Tattoosday (A Tattoo Blog): New York Ink

<span id="internal-source-marker_0.02532293081978254" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Tonight on <a href="http://tlc.discovery.com/">TLC</a>, <a href="http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/tv/ny-ink"><i>New York Ink</i></a> premieres its second season. For those of you who may have blinked, I got about six seconds of quality screen time in season 1, episode 7, at the tail end of the show. I figured I'd share my experience here, in conjunction with the premiere of the show's sophomore run.</span><br /><br /><span id="internal-source-marker_0.02532293081978254" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Ever since news broke earlier this year that <a href="http://ami-james.com/blog/">Ami James</a>, formerly of TLC’s </span><a href="http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/tv/miami-ink"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Miami Ink</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, was opening up shop in New York City, and developing </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">NY Ink</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, people within and on the periphery of the tattoo industry were waiting to see how it would play up.</span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Bits and pieces of news fragments floated about during the spring, in the blogosphere, and in the print media. <a href="http://nymag.com/shopping/openings/wooster-street-social-club-2011-5/">This piece</a>, in </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">New York</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> magazine really caught my attention.</span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">So,  a few weeks before the series was set to premiere on TLC during the  first week of June, I was excited to see, on one of my favorite sites,  <a href="http://tattoosnob.com/">Tattoo Snob</a>, this blurb:</span><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><h2 dir="ltr"><a href="http://tattoosnob.com/2011/05/18/new-york-inks-50-rooster-deal/"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">New York Ink’s $50 rooster deal</span></a></h2><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Wooster Street Social Club (A.K.A. the home of</span><a href="http://tattoosnob.com/tag/new-york-ink/"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">New York Ink</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">)  will be hosting/shooting a $50 rooster tattoo event on Friday, May  20th. The event starts at 11am, and will air at the end of Season 1 of  New York Ink.</span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Send  an RSVP email today to nyinkcasting@gmail.com with the subject: RSVP  ROOSTER. Be sure to include your name, phone number and email address  and you’ll be put on the VIP list.</span></blockquote><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Well,  as you would imagine, my interest was piqued, so I dashed off an email  and crossed my fingers. I then asked for Friday off, anticipating that I  could get down there, thinking they were going to do one of those  Friday-the-13th-like events, tattooing hundreds of roosters on adoring  fans. Surely, I thought, I was fast enough out of the gate to make the  list.</span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Unfortunately,  that night I got an email from <i>NY Ink</i> breaking it to me that I wasn’t  selected, but I was more than welcome to come down and be an extra.</span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Not  really interested in missing work to <i>not </i>get a tattoo, I chalked it up to experience and BBM’d my boss and told him I’d be in Friday, after  all.</span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“Never mind about Friday,” I messaged, “just got an email saying they were booked solid.”</span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“That sucks,” he wrote back.</span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“I could go, but no guarantee,” I messaged back, “not worth it.”</span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">He tried to console me, “At least you won’t have a dumb rooster on you for the rest of your life.”</span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">That was one way of looking at it.</span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The next day, I had just returned from lunch when the following e-mail hit my BlackBerry:</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Exciting news! We have added 5 more spots to the guaranteed rooster tattoo list  for tomorrow. If you are still interested in the $50 tattoo event tomorrow, and  100% want to get the tattoo please reply to this email by 2pm today with the  subject line "100% rooster." Please note we need you to arrive by 11 AM sharp,  and do not have an end time for the shoot. You need to be able to commit fully  to the day in order to be involved. <br /><div><br /></div><div>The first 5 people to reply to this email will be added to the guaranteed  rooster tattoo list. You will receive a confirmation email and phone call if you  are chosen. Anyone we do not respond to is still more than welcome to attend the  event but cannot be guaranteed a rooster tattoo.