​The ad might seem a little cringe, since I'm far from famous, which is what is implied. However, my research has gone viral internationally, so I am known, but so is any anthropologists whose work has been published around the world. This is the type of hyperbole that is par for the course in promoting music, so it is fitting here. And, frankly, I find academics too reticent to market themselves and their work. If it because of concerns with hyperbolic headlines spreading misinformation, then I can sympathize and agree. However, if the concern is about being taken seriously, I think the real underlying fear is that there is not enough substance underlying the flash. So this ad made me chuckle more than anything, and apparently it worked. There was a great crowd in attendance, lots of folks came up and talked to me after, and we closed the place down shooting the breeze. Thanks to Lawrence and Janek and Monday Night Brewing Co.! 

I went to AAA in Seattle this year because I'd convened a session with my PhD adviser Larry Schell and like Seattle. Unfortunately, it was cold, so I wasn't especially motivated to go out and about. For some reason, I didn't dress appropriately. I didn't think to get many photos. I was presenting during my session and up at the table of presenters in front, so I couldn't take them from there anyway.

The session went well. It was on the first day in a big room with only a few people there, so it was a little awkward. However, the goal of the session is to feel out a potential special issue and to meet and hear each other, so it served that purpose. Several of us went out afterwards to continue conversing, including a few attendees from Dmitris Xygalatas' lab at UConn. I am a big fan of Xygalatas' work, so it was flattering that they attended my talk as well.

Thursday and Friday I worked the podcast exhibit, which was a good call by the Dirt Podcast crew. They finagled free registration for podcasters who worked the booth, and it gave us an opportunity to make the association members aware of all the affiliated podcasts. I should have taken a photo of the posters we were encouraging visitors to photograph, but I wasn't that thoughtful to myself.

I had some good meetings with publishers about my next book, which will be about the tattoo project. Vanderbilt and Waveland seemed promising for different reasons. I like the enthusiasm and proximity of Vanderbilt, and the acquisitions editors seemed sharp and with it. Waveland very specifically targets undergrad courses, which I think a book on tattooing might do well in.

Friday was most of the Biological Anthropology Section (BAS) stuff, which is where I see most of my friends. There was a double session put together by Delaney Glass, a former Sausage of Science producer and doctoral candidate at the University of Washington, and Delaney's adviser, Melanie Martin. After that, Larry Schell and Alex Brewis invited me to join them for dinner with local Seattle anthropologist (& former postdoc of Alex) Sarah Trainer. We went to the BAS Awards ceremony after, and that was that.

I am grateful to the graciousness of the Auburn Sociology, Anthropology, & Social Work Department for hosting a volunteered book talk. I told them I'd like the excuse the come down to visit my son and offered to give it for free, but they insisted on paying and were very hospitable. Hoping to get out and about and do more of these talks, so don't be surprised if I invite myself to YOUR university (LOL).

My cohost Cara Ocobock and I brought two new producers on this season and have produced new episodes with Andrea Silva-Caballero, Amanda Veile, Rachael Anyim, Zachary Cofran, Natalia Reagan, and Lara Durgavich. The producers, Cristina Gildee, a doctoral student at the University of Washington, and Eric Griffith, a postdoc at Duke who got his PhD from UMass under Lynnette Sievert. The Sausage of Science producers are supported as Junior Service Fellows of the Human Biology Association and the American Journal of Human Biology. Subscribe to the Sausage of Science on Soundcloud or wherever you get podcasts (except Spotify apparently [deep sigh]}.

Larry Schell and I convened this session on "Religious and Spiritual Influences on Human Biology: The Unsettled Landscapes of Bodies in Culture" for the American Anthropological Association meetings in Seattle next week. We'll be giving this introduction to the session called "Theorizing Human Biological Variation Through the Lens of Religion and Spirituality."

It's an in-person, Invited Session by Biological Anthropology Section on Wednesday, 2:15-4PM Pacific Time if you're at the conference. Session includes presentations by Eric Shattuck, Bonnie Kaiser, Joshua Brahinsky, Susan Schaffnit, Susan Sheridan, and Lawrence Schell with Jessica Hardin as Discussant.
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Auburn University's Anthropology Department was kind enough to invite me to give a talk about my new book, so my wife and I will be headed down this Friday to do that and hanging a bit with our son Jagger, who is a sophomore at Auburn. Please join us if you're in the area!

I had a fun interview with these local guys who are interested in the natural world and came across my fireside relaxation study article from 2014. There's the video interview below, as well as webpage with episode notes and a post-interview conversation.

I met journalist Stephanie DeMarco several years ago in Washington DC through a combined workshop of the AAAS Leshner Fellowship program for public engagement (which I was in) and another program for science journalism. She reached out to me a few months ago for a piece she was writing about therapeutic applications of tattooing for this piece in Drug Discovery News. It's a really well done article with a lot of great information and graphics. In addition to moi, she interviewed tattoo anthropologist Lars Krutak and acupuncturist/tattooist Douglas Wingate, who have been guests on the Inking of Immunity podcast I cohost, and biomedical engineer Carson Bruns, who is on our invitation list for the coming season.

I gave a reading of sections of my new book Transcendental Medication: The Evolution of Mind, Culture, and Healing last week at local bookstore Ernest & Hadley. E&H is owned and run by Easty Lambert-Brown, Ian Brown, and their daughter. Ian is a retired anthropologist and my colleague and former department chair, and Easty is his wife and proprietor of Borgo Books Press. They were kind enough to host my first book reading on September 27. I enjoyed the reading and am available for readings or academic talks!

​Here are some photos from the event. 

One of our local arts organization, which actually hosts the best folk art festival in the world imho, started a new series for its adult patrons called Kentuck After Dark. I love Kentuck's annual Folk Art Festival, which is coming up in mid-October, as well as its monthly First Thursday events, and so many of the artists and employees there. It's one of the best things about Tuscaloosa. So I was delighted when they invited me to give a tattoo dark for the second installment of Kentuck After Dark on August 18. This was a small ticketed event with wine and cheese. It was easy to chat with everyone, and Molly made some delightful mojitos.
Here are a few photos by my wife Loretta Lynn, including a few of me give a talk about tattooing and immune function from me followed by tattooing with Q&A by local tattoo artist Lucas McDaniel. My kids got their first tattoos from Lucas, so he's had to put up with me ad nauseum, making this an easy event for us to work together.