What does your avatar mean to you?

[HEIL PRESIDENT GOD]

I've seen some really interesting and original avatars on DU lately, as well as a lot of people using the same ones as each other. Sometimes I'm not sure what the images mean. So I thought I'd start a DU thread for people to explain why they picked their avatar.

I'll start--I was attracted to the tartan because of my Scottish ancestry and punk rock roots. When I realized it was Wallace tartan, that clinched it (William Wallace was Mel Gibson's role in Braveheart). It's the plaid that cries freedom.

[flamingyouth]

1. Mine is my true love

Photoshopped a bit ;)

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. Mine is my Mom, who I miss something awful

[NoSheep]

99. How sweet.

:D

[redqueen]

3. Mine is just a an image I found on the net

which I found pleasing to the eye.

[tammywammy]

81. I really like yours!

[terrya]

4. Mine is something I'm rather proud of.

I like the Rainbow Flag.

[Cannikin]

17. same here.

[ImpeachBush]

96. Mine is something I'm proud of, and something I want.

Rainbow for pride, same as rainbow flag. Peace sign. Obvious.

[theorist]

5. Standard Quantum Mechanical symbol for the wavefunction.

I study that kind of thing, and it was an easy enough avatar to make. I like it. If you're interested in QM (quantum chemistry, especially) or graduate school, check out my 5 day old blog:

http://impostersyn.blogspot.com/

[entanglement]

111. Nice carbon nanotube graphic

on your blogsite. I've seen a little bit of work on CNTs by computational nanotechnologists, what kind of stuff interests quantum chemists like yourself?

[bigwillq]

6. Howard Dean rules!

Enough said!

[dbt]

7. The King of Rock And Roll!

What the Geezers don't know, the Punks understand.

:evilgrin:

[ghostsofgiants]

35. Fuck yeah!

[CO Liberal]

8. Mine is ME!!!

It's a picture of me in a Robin Hood costume. It was taken the night The Prinecss and I met, at a Halloween Dance in October of 1991.

Looking at it now, though, it seems rather odd that Robin Hood has a mullet....

[crispini]

9. Siouxsie Sioux, Punk Rawk Goddess.

Expresses my inner Punk Rawk Goddess. :P

[Bok_Tukalo]

42. You are too white bread to be a punk

I challenge your punkness!

[crispini]

52. Eh, what do you know about my mis-spent youth...

eh? :evilgrin:

[Bok_Tukalo]

56. You're pining?

Live it now, milquetoast!

[crispini]

58. What do you know

about what I do or don't do now, eh? :evilgrin:

[Bok_Tukalo]

60. Only what you tell me

And my own, extremely limited (hopefully to change), observation.

Have something to say to change my perception?

[crispini]

65. mmm ... not

at present. ;) There *is* such a thing as TMI...

[Midnight Rambler]

10. A film near and dear to my heart

Not only partially responsible for my love of mafia movies, but also one of the reasons that entered film school in the first place.

[Skinner]

11. It's my dog, Romeo

He's a chihuahua, and he weighs about four pounds.

[RagingInMiami]

107. And I thought my dog Scruffy was tiny

He weighs 14 pounds, but weighed 11 when I found him on the streets a couple of months ago.

[Sandpiper]

12. Mine means I'm from California

Yeah, I'm boring.

;-)

[SarahB]

13. This....

And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. -Anais Nin

[El Fuego]

14. Mine is a photo of me

I'm purely computer generated!

[Bobbie47]

15. The USA

thru my eyes.........maybe oneday.

[huskerlaw]

16. MashiMaro

He's quite popular in Korea with the Hello Kitty set. One of my Korean friends has attempted to explain him to me but all I get is that he looks like a marshmallow and he's quite sarcastic. Oh, and sometimes he wears a plunger on his head and once in a while his ass is painted to look like a dog's face. :wtf:

But hey, he's cute...and rather original. :shrug:

[KitchenWitch]

18. My avatar is my personal hero

Paul Wellstone...I do not need to say more!

[Longgrain]

19. It's a detail from one of my paintings entitled...

"If this were August, this would be perfect".

All I have of the entire painting is this crummy newspaper scan...