</div><div><br /></div><div>Thanks and good luck! </div></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><div>NY Ink Casting<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div></blockquote><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><div><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I responded immediately and things looked promising when I got this message:</span></div></blockquote><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Hi Bill- <br /><div><br /></div><div>What is your phone number?</div><div><br /></div><div>Thanks!</div></blockquote><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Moments after sending my number, I got the call. I was in! The production team sent me the logistics and I was good to go.</span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I got completely razzed by my boss, but he gave me the day off.</span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">With  my mother's birthday approaching, I thought it would be fun to dedicate  the rooster tattoo to her late "pet" Golden, memorialized <a href="http://oxypoet.blogspot.com/2008/05/news-from-ranch-golden-1998-may-8-2008.html">here</a>.  In addition, I thought that the personal side of this story would make  my rooster tattoo stand out among all the others being inked. It was a  decent strategy, I thought. Just to show I wasn't making this up, I brought a picture of Golden along with me to the shoot.</span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I  arrived early, about 30 minutes or so ahead of the call time, bemoaning  the fact that I was arriving much later than I anticipated, thinking  they were going to be inking a ton of roosters. I was the only one  there, but the crowd quickly grew to a few dozen. Still, I thought, much  less than I anticipated.</span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I  even spotted a Tattoosday contributor <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2010/09/liz-flexes-her-tyrannosaurus-rex.html">Liz</a> in line and wondered who else I would see. It was a bit of a  blur, as people filled out forms, had photos taken, and mingled. I met  a guy named Roy, who saw I had checked in on Facebook, and he friended me as we stood  in line. He had driven up from Philadelphia for the occasion.</span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">A light rain had started to fall, and we huddled under a construction scaffold across the street from the shop.</span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I  was still puzzled by the small group of people present, considering the  call for volunteers. When one producer asked “those getting rooster  tattoos” to come up on a landing above the sidewalk where we were all  standing, I was even further shocked by the small group of us that broke  off of the main group. I asked the producer how many of us were getting  tattoos and my heart jumped when she looked at her clipboard and said,  “There’s only ten of you.” I was stunned, I thought we’d be vying for  airtime with dozens of people, based on the instructions we should be  expected to stay “all day, into the evening”. It would certainly be  easier to stand out with only nine other people getting inked.</span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCKv3PVzAccrTZxpt358DoOqlJigUwcDKgt88fh6OA98PX-ZWd5LSALC9ZPVQIfqVv8jKbUFpDKhfPCU4G3Mo5Rc3izhwXZt3prt7uxsv5KKpqM1yd5hxaaGOKkP8tsHd5sTWdRnBIpJc/s1600/wooster+st.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="560" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCKv3PVzAccrTZxpt358DoOqlJigUwcDKgt88fh6OA98PX-ZWd5LSALC9ZPVQIfqVv8jKbUFpDKhfPCU4G3Mo5Rc3izhwXZt3prt7uxsv5KKpqM1yd5hxaaGOKkP8tsHd5sTWdRnBIpJc/s640/wooster+st.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Cut  to us being ferried across the street for some exterior shots in front  of the shop. Slight drizzle still falling. It was then that I noticed,  maybe forty feet away, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corey_Miller_%28tattoo_artist%29">Corey Miller</a> standing under a tree watching us. I  had just met him the night before (recounted <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2011/05/best-week-ever-tattoosday-edition.html">here</a>) and 24 hours later  here he was again! There was a slight buzz as a few of us recognized him  and wondered, would we be getting a rooster tattoo from Corey Miller?</span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Time  sped up as the moment of truth arrived. After an unknown person, who we  later learn is Floor Manager, <a href="http://www.askrobear.com/about">Robear</a>, does a rooster-costumed warm-up  in the light rain, Ami James opens the door and yells “who wants a fifty  dollar cock?”