Brian's Literary Chest Tattoo

The weather here in New York has been turning autumnal and visible tattoos have been disappearing from the streets, but fear not, Readers, we still have material to get us through the end of the year, thanks to a backlog of photos from the summer!<br /><br />Case in  point is this tattoo from Brian:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLAtV7lm4beSurWUx3IsfuZB6SFORwt1z84UCpLw_NBWn49xHpzcK22gGK9TFFRkxqeapZ7RMZkp5_wAAK5TF6vrNw-gdlHJsYGEm8wMIN3B2wdLiLxFaHk_bEABUJg0RbmlaIrrJSw8M/s1600/incomplete+imperfect.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLAtV7lm4beSurWUx3IsfuZB6SFORwt1z84UCpLw_NBWn49xHpzcK22gGK9TFFRkxqeapZ7RMZkp5_wAAK5TF6vrNw-gdlHJsYGEm8wMIN3B2wdLiLxFaHk_bEABUJg0RbmlaIrrJSw8M/s640/incomplete+imperfect.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><br />I met Brian at a drugstore in Bay Ridge, back in the beginning of August. He told me he had just started working as an apprentice at <a href="http://alistindustry.com/">A-List Industry Tattoos</a>, a few blocks away.<br /><br />At the time, Brian had seven tattoos, including this chest piece, which is comprised of two parts.<br /><br />The top section reads "Incomplete - Imperfect" and is an allusion to lines from <a href="http://chuckpalahniuk.net/">Chuck Palahniuk's</a> novel <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fight-Club-Novel-Chuck-Palahniuk/dp/0805062971">Fight Club</a>: <br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">"<span style="font-family: georgia,bookman old style,palatino linotype,book antiqua,palatino,trebuchet ms,helvetica,garamond,sans-serif,arial,verdana,avante garde,century gothic,comic sans ms,times,times new roman,serif;">May I never be complete.  May I never be content.  May I never be perfect.  Deliver me, Tyler, from being perfect and complete."</span></blockquote>Brian credited this piece to Paul Ilardi, the owner at <a href="http://www.monstertattoosnyc.com/home.html">Monster Tattoos</a> on Staten Island.<br /><br />The bottom section of the tattoo features a banner that reads "Death steals everything but out stories."<br /><br />Brian explained that he took this to mean that "what outlives us is the memories we have, the stories we have".<br /><br />It's actually the final line in a short poem by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Harrison">Jim Harrison</a>:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><h2>Larson's Holstein Bull</h2><br />Death waits inside us for a door to open.<br />Death is patient as a dead cat.<br />Death is a doorknob made of flesh.<br />Death is that angelic farm girl<br />gored by the bull on her way home<br />from school, crossing the pasture<br />for a shortcut. In the seventh grade<br />she couldn't read or write. She wasn't a virgin.<br />She was "simpleminded," we all said.<br />It was May, a time of lilacs and shooting stars.<br />She's lived in my memory for sixty years.<br />Death steals everything except our stories..</blockquote>Brian credited this part of the tattoo to <a href="http://www.bullseyetattooshop.com/cesar/cesar_tattoos.htm">Cesar</a> at <a href="http://bullseyetattooshop.com/">Bullseye Tattoos</a>, also on Staten Island.<br /><br />Thanks to Brian for sharing his ink with us here on Tattoosday!<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=bill03-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=0805062971" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=bill03-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=1556593198" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe></div><br /><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday, with the exception of  "Larson's Holstein Bull" by Jim Harrison from <i>In Search of Small Gods</i>. © Copper Canyon Press, 2009. </span></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;">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="font-size: x-small;"> </span>

Brian's Literary Chest Tattoo

The weather here in New York has been turning autumnal and visible tattoos have been disappearing from the streets, but fear not, Readers, w...

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Cogito Chuck Robbins (Literary Ink)

