The Battalion
If Tuesday - July 29, 1997
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Psychic hotlines fail to
provide genuine advice
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Columnist
Rhonda Reinhart
Junior journalism major
Erica Haas, a graduate student
I Bt'l Ir anthropology, displays her
Lick tattoos. Haas is writing her
thesis on body modification.
Photooraph: Pat james
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Tattoos: what was once labeled a trend is now becoming standard
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By April Towery
The Battalion
21-year-old walks down the
street. He notices mothers
pulling their children a little
[closer. Is it because he was on last
[night’s episode of America’s Most
Wanted? No, he is one of the many
ericans with permanent graffi-
ion his body, the crazy thing we
! call tattoos.
The person described is Bryan
native Scott Barrs, who proudly dis
plays nine tattoos, including drag
ons on his right arm, a lion on his
left arm, tribal designs on his arms
and legs, a cross on his back and
“corny ones” on his ankles.
Although Barrs said he displays
his tattoos for personal expression,
this was not the case three years ago.
“When I first got one, I just
thought they were so cool,” he said.
When he got his first tattoo, Barrs
said his parents “flipped out,” but
they have gotten used to his body
.art.The stares he gets on the streets
are from strangers.
Tjust think that they shouldn’t
look at the outside of somebody,”
Barrs said. “They should get to
know them first. I think it’s some
one’s personal choice.”
Although many students may
worry about what their parents
think, as well as the health risks,
Michael C., a tattoo artist at Tattoo
Consortium, said it is a safe process.
C., a 1985 graduate of Texas
A&M, attended a medical seminar
last April where he learned that no
cases of HIV transmission have
been reported from a reputable tat
too parlor in the United States.
“Everything is regulated now,”
he said.
C. has been tattooing for 16
years, and even gave himself tattoos
on his arms.
“It’s living art,” he said. “It literal
ly comes alive as I do it.”
C. said 80 percent of his clientele
is students, and 70 percent is fe
male. C. said he had an unusual ex
perience with a female client.
“I had a student come in and get a
tattoo and put it on her credit card,”
he said. “She came back in and want
ed me to cover it up and fix it because
she was afraid her dad would see it. I
was like, ‘Oh, that’s good, now your
dad will see it when it shows up on
his credit card bill twice.’”
Although Tattoo Consortium
does not remove tattoos, the em
ployees are sometimes asked to
cover homemade tattoos.
Body piercing is another trend
that is becoming popular among
students, but C. said tattoos will not
go out of style.
“Tattoos have become a stan
dard,” he said. “They’re becoming
socially acceptable. Fifteen years
ago, they were for men in the mili
tary or motorcyclists. That’s not the
case anymore.”
But tattoos are still considered by
many to be socially unacceptable in
the workplace, C. said.
“My first wife had one arm sleeved,
and she couldn’t get a job at 7-11,” he
said. “She’s certified in accounting.”
Diana Houghton, a senior envi
ronmental design major, has had lit
tle negative feedback about her two
tattoos — except from her parents.
“I believe my dad’s words were,
‘That’s white trash,”’ she said. “But
they’ve gotten pretty used to it. My
dad still looks at it and tries to rub it
off sometimes.”
Houghton’s tattoos are on her foot
and her back. She is already planning
her third for the base of her spine.
“I know I like it (getting tattoos),
and I wanted to do it again,” she
said. “My next one will be a Celtic
knot - I’m planning on about $200
worth of work.”
Houghton said her tattoos are
special to her because she designs
them herself.
“The first one was a picture out
of a book,” she said. “The last two
were ones I designed. It’s a little bit
of me. I don’t want anyone to have
the same thing.”
Few people would want to sit
through Houghton’s second tattoo,
which is on the top of her foot.
“I had a friend on my right and a
friend on my left,” she said. “I was
squeezing their hands. I bit one of
my friends. And I hyperventilated.
My friends were like, ‘She’s giving
birth to a cow.’”
