If you're going to be wrong...

... may as well go for it 100%.

What you see here is the image from January issue of Smithsonian Magazine I referred to a few days ago. To my eye, this is a really strange photograph... In particular, the partially cropped (but entirely evident) swastika tattoed on Mark Michaelson's left palm is what really got me. Why this photo? The hands seem so deliberately included, a detail which in no way connects to the content of the article - a story about mugshots.

Anyway, I wanted to report that, indeed, I'm wrong. At least in the case of Mr. Michaelson who kindly writes:

hi pablo, i haven't seen the smithsonian story yet but i heard they were
going to use this picture cropped somehow. i'm including a link to the
original. i am not a man of hate. i just love mugshots. 'mort lied' refers
to a guy named mort who didn't tell the truth. hope this helps explain.
best,
mark

The link is here.

Pretty amazing huh?! This shocking reveal happily returns Mr. Michaelson to the realms of a man with an interesting obsession and an apparent yearning for truth. My sincere apologies Mark. Sorry about the "menacing" comment too. Actually, I know a few girls who go for the intense John Malkovich meets Abbie Hoffman look you've got going. I'd be happy to make introductions.

With Mr. Michaelson in the clear, the story is not over yet... What exactly is the reason for The Smithsonian's bizarre cropping which, in this Photoshop junkies opinion, could simply not be an accident? Am I making mountains out of molehills? Swastikas out of Sharpie marks? Could this be another right wing conspiracy? Honestly, I don't know. I'll just have to wait and hear from the Smithsonian's in-no-way biased Board of Regents. Won't I?

(Mark Michaelson's book here.)