Sometimes I abbreviate post titles and they seem nonsensical, like one of those <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAPTCHA">captcha</a> messages, or a subject line in a morsel of spam.<br /><br />So I'm sticking with this title "Cogito Chuck Robbins" because I like the way it sounds. So there. It will all make sense eventually.<br /><br />I met Chris outside of Penn Station one Friday afternoon, intrigued by his forearm tattoo:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpm99dWqN37zsg39oE3pc03cCWtE2YmZoWbMJVqdnmLIv3OAKnWe5u4j7GTT90SrcCD81ZWdcJMfYceCiipZys_vTadN_mH7l4iHA-8jSLxWqpE3PoZfosAymzALNK_EaV2ASqwPVqNTE/s1600-h/Cogito+Ergo+Sum.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385766032772704722" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpm99dWqN37zsg39oE3pc03cCWtE2YmZoWbMJVqdnmLIv3OAKnWe5u4j7GTT90SrcCD81ZWdcJMfYceCiipZys_vTadN_mH7l4iHA-8jSLxWqpE3PoZfosAymzALNK_EaV2ASqwPVqNTE/s400/Cogito+Ergo+Sum.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" /></a><br />"<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cogito_ergo_sum">Cogito ergo sum</a>" is a Latin phrase that means, in English, "I think, therefore, I am." It is attributed to the 17th Century French philosopher <span lang="fr"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9_Descartes" title="René Descartes">René Descartes</a></span>.<br /><br />This was the first of Chris' three tattoos. He is a philosophy and creative writing major at <a href="http://www.newpaltz.edu/">SUNY New Paltz</a>. This phrase is the "missing link in a belief system," or, in his words, "what I always knew, but never knew".<br /><br />The tattoo was done at a shop in <a href="http://local.yahoo.com/NY/East+Meadow/Health+Beauty/Tattoos+Piercings">East Meadow, New York</a>.<br /><br />Chris also has this dead bird near his right elbow:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhktPF6FXQSOT3BgJl_uQs8YZMCWpqoqfClNJ1Uzxywk4v73Nz91EcyPZhavxmbUMTiMlne0JRqlOY3e6Y6OvOXEhaLk2bE1VMl4aInMtPion962Kqm_8-fNmiOcq48AGpqrcT42zy8g28/s1600-h/Palahniuk+Dead+Bird.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385762431395699138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhktPF6FXQSOT3BgJl_uQs8YZMCWpqoqfClNJ1Uzxywk4v73Nz91EcyPZhavxmbUMTiMlne0JRqlOY3e6Y6OvOXEhaLk2bE1VMl4aInMtPion962Kqm_8-fNmiOcq48AGpqrcT42zy8g28/s400/Palahniuk+Dead+Bird.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 349px;" /></a><br />Inked at <a href="http://www.myspace.com/skindeepny">Skin Deep Tattoo</a> in Levittown, this is inspired by the art on the cover of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Palahniuk">Chuck Palahniuk's</a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lullaby-Chuck-Palahniuk/dp/0385722192/ref=ed_oe_p">Lullaby</a>.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZmekJ-xq1yD0OD4q540TPe4SR3KTcWQYiKQ0-v4x5kiGEJPDE3ZzCN0sdLuPlWtZmipvAba17eXXfgs5yYbdxMRsgXeD-QePTGswT2JcRy9GP9FcMgKxqb9x7xcZ26UbYJg62Wdt7Jjc/s1600-h/lullaby.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385763656859786626" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZmekJ-xq1yD0OD4q540TPe4SR3KTcWQYiKQ0-v4x5kiGEJPDE3ZzCN0sdLuPlWtZmipvAba17eXXfgs5yYbdxMRsgXeD-QePTGswT2JcRy9GP9FcMgKxqb9x7xcZ26UbYJg62Wdt7Jjc/s400/lullaby.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 257px; height: 400px;" /></a>Work from Skin Deep has appeared previously on Tattoosday <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/search/label/Skin%20Deep%20Tattoo%20%28Levittown%29">here</a>. Palahniuk also has quite a cult following, and his work is the most often represented in ink here on Tattoosday. Check out other Palahniuk tattoos <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/search/label/Chuck%20Palahniuk">here</a>.<br /><br />And Chris' third tattoo is based on the cover art from one of my favorite authors, <a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/author/results.pperl?authorid=25708">Tom Robbins</a>:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM8GjuF_ViFoFElAluC_UGHLRtproqO4rPvOqMtK6G6ov0y292ss1bI9hl3Bio6MNqnHyM8TWzGChxCKVwbKpGw9d3_KdRPK8v8FSPV8kbgIEDKmmSFKO9UgpjYA7Pot_gA9750mWdFMY/s1600-h/still+life+woodpecker.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385761861980644834" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM8GjuF_ViFoFElAluC_UGHLRtproqO4rPvOqMtK6G6ov0y292ss1bI9hl3Bio6MNqnHyM8TWzGChxCKVwbKpGw9d3_KdRPK8v8FSPV8kbgIEDKmmSFKO9UgpjYA7Pot_gA9750mWdFMY/s400/still+life+woodpecker.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 301px;" /></a><br />This echoes the front of the great book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Still-Life-Woodpecker-Tom-Robbins/dp/0553348973">Still Life With Woodpecker</a>, which has made many people a fan of the writer.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqe2v7BWcDOBCPNqALj4mdPSoOYJv6-_Wk3njhczuhgn7t5tNTkjuYpJtfPiVPh3tkJJcCnkDT1vEPtRaLygijYN3O4fO-jDoFIhzp7vvS3fPYda4zUPE4y-eo1Y9FjDPB8vdr37QTG28/s1600-h/Woodpeckerslw.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385764748686703394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqe2v7BWcDOBCPNqALj4mdPSoOYJv6-_Wk3njhczuhgn7t5tNTkjuYpJtfPiVPh3tkJJcCnkDT1vEPtRaLygijYN3O4fO-jDoFIhzp7vvS3fPYda4zUPE4y-eo1Y9FjDPB8vdr37QTG28/s400/Woodpeckerslw.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 291px;" /></a><br />The piece, which was inked by <a href="http://www.myspace.com/mikeyvlad">Mike Vlad</a> at <a href="http://www.triplextattoo.com/">Triple X Tattoo</a> in Manhattan, is a subtle nod in appreciation of Robbins and his great book. Work from Triple X has appeared previously on Tattoosday <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/search/label/Triple%20X%20Tattoo">here</a>.<br /><br />If you like these pieces, and are a fan of literary tattoos, you should certainly check out <a href="http://www.contrariwise.org/">Contrariwise</a>, a site dedicated solely to contributors' literary ink.<br /><br />A hearty thanks to Chris for sharing his tattoos with us here on our site!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=bill03-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&m=amazon&f=ifr&md=10FE9736YVPPT7A0FBG2&asins=0553348973" style="width: 120px; height: 240px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=bill03-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&m=amazon&f=ifr&md=10FE9736YVPPT7A0FBG2&asins=0385504470" style="width: 120px; height: 240px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><br /></div>

