning of my mini-ethnography I really feel I need to start with the history and the meaning behind tattoos. I think I will create themes such as history, stereotypes, today with tattoos, and getting a job with tattoos, however through out the whole thing I think profiling my informants to back up evidence i found and be able to use quotes from them. I feel like concluding the piece with what I feel about tattoos now and how this research has changed me. I think starting with the history is the best place to start esspecially with tattoos so the reader understands everything behind tattoos. Then, after the reader knows the history I will pick out the themes of each section (not sure what that is yet) but then I can talk about each subject in-depth a lot easier. Ending with how this has changed me can be the closing its the final chapter in this journey I have taken through learning more about this sub-culture. 

in class movie 2

1. I would have gone to other towns such as "bordertowns" near canada of mexico rather than focus on a couple rural towns. I also would have visited all coasts. I would have interviewed a more variety of people: women, different races, people from the city and rural areas. I liked the part in the documentary that would take a commonly used word in one part of the area and take it to another part and people would have no idea what it meant i.e. "gumband". I have never heard it called "gumband" before.

2. Groups that are under represented are women and people of other race categories than white. I felt like groups that were in more rural areas were over represented just because they most likely have a thicker accent as opposed to groups in big cities. To make the study more appealing I would have visited more places put music in and not only talked about their accents but lifestyle as well.

3. Language can be crucial. In my high school I perceived people with sort of a "red-neck" accent to be less intelligent. Language can reveal a lot about a person in terms of stereotypes such as if i heard a "southern accent" or what I will call an "Indiana southern accent" which would be called a "redneck" here I would see them as a republican, conservative, drives a truck, goes hunting, racist, listens to country music. However if I heard a real southern accent such a one from South Carolina I would perceive them as hospitable, polite, proper.

Blog post 9

This week I want you to take a step back from your research and do a reflection on the research process thus far. What has been the hardest thing? What has been the easiest? If you could start over again, what would you do differently? How has keeping a blog helped you track your research process? How do you think it will help you in preparing your mini-ethnography?

The hardest part of this process was finding information especially on-line. If I could do this again, I would have gotten my interviews earlier. Although I have been to tattoo parlors multiple time I have never really sat down and talked to an artist about what tattooing was about, about the stereotypes, getting a job with tattoos. I wish that when I have gone to get my tattoos I would have talked with them about that more.  Everyday I write differently so if I am in need of new wording in a paper I can look back to how i described something or the way I worded it I has helped me keep almost a personal journal of my "mini-ethnography journey". 

in class

1. In this scene my informant and I are in the study lounge. We are sitting on the couches both pulling all nighters our eyes are puffy showing lack of sleep. We go out to have a cigarette and then go back in the study lounge to conduct the interview. My informant is a peer, a friend, a smoker, and a fellow insider of this subculture.

2. Music is a heavy influence on my informant along with his family's lifestyle. Along with the family influencing him it is exactly what influenced me to get a tattoo. I felt the only reason I had the power relationship over him was because I was the interviewer.

3. He speaks well, he will joke around, he hardly pauses you know he. The tone when talking to him about the reason behind his tattoo, I know he was serious but he covered it up with a sarcastic overtone. The emphasis was on stereotyping in our interview.

in-class

why will reader care?

they will care because directly or indirectly they are involved with the subculture even knowing a person with tattoos could intrigue a reader.

what will my reader want/need to know about issue?

the stereotypes, the artistic side, the history everything

what do my readers already know about this issue?

unless they are part of the culture they probably don't have the personal experience  but watching shows like LA Ink where the costumers will tell their reasons behind their tattoos which i think helps the people of today that might be against it to understand why getting a tattoo can be so important to a person.

what do I want my readers to learn about my subculture?

how people can be treated awful just for displaying their artwork

if I am trying to persuade my readers of something how easily will they be persuaded?

I wont pursued a person to get a tattoo cause that is absurd but to understand why people get them and not to judge then unjustly just because they have tattoos

what will my readers use my writing for?

an insight through an insiders eyes.

