Tattoo Regret

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI4eh-b5geq62tiUuLGZSK6J263XFH0x43LEDqb8ANVdxerElM4HIh29_qdxpWeK65MWdU1-NVl6veM1V2avXnQmpAIrW0EIthBurXFdsbgBNvJdxdDJJ2fKE6qkiwCumuF5pO-tyvG3yD/s1600-h/23safire600.1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114076941523817746" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI4eh-b5geq62tiUuLGZSK6J263XFH0x43LEDqb8ANVdxerElM4HIh29_qdxpWeK65MWdU1-NVl6veM1V2avXnQmpAIrW0EIthBurXFdsbgBNvJdxdDJJ2fKE6qkiwCumuF5pO-tyvG3yD/s400/23safire600.1.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a>The following excerpt comes from this past Sunday's (9/23/07) popular "On Language" column by William Safire in <span style="font-style: italic;">the New York Times Magazine</span>.<blockquote><nyt_text></nyt_text>“<b>As tattoos become</b> more popular,” reads a headline in The International Herald Tribune over an article by Natasha Singer of The New York Times, “so does ‘<i>tattoo regret</i>.’ ”<p>On the other side of the world, in Brisbane, Australia, The Sunday Mail warned last year: “Think before you ink. That’s the message skin experts are preaching as ‘tattoo regret’ booms.” It reported that a Queensland athlete — embarrassed about a smiling devil’s face etched on his back — complained in rhyme of suffering “severe <i>tattoo-rue</i>.”</p><p>“The <i>regret</i> combining form is found in a lot of current writing,” notes Ann Rubin Wort, a former Times colleague. “Nowadays people are acting more impulsively; thus, regrets aplenty and the resulting need to nullify capricious choices.”</p><p>Regret about the permanence of skin illustration is rising. The Washington Post reported that a Harris Poll a few years ago indicated that nearly half the young women between 18 and 29 surveyed had at least one tattoo, and that 17 percent of all tattooed Americans who had tattoos regretted getting them. It seems that many of the aging former teenagers have had a skinful.</p><p>Etymology of the dermatology: Earliest use I can find of nostalgia for an unmarked epidermis is a headline above a 1989 Times column by Lawrence K. Altman, M.D.: “For Those With Tattoo Regret, Here’s Hope.” Back in that day, laser treatment was the great hope; now it seems that a new tattooing ink has been developed that, it is claimed, may make removal of tattoos by laser more practical.</p><p>This column’s interest, as Wort notes, is in the collocation combining form — the way a new phrase is made by substituting one element of a familiar phrase. (A generation ago, the lexical response to <i>backlash</i> was <i>frontlash</i>; applying that replacement technique to a phrase, a moderate critic of our present war policy suggested that the answer to the charge of “cut and run” should be a centrist approach of “cut and walk.”)</p><p><i>Tattoo regret</i> is formed on the analogy of <i>buyer’s regret</i>, more vividly and widely expressed as <i>buyer’s remorse</i>. Until this collocation was formed, the idea took longer to express, as in this 1891 citation from a San Antonio paper: “They who bought winter hats . . . early in the fall are now <i>repenting their rashness at leisure</i>.” The same anguished repentance happened this year to early buyers of Apple’s hotly touted <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/i/iphone/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier" title="Recent and archival news about the iPhone.">iPhone</a>, who plunked down $600 only to find the item reduced to $400 a couple of months later, lowering the puissance of the status symbol.</p><p><i>Buyer’s remorse</i> is a phrase probably coined in the auto industry a half-century ago. Grant Barrett, editor of the online Double-Tongued Dictionary, has a citation from The Los Angeles Times in 1946 reporting a customer’s complaint that her auto dealer “told her she had ‘buyer’s remorse’ and since she had signed the contract she had to stick to it.”</p><p>In 1957, Leon Festinger came up with a theory of “cognitive dissonance,” in which he posited the opposite of buyer’s remorse: Most of us tend to embrace the choice we make, so as to reduce the self-critical dissonance in our minds. When we buy a Ford, we read Ford ads and shy away from reading the ads of Toyota.</p><p>The <i>regret</i> or <i>remorse</i> combining form has an immediate future in politics. As the states play backward leapfrog with their primaries, we face a stretch of nine months of campaigning leading up to the national parties’ conventions next summer. As the political winds blow hot and cold, as candidates’ poll ratings rise and fall after each statewide election, primary voters and contributors will experience a kicking-oneself feeling when their candidate fades and they wish they had chosen the victor to oppose the other party’s choice.</p><p>And what will we call that sinking sensation felt by all the primary voters who failed to back the winning candidate of their party? Those afflicted with <i>tattoo regret</i> will have company: as we plod through the primaries, watch for <i>voter’s remorse</i>.</p></blockquote><p></p>