[johnnie]

20. Mine is Alfred E. Newman

I have always liked Mad magazine, so this just keeps me young. I still have a subscription to it, even thought it isn't as funny as it used to be. I also have a cdrom set of every magazine they put out from the beginning until 1998 or so.
He also reminds me of bush and that makes me laugh.

[Longgrain]

26. Hey I have that same CD Rom set too!

"Totally Mad" I think you're talking about...

I'm a big fan of those old style satire mags...:hi:

[johnnie]

30. Yup

That's it. It's amazing how much that stuff sticks in my brain. Kojerk, Murder she hopes, McClod. LOL.

[Longgrain]

31. I also have the hard bound set of the old E.C. color comics...

One of my most precious posessions...

[woofless]

21. MMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!

B.C.BUD!

[OldLeftieLawyer]

22. Mine's an antique Murano wedding cake bead from 1900

I first visited the island of Murano when I was a little kid, and I've been in love with the glass beads and other artifacts produced there. Right now, Venetian glass is the next "big" item in jewelry, so I guess I've just always been ahead of the curve. (:::: ahem ::::)

[fleabert]

23. everybody loves The Flea!

She's my furbaby, and my namesake here on DU.

[keithjx]

24. It's the tat in the middle of my back.

see??

[Tesibria]

55. cool ! nt

[Tikki]

25. My avatar is made from the scan I made of a....

...bed sheet I bought in 1970. I still own and use this sheet, today.....


Tikki

[Pithlet]

78. I had those sheets!

I remember them from when I was a kid. I wish I still had them. :)

[aePrime]

27. Partial derivative with respect to x.

I'm a computer scientist, which is basically a a mathematician who lets computers get in the way.

It's a play off of my nick, aePrime, which has its own uninteresting story.

[MisterP]

28. he is my friend, he holds me hostage from another dimension, he won't let

me go
*twitch*
nice username, by the way! Did you see the Bush-with-halo pictures from about '02 or '03? they'd make great sig lines for you

[ChaoticSilly]

29. Mine...

Just changed mine to make it a little more personal than the Opus avatar I was using. It's is a clip of a pic I made a couple of years ago for the IRTC - an online 3d graphics competition. It's hard to see because of the size, but it's a keyboard in a bottle - just sort of my version of the old message in a bottle thing (yes, I know I'm deranged :silly:).

Here's the entire pic (came in 2nd place, btw) if anybody is interested -

[Orsino]

32. Toby Stephens in the part I wanted...

...in Twelfth Night. Because I wrote music for Feste's songs, though, the director pushed me into that better (for me) role. So I clowned.

I still think, though, that I'm more like Orsino in one way: first in love with love, then getting it so very right the second time around.

[Left Is Write]

33. It's my own smile.

No deep hidden meaning, though.

[ghostsofgiants]

34. It's the cover of what I consider the bast album of the past 10+ years

The Mars Volta's "De-loused In The Comatorium"

[BeatleBoot]

36. He just did what he did, baby.

So much more to say about him, but I'm keeping it simple nowadays.

[ScreamingMeemie]

37. It means I am too lazy to change it to something else.

;) :hi:

[LynzM]

108. Me too....

I've been trying to think up something I want it to be, so I can work on making my own.

[Catchawave]

38. Mine is for Happy Spring !

[hyphenate]

39. I've always loved pegasi

Even more than unicorns as a fantasy animal. A pegasus can fly and therefore symbolizes freedom.

[JimmyJazz]

40. Mine is a picture of Joe Strummer that I took in 1982.

[sendero]

49. Wasn't he great..

.... in Mystery Train? Love those 80's Jarmusch flicks :)

[JimmyJazz]

51. Crud. Now I have to go have a Joe Strummer marathon....

Rude Boy, Mystery Train, Ladies and Gentlemen the Fabulous Stains.... :P

[Longgrain]

63. That YOU took in 1982...

There's more to you than meets the eye Jimmy...

[Bok_Tukalo]

41. My favorite artist

<eom>

[Lone_Star_Dem]

43. Mine is Betty Boop

My grandmother used to collect Betty Boop memorabilia. When I was little I would go and visit her and some of her less valuable pieces she'd let me play with. She had one bedroom of her house filled with all things Betty Boop.