Blog post 8

For this week I want you to answer the following questions: What is the main theme you see through your research? In talking with some members of your community, does that theme seem to run through the fieldsite as well? As of today, eight weeks into this project, what is your place in the subculture? Is it similar or different to where you were eight weeks ago? What changed?

I feel like the main theme in my research are the stereotypes that go along with tattoos and the way society looks at a person with then. Whether it is our parents, future employers, or just those that are just not a fan of the art people with tattoos are treated differently. However, my personal feeling is that tattoos have become such an accepted form of art in my generation that tattoos will not be looked down upon as much as they are in society right now. In talking with a friend who has a tattoo he said he doesn't feel stereotyped for having a tattoo mostly because it is hidden under his shirt however, he has his lip pierced and said he felt like people looked at him like a "degenerate" or "trouble in society". The stereotyping theme does not really come through at a tattoo parlor because normally people who are in there are getting tattoos and appreciate the art.

After 8 weeks of research it all got a little too much for me to handle and I had to return to the tattoo chair. I am still an insider in this subculture, the only thing that really changed are my aspirations. Since I am an art student, I am considering an apprenticeship with a local tattoo parlor. This subculture has fascinated me so much I feel like I want to, no, have to be around it everyday I want to help create this beautiful art form.

in-class

Wallet

Did she buy it here?

It kinda reminds me of mine.

vera Bradley?

I think its vera Bradley

Why those colours?

Was it a gift?

How much was it. expensive I bet

Doesn’t look like she keeps a lot.

Well organized

Questions:

 

1. Why did you choose a vera Bradley wallet?

Roommate jenny gave it to my plastice thing gave.

 

2. Why did you choose those colours?

brighter

 

3. only has ID in it.

Value

Yeah have a bag too wouldn’t spend the money on it though.

Why do you have two keys.

One to my room one to my chello locker.

How long have you been playing the chello?

7 years.

 

 

 

            When observing her wallet it reminded me of every other wallet that I have seen on campus so I wonder why did she choose a Vera Bradley wallet? Why did she choose those specific colours? Was it maybe a gift? When I interviewed her I found out it was a gift because like every other college student her crappy red “wallet” Ball State gives you at the beginning of the year broke. I feel her pain that is why I went out and bought a heavy duty Vera Bradley wallet. She explained to me that she probably would have liked to have a brighter coloured walled as opposed to the dull blue and brown one. However, a free wallet is a free wallet especially when those are not cheap. She held up her wallet and showed me the only thing in her wallet was her ID which compared to my mess of a wallet was unbelievable. The she pointed out that she had two keys that look like dorm keys. She told me that one of her keys is for her room and the other is for her cello locker. I asked her how long she has been playing and as she counted on her fingers she said 7 years.

            Some points could be kind of awkward when I ran out of things to say but towards the end we stared to veer off in conversation that helped me better get to know her. I did okay it was sort of a choppy interview because I didn’t really know what to ask but towards the end I think I started to do better.

 

 

 

 

 

Blog post 7

By now you should have visited your site at least once (if not a few times), interviewed one or two people (or at least set-up interviews for the not-too-distant future), and gathered some research. Now I want you to start thinking about the benefits of fieldwork and what you can give back to your chosen culture/subculture by doing your research. So, what can you give back to your community? You should know a good deal at this point, so what does your community need that you can provide them? What is your contribution (to the community, to our class, to your own education)? Think about it and post on your blogs.

I believe with my mini-ethnography i can pull the subculture of tattoos out of that stereotype of prisoners and gang members and bikers (or at least try) and show people that tattooing is an art and a beautiful one. What can I give back? I can give back information on what a tattoo can really mean to someone. I can tell them my own personal story.They need my information on what tattooing is really about. The contribution to my class is to give them the information they need to better understand this subculture. To my own education is to better educate myself on how I can be a better artist and how to possibly someday make a career out of this.