</span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">That’s  our cue to file in and I am number five, or last, in the first group. A woman named <a href="http://www.jessicalynngahring.com/">Jessica</a>, the shop manager, gives us paperwork as the  cameras roll. I watch with envy as I see <a href="http://saltwatertattoo.com/">Tim Hendricks</a> pick a client,  then Ami James, then <a href="http://tommymontoya.com/">Tommy Montoya</a>, and Roy, who knows <a href="http://www.meganmassacre.com/">Megan Massacre</a>  from Philly, gets paired up with her. Who’s left? I don’t see <a href="http://www.christorrestattoos.com/">Chris  Torres</a>, but there are people running around everywhere, and the shop  looks amazing. Huge, spacious, covered with art.</span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I  chat with Jessica and discover she knows Marisa and Brian, from <a href="http://needlesandsins.com/">Needles  and Sins</a>. I show her my picture of Golden, the famous Hawaiian rooster, and she hands  me a post-it with the number five on it.</span><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwhN_LdcW9B2cqQq2FdyDkGgYJbXUpXDJuXsWqSjPld935wH40iBanXZKNoJIugL8CazYYEOp4CWiNDu0t3wLmzYfn_J4WOvwqPksNt3Aa5fofJWJdAP7AV-GbfQ1ghgyvCnzoYdh9rcw/s1600/golden2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwhN_LdcW9B2cqQq2FdyDkGgYJbXUpXDJuXsWqSjPld935wH40iBanXZKNoJIugL8CazYYEOp4CWiNDu0t3wLmzYfn_J4WOvwqPksNt3Aa5fofJWJdAP7AV-GbfQ1ghgyvCnzoYdh9rcw/s400/golden2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Golden, photo courtesy Diane Ferreira</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The next five sign in at the  desk and the other folks from the line sit in the waiting area, as human  background. I stand around, eschewing a seat, figuring I will be more  visible and not overlooked. When the show finally airs, I am prominently  lurking in many of the shots, maroon Tommy Bahama shirt sticking out  like a sore thumb.</span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Tattoo  machines whir and Jessica comes up to me telling me she’s going to set  me up with Ami. This brings me great joy. The flash for the roosters is a  little disappointing, five versions of small tribal cocks, in various  positions, crowing, strutting, with various color schemes. Black. Black  fading to red. Black fading to blue. Black fading to green. If I am  going to get a small, unimpressive rooster silhouette, let it be from Ami  James, I think.</span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I  do an on-camera interview with the producers, plugging Tattoosday and  sharing the story of Golden, my mother’s deceased Hawaiian rooster. I  know it’s not likely that much of it will air, but I figure it’s good  for something.</span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The  second wave of clients get tattooed. I pay my $50, including a $10 tip.  I am keeping an eye on Ami but he doesn’t seem to be gearing up for  another client. I start to get a sinking feeling about the likelihood of  his getting to tattoo me. I am standing around nervously, imagining how  this could be going wrong, with a worst-case scenario playing out in my  head, as they give me my money back and apologize.</span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Of  course, that doesn’t happen. Jessica approaches me, biting her lip and  saying, apologetically, “Ami’s not doing any more tattoos, but I’ve set  you up with Megan. She’s really good.” I don’t doubt what she’s saying,  but the disappointment clearly made itself known on my face.</span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">There’s  only a few clients left in the shop. Most of the “background” people  have taken off. I observe the goings-on about the shop with keen  interest. I always knew that these reality shows relied on orchestration  and staging, but I am struck by how much of the show seems staged for  the cameras.</span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In  the mean time, Megan is ready for me. She is sweet as sugar and much  better looking than Ami, so I start thinking that this might not be so  terrible after all. But then, much to my surprise, Megan Massacre makes  me a fan for life by going completely outside the box.</span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I  show her the picture of Golden that I brought along for inspiration,  and she asks which design I want. I show her the silhouette and she asks  if I mind if she tries something a little different, with some color,  to make him more like my mom’s rooster. I give her full artistic license  and she starts tattooing. I ask for it on my inner right arm and she  uncannily picks a spot and orientation that matches my Friday the 13th  Anchor tattoo.</span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I  want to be surprised so I don’t watch much. Tommy Montoya and Tim  Hendricks swing by to check out Megan’s work. Everyone else is done and  people are cleaning up their stations. Tim whistles and exclaims,  “Megan, are you trying to show us up?” I consider this a good sign.  