Tattoo Regret

The following excerpt comes from this past Sunday's (9/23/07) popular "On Language" column by William Safire in the New York T...

Read more »

Tattoosday #6: Going Mobile

Sorry for the delay in posting, I was worried I would have to improvise, but found two participants today. Last Friday I had my first rejection: a guy at 53rd and 6th Avenue sitting on a bench was the first person to decline. He had many colorful tats on both arms and seemed open at first, but was adverse to my taking any photographs.<br /><br />On Tattoosday Eve, Labor Day, I still had nothing for the post. I stopped someone in front of my building yesterday with a really cool <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellboy">Hellboy</a> tattoo. He seemed receptive but wanted to check out the blog first.<br /><br />I found myself with many opportunities but passed, not necessarily out of lack of nerve, but because the tattoos were not so nice, old, faded, or blurred by too much sun. I<br />have seen a handful of dolphin tattoos like the one the Ancient One sent me.<br /><br />Today was the kids' first day of school, so I took off from work. Around 11 AM, I decided to ride my bike, eventually making it to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coney_Island">Coney Island</a>, where I guessed I could find some good ink. Yet it was still sparse, I had ridden down the Boardwalk and had circled back when I found my first subject.<br /><br />I approached two young ladies who were taking pictures. One of them had a tattoo on the back of her neck:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjALzwZwUMOVAGEYoNhH9R_DuO6sPuI8b8eECg3nVwUlkMtpPB0G62khXWDDISJhBceiRJbmRFmo82a-Doje0P0UHAjW-FT78YhIg1tsxTO9iNCMnpjflwnJpcoKaJ0zutFmxspiWkycQE/s1600-h/100_4907.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5106446794350453970" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjALzwZwUMOVAGEYoNhH9R_DuO6sPuI8b8eECg3nVwUlkMtpPB0G62khXWDDISJhBceiRJbmRFmo82a-Doje0P0UHAjW-FT78YhIg1tsxTO9iNCMnpjflwnJpcoKaJ0zutFmxspiWkycQE/s400/100_4907.JPG" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a><br />The Japanese characters spell out the woman's name, Fernanda. Unlike on the <a href="http://www.buddytv.com/articles/rock-of-love/rock-of-love-episode-8-superfa-10278.aspx">recently-aired episode</a> of <a href="http://www.vh1.com/">VH1</a>'s "<a href="http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/rock_of_love/series.jhtml?source=globalnav">Rock of Love</a>," in which one of the contestant's gets <a href="http://www.bretmichaels.com/main.htm">Bret Michaels</a>' name tattooed on the back of her neck, as a show of devotion, Fernanda has inked her own name. I see a lot of people that do their own names on their arms or legs (I work with many who have done so), and have never really understood the phenomenon.<br /><br />But in Fernanda's case, I get the artistic expression a little more. These are Japanese letters that have a greater aesthetic impact than Roman letters. When I asked Fernanda why she tattooed her name, she merely expressed that she loved Japanese letters and Japanese culture. She was born and raised in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazil">Brazil</a> and has only been living in New York for a year. She did not remember the name of the shop where she had the tattoo done, but narrowed it down to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astoria%2C_Queens">Astoria</a> section of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queens">Queens</a> for me.<br /><br />I have to agree, it's a pretty cool tattoo.<br /><br />I made another pass and headed back home. Once I made my way to the Shore Road promenade, where I do the majority of my cycling. I have several spots along the several-mile route from which I can head home. I decided to go down to the 92nd Street footbridge. Standing on the bridge was a gentleman who seemed to be cooling off from running. He had earbuds in and a large biceps piece. He also had an ankle piece and another tattoo on his triceps.<br /><br />I passed him while walking my bike and then headed back and said loudly, "Excuse me!" He removed his earbuds and I explained my mission. He was game. His name was Mike and he had 6 tattoos in all and didn't mind which one I photographed. I asked him which one was the most special and he held up his arm and pointed to the piece on his triceps. This one:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD7wx1cpeV8cbF03lmbC_dG7mKdaomVhIryVX4JiFnHZtN5HBgx5fOTWPwGRC8LbbxkXgyTUxsjlGk3rYuPnypsDYA6rFf0h7FeGRbYqc1RPbyBh0OlMw1fJL1pjv6zVk_5Qm08ardMH8/s1600-h/100_4916.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5106448598236718306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD7wx1cpeV8cbF03lmbC_dG7mKdaomVhIryVX4JiFnHZtN5HBgx5fOTWPwGRC8LbbxkXgyTUxsjlGk3rYuPnypsDYA6rFf0h7FeGRbYqc1RPbyBh0OlMw1fJL1pjv6zVk_5Qm08ardMH8/s400/100_4916.JPG" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a><br />He explained it a tribal Native American designed mixed with the American flag which he got as a tribute after 9/11. The piece was done by Craig Cooley at <a href="http://www.abstracttribal.com/Frames.html">Abstract Tribal Tattooing</a> in Brooklyn. I asked him if he was a fireman, and he said, "No, a police officer." I thought, with the 6th anniversary of September 11 just a week away, it was a perfect punctuation mark to end a week of tattoo-spotting, and begin a week of reflection on this somber anniversary.<br /><br />Thanks to Fernanda and Mike for their participation in this edition of Tattoosday!