Cogito Chuck Robbins (Literary Ink)

Sometimes I abbreviate post titles and they seem nonsensical, like one of those captcha messages, or a subject line in a morsel of spam. S...

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Behold, Quadrapus!

I met Colleen on Penn Plaza and her ankle tattoo jumped out at me from a distance. It was so unusual, I just had to stop and ask her about it.<br /><br />Behold: Quadrapus!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin2zjft3j6p_J3A0LUkQWcq1DDCwlGH_E_Ag9CI7tttq9KgVhtOt1t3bNr_IvWkw1wGz7vgWYLwtEdZ-N45fb1FnhhTL9Qe18tynf6USP1vDXOVXhOvb8gUhFoCxODAawl6yGA-IQ-QNQ/s1600-h/Quadrapus.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361230431403843106" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin2zjft3j6p_J3A0LUkQWcq1DDCwlGH_E_Ag9CI7tttq9KgVhtOt1t3bNr_IvWkw1wGz7vgWYLwtEdZ-N45fb1FnhhTL9Qe18tynf6USP1vDXOVXhOvb8gUhFoCxODAawl6yGA-IQ-QNQ/s400/Quadrapus.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 277px; height: 400px;" /></a><br />If this four-limbed octopus-like creature looks fanciful, it's because it is based on a child's beach toy used to mold sand shapes.<br /><br />Colleen explains that she and about twenty of her friends all got this same tattoo, but in different colors, to commemorate their summer where a majority of time was spent at the beach. There was a house involved, which was the epicenter of activity, and the plastic octopus beach toys were on the walls, used as decor. "Quadrapus" became a symbol and mascot for a memorable season.<br /><br />This was inked by Josh at <a href="http://brokenhearttattoo.com/">Broken Heart Tattoo</a> in Keyport, New Jersey. Coincidentally, a tattoo from Broken Heart appeared just this past Saturday <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2009/07/daniels-back-piece-begins.html">here</a> on Tattoosday.<br /><br />Incidentally, Collen has seven other tattoos, and I couldn't resist snapping a shot of this literary ink:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLQxzkaJ89FF5Hr8QSmlb1Z27p2f6YZSVRXYBrzekH3Mg_BFuZMLYWJ61hEOc9vCQK2jBL_0JVrn1sfblJUtHlRiZNp6rHtVwkBvp7AvNVi-pSaL5vf8_LWGrRHEyM6XJIVu_okPuWIfQ/s1600-h/Palahniuk.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361229662228879378" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLQxzkaJ89FF5Hr8QSmlb1Z27p2f6YZSVRXYBrzekH3Mg_BFuZMLYWJ61hEOc9vCQK2jBL_0JVrn1sfblJUtHlRiZNp6rHtVwkBvp7AvNVi-pSaL5vf8_LWGrRHEyM6XJIVu_okPuWIfQ/s400/Palahniuk.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 302px;" /></a><br />The quote "You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake " is from the seminal first novel <a href="http://chuckpalahniuk.net/">Chuck Palahniuk</a> novel <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fight_Club">Fight Club</a>. Tyler Durden's character states:<br /><br /><blockquote>"You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake. You are the same decaying organic matter as everyone else, and we are all a part of the same compost pile."<br /></blockquote><br />Palahniuk is her favorite author and she loves the meaning behind this quote, from a passage where the speaker is questioning the notion of individuality. Deep down, Collen explained, he's saying we're all the same, that no one is as special as they think they are. Juxtaposed with the snowflake, the symbol of uniqueness, this tattoo makes a bold statement.<br /><br />Check out a couple other Palahniuk literary tattoos <a href="http://www.contrariwise.org/tag/chuck-palahniuk/">here</a> over on the awesome site dedicated to literary ink, <a href="http://www.contrariwise.org/">Contrariwise</a>.<br /><br />This was inked at <a href="http://www.myspace.com/silkcitytattoo">Silk City Tattoo</a> in Hawthorne, New Jersey by <a href="http://www.myspace.com/chichigunz">Chi Chi Gunz</a>. Work from Silk City is New Jersey has appeared previously on Tattoosday <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/search/label/Silk%20City%20Tattoo">here</a>.<br /><br />Thanks to Colleen for sharing her fun and interesting tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Behold, Quadrapus!

I met Colleen on Penn Plaza and her ankle tattoo jumped out at me from a distance. It was so unusual, I just had to stop and ask her about i...

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