There are people who make the
argument that one’s body is a tem
ple, and Houghton said she respects
their opinions.
“People who have tattoos know
they’re fun,” Houghton said. “My
body's a temple, and I’m going to
decorate it.”
After all, tattooing brings plea
sure (and sometimes pain) to many
people in Bryan-College Station.
“I’m a perfectionist by nature,” C.
said. “This is the perfect job for a
perfectionist — there’s no eraser.”
I f you have
questions
about love,
money, career
or past lives,
then for $3.99
a minute, a
soft-voiced,
slow-talking
psychic friend
can give you
the answers.
Whether or
not the answers are accurate depends
on how well you are able to apply the
vague, generic responses to specific
areas of your life.
Yes, that is right. You no longer
have to wait outside a carnival tent to
have a woman wearing flashy jewel
ry and heavy make-up stare into a
crystal ball and tell your fortune to
know what lies ahead for you in the
future. Now the answers are just a
900 number away, and there are sev
eral numbers from which to choose.
The August issue of Mademoi
selle lists more than 30 psychic hot
lines in its classified ads section, and
daytime television is not without its
share of commercials about how to
contact a psychic partner.
There are love psychics, pet psy
chics, Spanish-speaking psychics
and “psychics who care.” One hot
line will even allow you to talk with
two psychics at once, and almost all
of the ads describe their psychics as
real, authentic, genuine, accurate or
gifted. There is even an organization
called the Association of Professional
Psychics that is registered with the
United States government. The ad
claims these psychics are “certified
for ethics, professionalism and
proven psychic ability.” They will
even provide you with free referrals
to certified psychics in your area.
The ads fail to explain the concept
of certification, but perhaps there is
some sort of paranormal obstacle
course prospective psychics must
complete to become certified.
Some of the hotlines offer free
gifts. One call to a psychic can get
you a free astrological chart, a deck
of tarot cards or even a Brazilian
power crystal (which from the pic
ture on the commercial looks more
like a piece of quartz attached to a
string). And believe it or not, this
power crystal has a $24.99 value.
Yeah, maybe in Brazilian money.
A few of the hotlines promise that
the first two minutes of your psychic
reading will be free. These two min
utes include a recording welcoming
you to the wonderful world of psychic
friends that will give you instructions
on how to pay by credit card and the
time you are kept on hold waiting to
be connected to the next available
psychic. The recording also advises
that if you are under 18, you must
hang up immediately. No doubt, an
effective deterrent to minors.
Generally, your free psychic read
ing will consist of about 45 seconds.
The marketing technique of giving
customers the first two minutes free is
almost like that of the drug dealer who
gives a teen-ager a few doses of a sub
stance at no charge, gets him hooked
and then has a regular customer.
Although psychic hotlines may be
a somewhat recent development,
the idea of psychic phenomena
dates back to much earlier times.
Both phrenology, relating sections of
the human head to ability and per
sonality, and palm-reading can be
traced to the ancient Greeks. It
seems that society’s preoccupation
with wanting to know what the fu
ture holds crosses eras and cultures.
Theodore Roosevelt is said to
have consulted his horoscope fre
quently, and in 1932, two astrology
magazines appeared on newsstands.
Today, almost everyone knows what
sign of the zodiac they were born un
der, many newspapers publish daily
horoscopes and Chinese restaurants
hand out fortune cookies.
There may be some truth to
the existence of psychic ability.
Many people claim to be psy
chics, and some of these people
have many supporters.
Carl Payne Tobey, author of‘Astrol
ogy Primer For the Millions,” writes
that in parts of the Orient, astrology is
accepted by almost everyone.
The authenticity of psychics and
their various methods remains de
batable, however, the psychic hotline
is becoming one of the major mon
ey-making schemes of the ’90s.
It seems anyone who claims to be
able to predict your future by phone
from hundreds of miles away should
be questionable. Maybe that Brazilian
power crystal is more of a consolation
prize than a free gift.