Survey

Tattooing Survey :]

http://FreeOnlineSurveys.com/rendersurvey.asp?sid=ki7kbx7tvjrhdus550090

first impression of cultural site:

When first walking into a tattoo parlor I was getting a piercing done but sitting next to me was a guy getting a tattoo done. I asked him if it hurt? But knowing better than that by looking at all of his other tattoos I knew this one probably didnt faze him one bit and he answered with an assumed "no". On the other hand going with my friend from back home to get her first tattoo was completely different. I ask her the same question and she answers "yes! it fucking hurts!" When ever walking into a tattoo parlor to have something done or just watch I always get adrenaline I get excited but hidden there is an anxious knot in the pit of my stomach. However, that is usually gone by the time I sit in the chair or start to watch the needle hit the skin.

Although I have gotten a tattoo, watched people get tattoos, and done research on tattooing, I am still an outsider to what an artist actually does to prepare for a tattooing session. How do they determine how big or small it should be? What do they use to draw it out? Freehand? Stencil? how do they prepare the tattooing utensil and needles?

how am I an outsider?

Blog post 6

Very simple for this week: Locate two sources, read them, and post an annotation for each, just like we discussed in class. So, provide the citation (i.e. how the source would be documented on a works cited page), one paragraph summarizing the source (remember, if it's a research study you need to show how the authors got their results, what their results were, and why the did the study), and a second paragraph explaining how you will use the source in your mini-ethnography.

Hudson, Karen. "Tuscon Weekly Gets Ugly."About.com 18 July 2000:2.pag.8 Feb. 2009 <http://tattoo.about.com/cs/articles/a/tucson_weekly.htm>

This article is about a writer in Arizona that has a negative view on tattoos. He does not believe that people with tattoos fit into a modern day society. He also throws out many stereotypes that are often connected to people with tattoos especially in women.

This article will become of good use in my mini-ethnography when talking about the stereotypes that people face when making the decision to get tattooed. It also gives me a radical outsider insight on why people are so against tattooing.

Vanishingtattoo.com. 2009. The Vanishing Tattoo. 18 Feb. 2009

Although at first this website does not look very professional, as you look though it you find it has much to offer. The website contains much information about the history, culture, facts, and news about tattoos. Also within the website is an online tattoo history museum.

This website can help me in many ways when I go to write my mini-ethnography. The section of this website that i feel will help me a lot is the culture aspect of tattooing seeing as how that is what I am writing about. In this section of the website it talks about "the rituals and social significance of tattooing in cultures around the world". Within this it contains information about anywhere from gangs to media and advertising to military to religious body art.

Box #18

The focal point in my fieldsite would be the tattoo chair. Walking into the tattoo parlor to get a tattoo is an exciting thing and a right of passage for some. However, when the tattooist is done setting up equipment and they call you in, the first thing you see is that chair, it is the kind of feeling you get when you step into the dentists office. The doctor will call you in and you focus on the chair you do not know what to expect when you sit down, will i have a cavity? Do I brush well enough? Does my dentist know what he/she is doing? This feeling is the same for a tattoo parlor. Not knowing what to expect when getting a tattoo is a rush. Many people who don't have tattoo's including myself before I got one would often ask the tattoo community what it felt like? Did it hurt? However, you would never get the same answer from everyone. Some would say it didn't hurt at all some would say it was worse than child-birth and others were less radical and would say it was painful yet tolerable. So, when approaching this chair, and sitting in it a million questions run through your mind, will it hurt? Is my tattoo artist experienced? Is he/she gentle with the needle or do they press harder than normal? Or is this really what I want to do? Do I want this on my body forever? As a person with personal experience with getting a tattoo, this is the way I felt and I also feel like it is almost impossible for someone to not feel or think anything when sitting in that chair.

In-Class

This summer I went to my first concert. It was august the weather was hot and sticky, as the sweat wetted my hair and stuck to my face. Walking into the Verizon Wireless music center was a rush of excitement something I have never expierienced before. My boyfriend and I arrived late the the Poison concert making it in as the second band was playing. As we manuvered our way through the large mass of middle-aged drunk people in a time capsule I realized there were also people my age; most of which who probably just watch rock of love. As I looked around at the huge crowd I knew we were all here for a common reason. It was shocking to see the ammount of diverse people who attended this concert including 40 year old with teased mullets, young kids, teenagers, college kids. I never thought I would have something in common with a middle-aged man with a teased mullet.