Tattoosday #6: Going Mobile

Sorry for the delay in posting, I was worried I would have to improvise, but found two participants today. Last Friday I had my first reject...

Read more »

Tattoosday #4: Ozzfest Edition

Well I had this all worked out. This week's Tattoosday was going to kick butt. I went to <a href="http://www.ozzfest.com/">Ozzfest </a>last Thursday and figured it would be a piece of cake to get a cavalcade of awesome tattoo shots. Hmmm.<br /><br />One problem: I'm a dork. Going up to people twenty years younger than me and asking them if I can take pictures of their tattoos for my blog, Sephora and I agreed, would be the pinnacle of dorkiness. Not quite, we later acknowledged, when we saw a young metalhead going to his seat with his mother, who looked like she was there to chaperone, rather than enjoy the show.<br /><br />The scale of body art was unfathomable. I imagined I would see an incredible range of tattoos, and I was not disappointed. We arrived around 3:30, and I decided around 5:00 that most of my tattoo shots would be candids, without the hosts knowing they were being photographed.<br /><br />Here are some of the folks I shot whose tattoos didn't come out so well:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvNDgMFZDf2z8oJb8KcKGpqQn2ygPa4UiEpzfiLh7qiqc2tUGVP1I0BFiXBl_TPirKntdAEEF-MVDagwULHevAM917iy9QK161_pUzfUhsNZG5IiTosedgknCZcnBflr2tSU17WHgZTHI/s1600-h/100_4727.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5100229700340474322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvNDgMFZDf2z8oJb8KcKGpqQn2ygPa4UiEpzfiLh7qiqc2tUGVP1I0BFiXBl_TPirKntdAEEF-MVDagwULHevAM917iy9QK161_pUzfUhsNZG5IiTosedgknCZcnBflr2tSU17WHgZTHI/s400/100_4727.JPG" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYx0Giw-Fh539Xq_pqayG9BnDZCmSJQrM4GcvD-hQLtMOXka1SNj97EvpjCLFr_Oob8G0BHAeN94725lShyphenhyphenwhq4KB2B0xe7aDxHEPp0Vd5hI3CBcFlI6Ep6q7ezO3Ubk-wepnvObKMLAk/s1600-h/100_4726.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5100229532836749762" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYx0Giw-Fh539Xq_pqayG9BnDZCmSJQrM4GcvD-hQLtMOXka1SNj97EvpjCLFr_Oob8G0BHAeN94725lShyphenhyphenwhq4KB2B0xe7aDxHEPp0Vd5hI3CBcFlI6Ep6q7ezO3Ubk-wepnvObKMLAk/s400/100_4726.JPG" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgllyL3N3vqbYtq5JkE5K6gjmIxAizyj5luWZo9IOoXVMQCrQkjTYjuB9sf2eedD5K8K9OR6qlJB9VVgqUFEl4uovwGFVTTNOLbr5yeMn2iGG80iS7C1ifepKJytl6B0E9perCaURy7nDA/s1600-h/100_4712_0001.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5100229416872632754" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgllyL3N3vqbYtq5JkE5K6gjmIxAizyj5luWZo9IOoXVMQCrQkjTYjuB9sf2eedD5K8K9OR6qlJB9VVgqUFEl4uovwGFVTTNOLbr5yeMn2iGG80iS7C1ifepKJytl6B0E9perCaURy7nDA/s400/100_4712_0001.JPG" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZPFpJFrtFBUsP5PQt3Itlq1-siTZ-z2loM2yzFJKQpA3Zm1IDNBmkAEWaskevy_-UgwoeGC_P3Zeq-xbhY2_1wBYmdc7F7touEtPNSg_7TeZBOdB6lpDH5243zLmXpvRjEhEcV3ur6Qo/s1600-h/100_4712.