When I found this image I knew it was a perfect tribute to a wonderful lady, my grandmother.

[Briarius]

44. Mine's from the movie the exorcist

I don't really care about that, it's more how it looks that I like. It's more like who I am, shadowy and not in (or into) the limelight.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

45. I got nuthin'...

[lonestarnot]

48. ewww tinfoil you as bad as me... I don't know how many fucking posts I

have and don't know where to find out and don't care ...never have bothered with anything but spewing hatred for bushitler and dumbshit cronies. Hate 'em and all they stand for...do avatars come in that?

[Ann Arbor Dem]

46. Mine is of a friend who plays a mean Hammond B3....

He is an inspiration in my life.

[lonestarnot]

47. Not nut'n n/t

[VelmaD]

50. I changed mine a while back...

it used to be a little pink candy heart with "Get Bent" written on it. Someone pointed out to me that they thought it was sending a message about how I felt about people. They were just joking but after I thought about it I realized maybe it was too mean. Changing to the music notes was my way of trying to have something more positive. I was also a music major back in the day and it connected me back to that. :)

[Tesibria]

53. mine is my eye

cause I read/watch a lot more here than I write (since I tend to be a threadkiller for some reason :) )

[HEIL PRESIDENT GOD]

83. You have a pretty eye! nt

[Tesibria]

98. :) thanx

::blushing::

(I think i'd crashed when you posted this last night ...er... this morning ..)

[kittenpants]

54. mine is a cute, bashful donkey. I dare you to resist it.

[HEIL PRESIDENT GOD]

82. No resistance. I wuv him nt

[Lautremont]

57. My state of mind when I think about bush 'n' freaks like that.

Pretty self-explanatory, I guess.

[sparky_in_ma]

59. My Dad...when he was 17

[Dastard Stepchild]

61. Mine is the Little Prince from Katamari Damacy

a video game that currently prevents me from doing anything else with my life.

I change my avatar every few weeks or so just to keep things fresh. My last one was a little red square with the words "let's eat" written on it. Mostly cuz I like to eat.

[nuxvomica]

67. I first saw that avatar earlier today and I was thinking

:wtf: Now I know.

[Dastard Stepchild]

69. well there you go :) n/t

[elshiva]

70. What is your avatar, nuxvomica?

[nuxvomica]

73. Mine's explained here

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=105&topic_id=2906223&mesg_id=2909236

[AlCzervik]

62. well my current one is Stuart from Mad Tv, he's hilarious but.....

the one i had for over a year i guess offended some people and the mods asked me to remove it. this was my original one.

[elshiva]

64. Howard Dean looking presidential

Originally from the website Dean For America. Very strong Derryiac, but do not like avatars of Dean with Kerry, nice pics, but not aesthetic.

[AussieDave]

66. Mine is supposed to be a Scottish Terrier

My mother has one and she's a real sweetie - a lovely dog

The avatar is the best I could find......

[Dude_CalmDown]

68. I think mine is pretty self explanatory.

I'm just a huge Honda fan.

[nuxvomica]

71. Mine is explained in my sig but I know some folks who didn't

connect the two. In case sigs aren't showing when you read this, it's Maj. Gen. Smedley Butler USMC, who was asked to be the figurehead in a plot by financiers and corporate executives to overthrow FDR because the New Deal was such a threat to their financial interests. The conspirators hadn't been aware that Butler had been touring the country giving speeches against their kind and he turned them into the FBI. No one was prosecuted. Today's fascists are more subtle (and successful) but the goals are pretty much the same: a totalitarian state to benefit an elite few at the expense of the many. Butler's story is not well known so I like to promote it.

[elshiva]

74. THANK YOU!

Didn't put two and two together because often the sig line has nothing to do with the avatar.

[Dude_CalmDown]

76. Damn - I had never heard of that.

Thanks for the info.

[Hans Delbrook]

72. Mine is a cartoon of DNA spiraling out of a chromosome

I'm a molecular biologist; my identity as a scientist is such a huge part of who I am it seemed like a good choice.

(Hence the username too :P )

[oxymoron]

75. Mine is Ella

I'm just a huge Ella Fitzgerald fan.

