Zombies and ink... wha??

 Right out of the gate, Carolyn, that's great about Ariel. Everything that I've read of Ariel's certainly pays you back at least threefold for your willing suspension of disbelief investments.

Speaking of 3,  I spent a third of my career in the daytime/paytime world with a fellow who was sure that he was the re-incarnation of Noel Coward.  Yes, he was quick witted, but he was only half the wit he thought he was. One of his oft-trotted-out chestnuts  was that educational administrators and policy makers were like dogs sitting at the side of a busy road. They'd run barking after one passing vehicle/ popular pedantic theory until it outran them and then return and go barking after the next one.

I think pop culture is caught up, similarly, with zombies. Sure, there's been a hard-core zombie aficionado element ever since " Night of The Living Dead" but things  have ramped up a bunch.  I  enjoyed repeatedly, the  MTV color line breaking  "Thriller" video and the umpteen you-tube items featuring such diverse groups as  orange-suited Phillipine prison inmates  recreating the zombie dance sequence but that was essentially, a visual enhancement of solid centrepiece music. ( He may have been fruitcake nutty but Wacko Jacko, and behind the scenes producer- guru Quincy Jones, collaborated to produce a compelling entertainer. )  Yes, the Gloved One helped edge zombies into the mainstream.


 Current zombie interaction, it seems, is mainly about endless rounds of smashing them like overripe pumpkins or blowing them to gooey smithereens in whatever manner you have at your disposal, before they dismember you to eat your brains - hey, maybe that’s where Billy  Corgan got the name  for his musical quintet . 

 
And 


 those lovable, zany zombies have  made the jump, too.  They’ve got the “ Lego Bump” ( apologies to Steven Colbert ).

 Still, I just can't get my head around the big-time zombie pre-occupation at the moment, except  to revert to my former colleagues barking dog theory. 

Can somebody enlighten me further...?

 Could somebody explain this conspicuous tats thing too.  I’ve been tempted to have my family's birthdays printed on my person  once or twice.  But to devote significant hours and dollars to turning your trunk and/or appendages into a cross between a Gothic doodle-pad and an art school portfolio,  just seems to be a completely gratuitous  activity. If it's about making an impression, or establishing an image then why not do so with words or actions, rather than epidermis? 

The most inscrutable aspect is the hidden ink ( tramp stamps and such )  I can see having ink on forearms and other places where they’re readily apparent to the wearer - just like funky, flashy clothes. That way, one can bask in  the admiring glances.   But having them where the owner will never see them except, perhaps,  in a narcissistic  mirror moment, completely eludes me. It's kinda  like putting a diamond façade on the bottom of your shoe. 



So concludes another episode of " Stuff I Just Don't Get "


Last week's riddle was, of all things, waltz. I figured that the Whitman and Disney thing would be the cat out of the bag element in this one. I think I'm drifting back into some of that trying to be too cute with the clues thing. 

The end of January riddle goes like this:

Metallic arms joined

To facilitate separation

Best to move slowly when

Accommodating them

My guess for your last one, Carolyn, is paper. I was thinking earlier that if the paperless society is to become a reality, banks and insurance companies  especially have to get the message. We do pretty well all of our business with these types online but the paper flood continues in the mailbox.

And  may I be closer to the mark on this riddle than I was last time!

Don

P.S. Looking forward to pounding the keys with sweaty rather than chilly fingers.