Blog post 5

Though we've riffed-off of this idea a few times in previous blog postings, I think it is important to keep you folks focused and on task: What type of plan have you come up with to finish this mini-ethnography? Do you need more research on a specific facet of your subculture? Do you need to spend more time in your fieldsite(s)? How do you plan on spending that time? Interviewing? Observing? Participating in activities? In other words, how do you plan on finishing this assignment? Also, what questions do you have for me pertaining to upcoming assignments? Activities? Expectations? Etc?

A: In all honesty I really need to make an agenda to keep my mini-ethnography organized. I need to figure out what i am really looking at in this subculture of tattooing and learn how to not be bias. I need to spend more time talking to tattoo artist, the tattooed, those against tattooing, and those wanting to be tattooed. I also need to re-visit my fieldsite not only for observing, and interviewing, but also participating. I feel i need to plan out my interview questions. Im not quite sure I'm exactly understanding what I need to do. I know an ethnography is basically a description of a culture or sub-culture. However, what questions do I ask to better understand this culture? what do I ask the artist? the tattoo community? the anti tattoo? I have a few questions in mind for each group but I feel i need to add more. What should I think about when creating interview question? What kind of questions would be most helpful?Oh! And completely off topic i would just like to say I enjoyed the blog assignment that was due tuesday it was nice to take myself back to that place. I feel if we had more blog assignments like that i would be more motivated to write more.

Box # 15

Going down to the woods behind my quiet neighborhood felt like I was leaving reality into a fairytale land. To get down to my special place was a journey in itself. I would walk down the street veering off onto a thin dirt path surrounded by uncut crab grass that wasn't tainted by the construction, on the way I pass my dog's burial ground. As I enter the woods it begins with a plethora of pine trees with needle covered grounds and small sprouts of grass peaking through the brush. As I walk farther I can start to hear a faint sound of water. The sound grows louder and soon I come upon the edge of a mossy ledge and can see the waterfall. I can feel the coolness from the water on my face. I follow the creek down to a broken rusty barbwire fence that leaves a rusty residue on my hands. Over the fence leads to a field covered with mayapples and rare wild flowers that is illuminated by beams of light that shine through the trees. In the field is an old abandoned truck, rusty with chips of old faded red and white paint showing in spots. The truck almost seems placed in a position that portrays it as a holy relic the way the trees opened up to let the light shine on it. On the other side of the truck is my special place. 

My special place is a hidden creek a little over a mile into the woods. There is one place in the creek where the water reaches my shoulders and i can watch the fish scurry around my feet. The creek bed is covered with fossils, geodes, pebbles, and sandstone. Sandstone reminds me of my childhood visiting Lake Monroe and scratching into wet sandstone to make a paste that i used as face paint and pretended i was an indian princess. The geodes remind me of my mom when we would would go looking for geodes and crack them open. I remember finding one that had beautiful faint blue crystals inside. On the creek bed are stacks of limestone blocks that are place so precisely they resemble ancient Mayan ruins. The limestone blocks sit over the deep part of the creek. Sometimes I go here to think, I sit on the edge of the "ruins" and dangle my feet over the water letting the summer breeze move through my hair.

In Class movie

Do you feel this is an ethnographic study, a work of entertainment, both? Explain your answer.
It is a work of entertainment because it is telling a story
Who are the interview subjects and why are they important? What roles do the interviews play? Do they move the story along? Lend a perspective on the subculture? 

People that were part of the skate crew new and old members, the informants give you the feel for what the group was like and what it was like to be the only ones who did this, the interviewrs move the story along as well as the narrorator. the informants gave a whole new perspective that no one but the group knew about and the heart and soul that went into what they did.