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5100229352448123298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZPFpJFrtFBUsP5PQt3Itlq1-siTZ-z2loM2yzFJKQpA3Zm1IDNBmkAEWaskevy_-UgwoeGC_P3Zeq-xbhY2_1wBYmdc7F7touEtPNSg_7TeZBOdB6lpDH5243zLmXpvRjEhEcV3ur6Qo/s400/100_4712.JPG" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicP9j7Wbt3yPZCahrGC1mIpbgJSNFj_NDrJM_TRIx8rnr2s-s676RCqEgJ3cNbgJ8z4S_mkYH2MzwCPu08pr7Aefq7Hq1WfD-8hQM2Nvcuy95AaFbdqMrWJea6_XL8b5SGg5oH3hOu1b4/s1600-h/100_4725.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5100229163469562258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicP9j7Wbt3yPZCahrGC1mIpbgJSNFj_NDrJM_TRIx8rnr2s-s676RCqEgJ3cNbgJ8z4S_mkYH2MzwCPu08pr7Aefq7Hq1WfD-8hQM2Nvcuy95AaFbdqMrWJea6_XL8b5SGg5oH3hOu1b4/s400/100_4725.JPG" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a><br /><br />Snap enough random pictures of passers-by, and you'll get a few good candid shots:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiimSI474CJ2v_nbsVmNtpvoLzi2TCM8dbsqoslm1rR0vf5z_mMlxSPJOsdH_tA6vX7DRBxv1R-btR14jyJ7a5Wn3ZGIhi3BmEW94_F9ZkKlNavyOtMGYWpstg_7sqr85aXBxA8wVubalQ/s1600-h/dude.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5100458849730617858" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiimSI474CJ2v_nbsVmNtpvoLzi2TCM8dbsqoslm1rR0vf5z_mMlxSPJOsdH_tA6vX7DRBxv1R-btR14jyJ7a5Wn3ZGIhi3BmEW94_F9ZkKlNavyOtMGYWpstg_7sqr85aXBxA8wVubalQ/s400/dude.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_MS1EApaBfncC-SYdhGl6xRfVsQKt_Otz4iluGXU0lPASJFAIxDe0F58VDk7mKWupOFpRmxJhB8FZjAoNnXR-kTassGo01BJ6AwHrjmsMgz_dlhQu880d_ZLTE5JymR4-beWt3nRQCK0/s1600-h/100_4715.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5100458961399767570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_MS1EApaBfncC-SYdhGl6xRfVsQKt_Otz4iluGXU0lPASJFAIxDe0F58VDk7mKWupOFpRmxJhB8FZjAoNnXR-kTassGo01BJ6AwHrjmsMgz_dlhQu880d_ZLTE5JymR4-beWt3nRQCK0/s400/100_4715.JPG" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a><br />A closer view reveals a pretty nice "Don't Tread on Me" tattoo:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbBn4cvpX5NGq4IAtV9HyR2E2-Kr7FP759rRDVY3XxMyMTC7tfcKjn-YbPbUNQyepOgrdafSy9LjepHSSHO2CYmLqJnHFuLd-T1nhX8OlPNAOUn-1fMjrnV6iXb6M50Iu3mPQFwLDiWJM/s1600-h/donttreadonme.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5100459043004146210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbBn4cvpX5NGq4IAtV9HyR2E2-Kr7FP759rRDVY3XxMyMTC7tfcKjn-YbPbUNQyepOgrdafSy9LjepHSSHO2CYmLqJnHFuLd-T1nhX8OlPNAOUn-1fMjrnV6iXb6M50Iu3mPQFwLDiWJM/s400/donttreadonme.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a><br />But ultimately, I did get some fairly nice pictures, especially of one back piece after the concert when everyone was reeling homeward.<br /><br />First, there was this cool tattoo from someone sitting a few rows ahead of me:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeKHL3DKDV3HJSDtTTRyOu_udRXlCPtThGmW1ELWLxG5OB9bQU5zGH1F1x9_IpK387xLh6DLv1hnX4Tdcdg30Kex10D8eUVblHZ5_fU45LHPA3U7FaRw3ne2bIFbHQATGlUpfYrLViB1A/s1600-h/100_4719.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5100458574852710882" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeKHL3DKDV3HJSDtTTRyOu_udRXlCPtThGmW1ELWLxG5OB9bQU5zGH1F1x9_IpK387xLh6DLv1hnX4Tdcdg30Kex10D8eUVblHZ5_fU45LHPA3U7FaRw3ne2bIFbHQATGlUpfYrLViB1A/s400/100_4719.JPG" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn7B4M_lrZX4OboqVOrBYGzXtcoxiTXuGsU8xnOPQsy0-0vMW8PqrC8QUU5uIehL5qycnalHX2S-v-wHsC82y_zDnRB54YGjLoVkdzb_eR4E7TfnsBtjNGidxaVCeoiQUovkbuFDTE7wA/s1600-h/eagle+tat+closeup.