[elshiva]

77. Ella Fitzgerald is wonderful.

[Anarcho-Socialist]

79. Mine is from Futurama

He is known as Nibbler; or "Lord Nibbler - Ambassador to Earth, home of the pizza bagel" to give his full-title.

[Anarcho-Socialist]

80. My thread-killing powers are beyond approach!

:)

[ghostsofgiants]

85. Haha, I watched that episode tonight!

Futurama is such an underrated show.

[Rhiannon12866]

84. Mine's not original, and I've considered changing.

But I have had the same avatar since I joined DU, except for the "I voted" one, back in November. Jimmy Carter is my favorite president of my lifetime. I feel that he did so much good and will be treated kindly by history, though he sure isn't now. Having him as my avatar is my one chance to support and honor him.:shrug:

[CubsFan1982]

86. Mine is my favorite Democratic President.

After he fooled all the so-called experts and pundits who wrote him off as dead in the water, winning the greatest upset victory in the history of politics, and becoming one of the greatest Presidents in US history.

[Hatalles]

87. Mine is the DU Bar of Soap.

You use it to vigorously rub off all of the Bushite filth and grime (lies and misinofrmation) that smothers you on a daily basis. It wasn't until later that I realized it more likely has to do with Fight Club -- But oh! I can't talk about that.

[Az]

88. An oddball individual that defends other people's pursuit of their dreams

I share some traits with the character Luffy D Monkey (yeah thats his name). I believe that each person has their own dignity and their own unique dream. I believe they have every right in the world to pursue that dream no matter how far fetched it may seem. I will stand by them and help them achieve that dream if I am able to.

So yeah he's a big grinning dope with an odd perspective on life. So am I.

[Bouncy Ball]

89. Mine is my KITTY!!!

Clarissa Marie! And Commie Pinko Dirtbag made it avatar sized for me!

[Freebird12004]

90. I believe in Dragons, Good Men and other fantasy creatures....

It says so on one of my bumper sticker!

We all have Dragons in our lives, it's up to the individual to befriend or slay the dragon.

[HEIL PRESIDENT GOD]

97. Whoa

All this time I'd been sitting back here seeing that one as Zen calligraphy reproduced in pink for some unknown reason. Which says something about belief in dragons, I think.

[Freebird12004]

100. Like - they aren't all breathing fire.

People have always accused me of being very "Zen" in my ways.

[Robeson]

91. Minnesota Vikings.

[last_texas_dem]

92. Al Gore

'cause I like Al. I think he's a good guy, and think the world would be much better off in so many ways if he would have been able to hold the office he was rightfully elected to in 2000.

I change mine from time to time, though, but Al's kinda my default.

[TyeDye75]

93. Im a pro European hippy liberal

[hippywife]

94. Mine is my hero!

Or was until I lost my star, ;(

[enigmatic]

95. It's me

Literally; well, a good facsimile, anyway..

[RevolutionaryActs]

101. A dream that will never come true.

:(

[Book Lover]

102. I have a lot of respect

for Twain. He did his time in the 1890's California boom; I did my time in the 1990's one. He seemed, to me, to have moved away from party politics and gave it good to all comers.

Gee, though, now that I've thought this through, I'm think I'll change again...

[jonnyblitz]

103. peace.

[Der Engel der Katzen]

104. I'm an Angels' fan and a dedicated feline advocate.

:bounce:

[Xithras]

105. It's one of my favorite places in the world.

I've hiked nearly every trail in Yosemite, and have been to the top of Half Dome six times. On a cool summer day, there are few places in the world that are more peaceful and tranquil. When I get stressed out at work and need to envision my "happy place" to chill out, I envision that.

[Magrittes Pipe]

106. It's a picture of Jeffrey Lee Pierce.

It doesn't mean anything.

[qnr]

109. Ensign Opus,

Celebrates my love of my experiences in before I became and ended up as a developer for a distro named

[LynzM]

110. I finally changed mine....

It has to do with what I believe about people in general, and myself, specifically (the last quote in my sig).

[entanglement]

112. My avatar is Tux,

the famous Linux penguin. To know more about tux, visit this site
http://www.sjbaker.org/tux/