Really?

Okay, you know those tribal tattoos that have been ubiquitous for the last several years? For the parents in the audience, this term is used to describe a linear pattern that encircles the upper arm. It's most often seen on douchebags, poseurs, and pasty kids from Nebraska who think they're "street." When the Polynesians and Maori did it first, it was cool. But that was several hundred years ago, so it's a little played out. I thought it would just kind of fade away.

Until I saw this one.

We were having dinner at Chili's a couple nights ago, and were seated at the table next to four pasty grain-fed Plains kids who clearly had nothing better to do with their Friday night. I can't mock too much -- we were all there once. But the tattoo. Dear God. At first glance I thought it was one of these tribal arm band jobs, but on closer inspection turned out to be the Elvish script from the One Ring in Lord of the Rings. Yep. Really.

The saddest part is that I found a similar tat via Google Images. So now not only does this guy have a highly visible tattoo that says to everyone "HEY I GOT A TATTOO IN 2004 BECAUSE I REALLY LIKED THIS ONE MOVIE" but he can't even claim to have an original idea. Unless he's the guy in this picture, but I doubt it.



Update: It has been pointed out to me that he could have gotten the tattoo as a result of really liking the books rather than the movie, but how likely do you think that is? Exactly.