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5100458643572187634" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn7B4M_lrZX4OboqVOrBYGzXtcoxiTXuGsU8xnOPQsy0-0vMW8PqrC8QUU5uIehL5qycnalHX2S-v-wHsC82y_zDnRB54YGjLoVkdzb_eR4E7TfnsBtjNGidxaVCeoiQUovkbuFDTE7wA/s400/eagle+tat+closeup.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a><br />Then, there was this one on the shoulder of someone sitting a few seats over from me:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq0mU5JPDnYXiYQpL6WbPuYpirx1uzoxaPs1TEM5vjbi6cDR19BlFkijTZi6C50uvZQJVyLf1mre5hhyocYLRzwBXBXt2oN80ifJ0MM7SespaqlcVSxMXZdWhfr_VD1n8LLzJ9feg2o7Q/s1600-h/100_4736.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5100459713019044418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq0mU5JPDnYXiYQpL6WbPuYpirx1uzoxaPs1TEM5vjbi6cDR19BlFkijTZi6C50uvZQJVyLf1mre5hhyocYLRzwBXBXt2oN80ifJ0MM7SespaqlcVSxMXZdWhfr_VD1n8LLzJ9feg2o7Q/s400/100_4736.JPG" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a>The detail and coloring of this Aztec piece is quite impressive:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv8gz4_cKrUYvfm_QPSCRdrAsO9L3QnjBlvj8Ao3fMTdJghWTrtUtUpj31VBO09ukiiOS_pfM9Qi1p6U4cav4JcazweuUNIbkMtgw74jnS1XISsKwY6Xi2YzgeSFTc4Sv7oMQYzpJmhfg/s1600-h/Aztec+Tat+closeup.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5100459609939829298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv8gz4_cKrUYvfm_QPSCRdrAsO9L3QnjBlvj8Ao3fMTdJghWTrtUtUpj31VBO09ukiiOS_pfM9Qi1p6U4cav4JcazweuUNIbkMtgw74jnS1XISsKwY6Xi2YzgeSFTc4Sv7oMQYzpJmhfg/s400/Aztec+Tat+closeup.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a><br />There were so many amazing back pieces and sleeves that it would have been impossible to catch them all. As mentioned before, this guy was ahead of me as we exited after the show. The eyes are amazing. Not anything I would do myself, but still a bit awe-inspiring. Note his friends Misfits tattoo on the right:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGQekvKG4wwolGmRap2jcfiOoKo0id89OU2R0vcveUcNAL1_dLHtWCZ8Cc0pbjWiy502TonZkDi_QhDSUL7w70dKoC9ZS-ewhyGOw3t2j1zx26PAVHPt_YnC8uihxb-1Bw0I7tW-1UUMk/s1600-h/100_4748.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5100460301429563986" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGQekvKG4wwolGmRap2jcfiOoKo0id89OU2R0vcveUcNAL1_dLHtWCZ8Cc0pbjWiy502TonZkDi_QhDSUL7w70dKoC9ZS-ewhyGOw3t2j1zx26PAVHPt_YnC8uihxb-1Bw0I7tW-1UUMk/s400/100_4748.JPG" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a><br />I can only assume he meant to spell Alligator with an "e" instead of an "o".<br /><br />Ultimately, though, I really missed the <span style="font-style: italic;">Tattoosday </span>theme, which is to get back story on the pieces I photograph. Wouldn't you like to know who this guy is? And why did he do his back like this? How long did it take? Whose eyes are those? And did he mean to spell Alligater the way he did?<br /><br />For those shortcomings, I offer my heartfelt apologies. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy this week's edition of Tattoosday.