Tommy makes some crude remarks, “Megan, you’re making his cock bleed.” I  laugh and say “Hey, my kids watch this show!” Tommy later proclaims  that Megan just might get the award for “Cock of the Day”.</span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">When  Megan finishes, I get a good look at her handiwork and I’m stunned. I  was expecting a solid tribal rooster and I got this instead:</span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMG0ks209aKfIvFi7Rtrp2Ev5XSwojD8fRNobRlwyGXKVqpXqscJXwYRVbSeNsKogh5p61AX3X6bPlEhZln201EN6QyYwP3ijaWA2A9jY4CmKUgzBQoVFGRmYZ6Mb9gnY3F0a5cojWT0w/s1600/Megan+rooster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMG0ks209aKfIvFi7Rtrp2Ev5XSwojD8fRNobRlwyGXKVqpXqscJXwYRVbSeNsKogh5p61AX3X6bPlEhZln201EN6QyYwP3ijaWA2A9jY4CmKUgzBQoVFGRmYZ6Mb9gnY3F0a5cojWT0w/s640/Megan+rooster.jpg" width="437" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I  am astonished at what she has done with colors to give my rooster a  dusty brown and gold appearance. Compare this to the type of rooster others received:</span><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiREtvO99-dG-s_dcg1hq4hNommn3s4DGtgrsDZ08zN4wqjlj3z38DU6QTXU6EbjFqAxm0InzUTYoJaCZG0bp7oHy4s4C3e89zYJ3W-Xwbh-RauPQqjtD6A56oPYbNHkUtNdnYcJbzrv0k/s1600/roy+rooster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiREtvO99-dG-s_dcg1hq4hNommn3s4DGtgrsDZ08zN4wqjlj3z38DU6QTXU6EbjFqAxm0InzUTYoJaCZG0bp7oHy4s4C3e89zYJ3W-Xwbh-RauPQqjtD6A56oPYbNHkUtNdnYcJbzrv0k/s320/roy+rooster.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Roy Chapman</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I know for certain, Ami would never  have done that for me, and I doubt that Tommy, Tim, or Billy would have  done that. I didn’t even ask for it. Megan just went with it and hit it  out of the park.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8vBvwuFZb3O0qMjX25JxtnIoJWgnPz1o871FqUMgY9GAtg1zZJtS99zOH6EvoYWsSJu4loEJU924kSiz90VrwaDCr1iN9LjdvOyagO84-GlHxJUIv_m1ZMCcmVOtUsu8ixyPiC4SpeJ8/s1600/Megan+and+Bill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8vBvwuFZb3O0qMjX25JxtnIoJWgnPz1o871FqUMgY9GAtg1zZJtS99zOH6EvoYWsSJu4loEJU924kSiz90VrwaDCr1iN9LjdvOyagO84-GlHxJUIv_m1ZMCcmVOtUsu8ixyPiC4SpeJ8/s640/Megan+and+Bill.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Three  days later, on my mother’s birthday, we called her on Skype in Hawaii,  and I showed her the Golden tattoo. She was thrilled that their old  rooster was immortalized on my flesh.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlWyu5WENLYXcayy1SGhyphenhyphen6P49VbYclxOTYOtzPrfN0J8EsFOcOkue9RgndGfpWYCa18vTW-ejGKIq7T_3w5PlAcw8BftuoDPmeRuvdX_umTsl-rywtHUHIsqY-bhhx5thXWZePw7Gk73s/s1600/rooster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlWyu5WENLYXcayy1SGhyphenhyphen6P49VbYclxOTYOtzPrfN0J8EsFOcOkue9RgndGfpWYCa18vTW-ejGKIq7T_3w5PlAcw8BftuoDPmeRuvdX_umTsl-rywtHUHIsqY-bhhx5thXWZePw7Gk73s/s320/rooster.jpg" width="279" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The  show aired on July 21, 2011. I  was excited to see a glimpse of me the previous week in the preview at  the end of episode 6. Of course, shortly thereafter, the huge  controversy surrounding TLC’s one-off <i>Tattoo School</i> blew up on Facebook  and it seemed like most of my tattoo artist FB friends had "Boycott TLC"  profile pictures. So, I gathered, not that many artists watch the  ink-based “reality” shows on TLC, but there were likely fewer watching  than normal. Such is life.</span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">When  the show aired, the Rooster event was left for the final five minutes  of the episode. I pop up in the background quite a bit, and wham! There I  am “William” talking about how Ami is going to tattoo my rooster,  dedicated to Golden, whose picture I show on camera. But that’s all of  me. No blog mention, as I gathered, but I was a little disappointed  because, they showed quite a few of the finished rooster tattoos, but  they didn’t show Megan’s effort which I think, all personal bias aside,  was the finest one of the day.</span><br /><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Thanks  to Megan Massacre for giving me a remarkable tattoo when she could have  just given me the standard rooster everyone else was getting. I still  look at it and marvel at how well she did with such a tiny piece, and I  continue to receive compliments on it.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday. </span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">  </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://tattoosday.blogspot.com</a> and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.</span></div><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span>

The Long Story About a Small Tattoo, or, Megan Massacre's Golden Touch

Tonight on TLC , New York Ink premieres its second season. For those of you who may have blinked, I got about six seconds of quality screen...

Tattoosday (A Tattoo Blog)

About Me

The Long Story About a Small Tattoo, or, Megan Massacre's Golden Touch

Emily's Typewriter

Popular Posts

Blog Archive