A Peek Inside My Fish Bowl: &

This was one of my favorite books in those "tween" years. I still love it and while it was written for young adults it's themes are on the darker side but also the metaphors (maybe not as intended as I like to think) are very deep.

A few months ago I saw this

and fell in love.

Last week my FIL got some more work done- some things added which hubby saw on Sunday. Also on Monday there was a show we kept seeing- Ancient Ink. Watching it was fascinating and taunting.

Tuesday Russ and I called and got appointments. We knew we were both over due (It's been almost a year for me and a little longer for him) and needed to get in for more. He'll be adding a Rangefinder and a Minox spy camera to his camera sleeve of 35mm film SLR, 4x5 View Camera, Brownie, Twin Reflex cameras.

I'll be adding my lovely ampersand under my right clavicle and a mirrored one on the left side. I've researched like crazy what the type is. The book lists it as Garamond, however there are really subtle differences in the closest Garamond as yet another F&P inspired inked person notes-

Adobe Garamond Italic Alternative is on the left, the tattoo in the middle and the correct ampersand on the right. You'll notice some subtle differences like the center loop being filled and the curl on the top loop of the "E". The person who got this tattoo discovered the closest is "caslon 540 italic is correct, but ITC caslon 540 italic is more accurate. some sites that list (non-ITC) caslon 540 italic show the ampersand on the left."

I brought in the image of the books cover into the studio so I know it will be the one from the cover exactly.

Eventually I'll write a blog all about the book and why I love it so much. Today it's about & though.

In reasearching I discovered lots of cool sites. Specifically these two:

(This one uses the nearly similar &) http://ampersand.gosedesign.net/

& of course this neat "Calender" http://ampersandampersand.tumblr.com/

& Etemology from Wiki:

The word ampersand is a corruption of the phrase "and per se and", meaning "and [the symbol which] by itself [is] and".^[1] The Scots and Scottish English name for & is epershand, derived from "et per se and", with the same meaning.
Traditionally, in English-speaking schools when reciting the alphabet, any letter that could also be used as a word in itself ("A," "I," and, at one point, "O") was preceded by the Latin expression "per se" (Latin for "by itself"). Also, it was common practice to add at the end of the alphabet the "&" sign, pronounced "and". Thus, the recitation of the alphabet would end in: "X, Y, Z and per se and." This last phrase was routinely slurred to "ampersand" and the term crept into common English usage by around 1837.^[2]
Through folk etymology, it has been claimed that André-Marie Ampère used the symbol in his widely read publications, and that people began calling the new shape "Ampere's and". ^[3]

Here are some more Ampersand Tattoos:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/photofoe/3704050394/in/photostream/