Vranus Te\easeYives up to expectations
ti
Primus
Brown Album
Interscope Records
★★★★1/2 (out of five)
By Keith McPhail
The Battalion
Y ou have to give Primus points for con
sistency if nothing else. However, Les
Claypool and the boys deserve credit
for a whole lot more.
Its fifth full length disc, Brown Album, lives
up to the high expectations that Primus fans
have, as the band returns in classic form. Fans
of the band need not hesitate in picking up
this disc. They will not be disappointed.
; The musical oddity that is Primus is back
with this four-and-a-half star installment to its
aheady impressive catalog. Brown Album can
be described as crystal meth on wax. It may be
awkward if one is unfamiliar with it. But those
who like it, swear by it. The difference being
Brown Album is twice as addictive as anything
ever to come out of a speed lab.
The years of touring have resulted in a
more flowing, coordinated band. While
Primus is fundamentally a bass driven vehi
cle for the strange and bizarre stylings of
front man Claypool, Brown Album finds
Primus a more balanced band than on pre
vious LPs. Claypool, who also engineered
the album, credits the lighthearted attitude
of percussionist Brain for the smooth flow
of Brown Album.
The 1997 version of Primus sees the return
of Brain on drums. Brain, a member of Primus
in the late ’80s, left the band when he broke his
ankle skateboarding just before Primus was to
open for Faith No More. Since Primus could
not afford to miss such a gig at that time,
members were forced to find a replacement,
Tim Alexander. Recent events gave an oppor
tunity for Brain to regain his slot on the skins
for Primus. His studio presence freed Primus
to record in a jam session atmosphere.
These developments noted, fans will be
pleased to discover that differences between
Brown Album and previous recordings are
subtle. This is vintage Primus.
Larry LaLonde provides his always impres
sive and timely guitar work with precision.
ClaypooTs lyrics are strange and twisted
prose as always. For example, there are the
unusual lyrics of “Duchess and the Prover
bial Mind Spread.” Claypool sings, “Swim-
min’, I see myself a treadin’ water /1 see no
signs of other people / There’s a heron up
above me /I lay back and spread my mind.”
The flowing, bass-driven melodies engulf the
listener with a feeling that will alter the perspec
tive of any right thinking individual. Like all
Primus albums, Brown Album takes some get
ting used to for one to truly appreciate.
Primus
l
PART-TIME POSITIONS
Universal Computer Systems, Inc. is looking for candidates for the following positions at
our College Station office. Operating hours of the facility are 6 a.m.-10 p.m., Monday
through Friday and 8 a.m.-IO p.m. Saturday. Candidates must be able to work at least
15 hours Monday-Friday & every other Saturday and have completed at least one
semester of college.
Parts Inventory - Responsible for maintaining inventory of more than 2000 parts that the facility
may handle at any one time.
Data Entry - We handle computer repair for all our clients nationwide, with over 60,000 pieces of
equipment per year. Our data entry positions are responsible for maintaining info, on more than
2000 parts both shipped from and received at the facility.
Technician Trainee - Technicians will learn to use an oscilloscope and multi-meter to
trouble-shoot and repair malfunctioning hardware. Each individual will be trained thoroughly in
the repair of one particular piece of equipment including CRT’s, terminals, keyboards, PC’s,
mainframes, controllers, modems, and others.
Cleaning and Reclamation - This group must maintain upkeep of all equipment received and
shipped from the facility. Involves disassembly of equipment, cleaning and reassembly of
equipment.
To apply, please call our Personnel Headquarters. E.O.E.
Universal Computer Systems, Inc.
1 -800-883-3031
http://www.ucs-systems.com
DCS hires non-tobacco users only.
-G
ruT
All students, faculty and staff
are invited to attend a
public meeting to hear
a briefing on the recent legislative
action that designates
the General Use Fee (GUF) as Tuition
(this briefing relates to the GUF increase approved in January 1997)
Friday, August 1, 1997
9:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
Memorial Student Center, Room 292
Office of the President, Texas A&M University