What are some of the attitudes, beliefs, rituals, artifacts, etc. that make this group a subculture?
beliefs: no one surfs at the PO no locals dont bring someone to the pool w/o talking about it with the group

Attitudes:negative towards outsiders

Rituals:creating new surf moves, making own skateboards/ surfboards, skating when the surfing was bad, finding pools, draining pools. ride bikes to the schools skate until the skate board was broken go home fix your board and do it all over again.

Artifacts:
What is the structure of the piece? How is it organized? Does this help or inhibit your understanding of the subculture?

the informants talk, the narrorator gives background information/ historical/ geographical. yes, especially the way they describe you group the feelings, the rules, the closeness of the group. The photographs as well and the video also really helped give you a feel for what these people did.

What were some of the stereotypes you held about skateboarders before watching this? Do those stereotypes still hold true? If so, why? If not, what changed your perspective?

I honestly respect skateboarders i dont necessarily have stereotypes about them because I have knows so many and i really respect what they do.

The rhetorical triangle (ethos – do we trust what the creator of this is telling us…? What if you knew the filmmaker was also one of the skaters? Pathos – what emotional response did you have and why? Logos – how was the piece constructed?)

In Class Box 12

Age: 18

Nationality:American -scotch/irish and german

Gender: Female

Race:white

Education Level:high school graduate with an honors diploma now a a freshman at BSU studying art edu.

Social/Financial Support:parents

Freedom of Religion:agnostic

Socioeconomic Status:middle-class

As an 18 year old i am fresh into the tattoo world and may not know as much as others older with more tattoos. As a female I feel like me having a tattoo is more looked down upon and "trashy". As an art student it makes me more accepting to this form of art. My parents were never against tattoos. I do not have a religion that looks down on me for having tattoos.

Blog Post 4

Q:Can you make any general conclusions about your subculture as of right now? And if so, what are those conclusions? Do you think that what you have been observing is specific to the particularly community in which your subculture resides, or do you think it would be the same even if you observed that subculture in a different community (i.e. is being a server at Ruby Tuesday's the same everywhere? Would a club like the BSU Tennis Club or Campus Crusade for Christ conduct itself in the same way at Kent State? Do the same rituals, beliefs, behaviors, etc. surround all tattoo parlors? etc. etc). Think about how geography, demographics, political and religious positions, etc. play a role in influencing members of a particular subculture.

A: I have not really made any general conclusions as of right now. I believe when observing a subculture in different communities there will be similarities but will never the same. A tattoo may cost more at another store, some may have tattooing for longer, the stores are different, some are cleaner than others. Not every parlor will conduct itself the same way as the next tattoo parlor. Also, not ever place has the same rituals, beliefs and behaviors with tattooing especially when you mix in the original procedure of getting a tattoo. Any thing can influence a person to get a tattoo whether it be religion, heritage, a rite of passage, memorial etc..

Blog Post 3

Q:What research have you started thus far for this project? In other words, have you already interviewed possible informants? If so, describe that interaction and what transpired. If you have not held any interviews, what questions will you ask when you do and why do you feel those questions are important? Have you already visited your cultural site? If so, describe some of your observations and what questions those observations might have raised. If you have not been to your cultural site, when do you intend on doing so and what new questions or expectations might you have after some of our in-class discussions and exercises? Have you attempted some basic "academic" research (i.e. Internet, books, periodicals, etc.)? And lastly, do you consider there to be a difference between "academic" and non-academic" research? List some examples.

A:I have mostly thus far reflected on myself as an insider on the meaning of a tattoo.

i feel important questions are:

1. How were you first introduced to tattooing? What sparked there interest and how they became an insider to this culture

2. Do your tattoos have meaning? it is important to me that my informant  tells me why they decided to get a tattoo rebellion? religious? remembrance? 

3. What do you feel are stereotypes that outsiders give people with tattoos? i want to know what other people inside and outside of the community feel towards people with tattoos

I intend on visiting many tattoo parlors and at the end of my collection of data i will document the act of getting a tattoo by re-visiting the tattoo parlor where i got my first tattoo and document the act of getting a tattoo. soon in the mean-time i am going to gather information from student around campus that have tattoos. I have done a little internet research when writing this rough draft. I believe academic research is more book, internet, newspaper etc. however non-academic research is getting out into the community, asking questions, and analyzing yourself and others.