Tattoosday #4: Ozzfest Edition

Well I had this all worked out. This week's Tattoosday was going to kick butt. I went to Ozzfest last Thursday and figured it would be a...

Read more »

Tattoosday #3: BillyBlog Pulls a "Tat Trick"

Welcome to the third installment of "Tattoosday". They get better with age. First a quick recap of the week:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">8/7</span>: Interesting tidbit came in the form of a friend (Jill) sending me over to <a href="http://absolutetrygve.blogspot.com/">this blog</a>, more specifically <a href="http://absolutetrygve.blogspot.com/2007/07/oy-burning-off-tattoos-not-this-one.html">this post</a> about the good and bad in a tattoo experience. Interesting read. I posted a comment inviting her to contribute to Tattoosday, if she wanted.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">8/10: </span>Rain in the forecast all day. Not the best for tattoo-spotting. In fact, by the end of the day, I realize that this little venture, difficult now, will be next to impossible once the mercury drops below me 60 degrees, 24-7.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">8/12: </span>Last Sunday was good to me so I had hope today. At the laundromat, a woman who works at the local bank and who I see occasionally at the laundromat, was sporting a nifty ankle tattoo. Jolee even spotted it and suggested I ask her. Despite many opportunities, I failed to ask. Later in the afternoon, I ran into her again down the block and this time asked her, finally, if she'd be interested in the project. She seemed receptive to the idea and said she'd let me know next time she saw me. She indicated she had designed the piece around her ankle herself.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">8/13:</span> (7:00 A.M.) I have decided that today will be the day. I will leave at lunch and find a cool tattoo. I will rely on the students of the <a href="http://www.fitnyc.edu/html/dynamic.html">Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT)</a> to supply me with the body art. Let's see if I can do it.<br /><br />[Later that day....]<br /><br />Ok, BillyBlog-ience, enough of my bellyaching. I just went out, under the deadline, and snagged a tat-trick (I love coining new words). I got not one, not two, but <span style="font-weight: bold;">three </span>subjects in less than sixty minutes (and managed to run some errands in the process.<br /><br />I was walking back from the bank on West 27th Street when I passed a guy standing in the doorway with <span style="font-style: italic;">tons</span> of tattoos. He had a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tutankhamun">King Tut</a> on his right forearm. I walked past him and then said to myself that he looked pretty cool. I ambled up and said, "Hey, mind if I ask you about your tattoos?" He hesitated for maybe a split second and then said sure. I explained the concept of tattoosday to him and asked if I could take a picture of one of his tattoos. He said sure, and selected the one on his left leg.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3wJyYSvXRl4YsKkqWheg9coQetqvZyzzBEkLEE8GUMGbXGgJpoL_uSUJqKmVdrOoIhRN2Tcl_cuhOAyfexGXMjlGARc-NlPzGUMZ6NIm9lAGDrRRpB3NaovGBhGqKLUGdwBHqBIXjOmY/s1600-h/100_4687.