Blog Post 2

So, remind the class what culture/subculture you have picked, then describe your possible fieldsite(s). If you’ve already been there, what sensory details can you remember? If you have not been there, what do you expect to find? In addition, discuss what you hope to learn about your particular culture/subculture by visiting a specific fieldsite(s). If you are already an insider, what new things do you hope to discover? If you are an outsider, are you looking to learn something specific about your chosen culture/subculture, or are you open to learn whatever you can?

For my subculture I am going to submerge myself into the art of tattooing. My main fieldsite would be a tattoo parlor but also I will be talking to a lot of students on campus. In a good tattoo parlor it is very clean, normally the walls are displayed with tattoos, artist work, piercings, and portfolios of the artist work. The noise of the tiny needles hitting human flesh is intimidating at first but is something you come accustomed to. As I sat in that chair not knowing what to expect from those needles dripping with black ink you remind yourself why you are doing this in the first place.  I will be entering the tattoo world  I hope to find the history and secret meanings and reasonings behind those who have been inked. At the end of my journey I will step into the chair again and remember what I am  there for.

In-Class

My subculture would be located in a tattoo parlor. I have a tattoo so knowing the expierience will help with my subjective position. Data that might influence how I see tattooing would be understanding why people get tattoos? Do people have meanings behing their tattoos?

In-Class

Source of data:
-Interviews with artist
-Books on new and old tattooing technology
Methods
-Interviews would be best with artist, people getting tattoos, people who approve, disapprove, the meaning of the tattoo(s)
Behaviors, patterns, rituals, rules
Behaviors
-keeping the place clean
Paterns
-doing similar looking tattoos (i.e. coexist)
Rituals
-the art of tattooing how to do it
Rules
-Store rules/ regulations keeping it sanitary/ Rules with-in the store between artists.

In-Class

Subcultures I belong to
-Smoker
-many behaviors of smokers is smoking in groups.
-rituals smoking every 1-2 hours/ chain smoking
-smoke in the smoking area.

As a smoker on Ball State campus you get to know a lot of people in the smoking community because you are confined to very few areas. Most smokers will smoke in groups of people. At the smoking area by my dorm we refer to our group of "smoker friends" as The DOSA which stands for Designated Outdoor Smoking Area. Most of the time we are on a simmilar schedual when it comes to smoking so you always have someone to smoke with. Since Ball State has a smoking ban we are confined to the locations they give us to smoke.
-Redhead
-behaviors include an attitude, saucy, loud
-we do call eachother gingers inside jokes
-we are located everywhere
-Art Student
-Does art
-Art and Journalism building
-go to class every mon wed fri
-rituals: long nights in the studio with friends all night stydying for art history

Blog post: 1

Question: Write about a paper (any paper) you have written in the past. What was your process when writing the paper? (Did you have music playing in the background, did you write the paper the night before, did you outline or just start writing, etc.) What “type” of paper was it? (Creative piece, research paper, lab report, book report, etc.?) What do you feel is the difference between editing and revising?

Response: When I write papers most often I will put on my favourite homework music (Billy Joel). It is upbeat but relaxing and really helps to motivate me. Music really helps me to get inspired, there is nothing inspiring to me if I am sitting in a silent room.I am an awful procrastinator therefore, most of my papers are written at last minute unless I am really passionate about my topic. My best paper though, was expanding on a shorter essay in my ENG103 class about "America, Right or Wrong". The subject I chose was the controversial topic of gay marriage, since this is an important subject to me I spent a lot of time on it rather than procrastinating. When preparing for the paper I knew it would be an argumentative essay and was given guidelines such as using factual, emotional, and moral reasons to back up my argument. Each of these reasons were backed up by many sources and personal opinion. The paper, I feel, was good representation of how I feel about the topic and will hopefully cause anyone that reads it to think more about the topic. I feel the the difference between editing and revising is that revising is a longer process and involves a lot of re-writing as where editing is making small little changes through out the paper.