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5098343191044231970" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3wJyYSvXRl4YsKkqWheg9coQetqvZyzzBEkLEE8GUMGbXGgJpoL_uSUJqKmVdrOoIhRN2Tcl_cuhOAyfexGXMjlGARc-NlPzGUMZ6NIm9lAGDrRRpB3NaovGBhGqKLUGdwBHqBIXjOmY/s400/100_4687.JPG" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a><br /><br />He selected that one because it represented New York City and is one of his more recent pieces. It reads "Too Tough To Die," features a skull, and the New York skyline peeking up out of his sock.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3VLk-WFQpjLSd74iixcjtnyI5tavG07KD2Ct5KnFuviiMw83U7V56GQ-LQSTlExfxHH2M2oKIpCAyOZn0-9IOrVlaJ_YLEg4ZldhUbwREfD5UOcFwB-BDq3b94vZAd3OPym-a_D5wnKU/s1600-h/100_4688.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5098343307008348978" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3VLk-WFQpjLSd74iixcjtnyI5tavG07KD2Ct5KnFuviiMw83U7V56GQ-LQSTlExfxHH2M2oKIpCAyOZn0-9IOrVlaJ_YLEg4ZldhUbwREfD5UOcFwB-BDq3b94vZAd3OPym-a_D5wnKU/s400/100_4688.JPG" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a><br /><br />I asked him how many tattoos he had and he didn't know. He has two full sleeves, tats on both legs, and he said on his chest and back as well. The tattoo I photographed, he said was an homage to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramones">the Ramones</a>, from their <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Too_Tough_to_Die">1984 album of the same name</a>.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ9EDpUrL_uBHRIWDsXQdeZqT35bCJQO0Tdt7GAaBqFoak4q-7SPPdgPTv7Yu6FNX7iyFk_mt9EPMT7H-Jm2KTi8XsRF4aQWB47tiGfxl8scj-7_YvP_zBl_yFuPlZJCeTrDQ9fd51IyM/s1600-h/Too_Tough_to_Die.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5098235773912158994" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ9EDpUrL_uBHRIWDsXQdeZqT35bCJQO0Tdt7GAaBqFoak4q-7SPPdgPTv7Yu6FNX7iyFk_mt9EPMT7H-Jm2KTi8XsRF4aQWB47tiGfxl8scj-7_YvP_zBl_yFuPlZJCeTrDQ9fd51IyM/s400/Too_Tough_to_Die.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a><br />He gave his name as "Tops," and although he didn't disclose more about where he had the art done, he did look at one of the previous tattoosday posts and said he knew the owner of <a href="http://newyork.citysearch.com/profile/32900304/new_york_ny/new_york_hardcore_tattoos.html">New York Hardcore Tattoos</a>.<br /><br />Well I was pretty proud of myself for finally jumping in the pool. Even though I didn't know James from last week, we had seen each other around and were familiar with one another. Tops was the first complete and utter stranger I approached. I was proud of myself for finally getting someone for Tattoosday.<br /><br />Perhaps because the pressure was off, I walked with a lighter load. I headed back to 7th Avenue and decided to walk through F.I.T. over to 8th Avenue. Perhaps I would encounter some artistic student who would be approachable.<br /><br />Sure enough, halfway down the block I saw a young lady approaching with two tattooed arms. I used the same approach, and mentioned BillyBlog. She gently kidded (I think gently, and I think she was kidding) about me asking her to be on my "nerdy blog". I have to remind myself that I am forty and your average F.I.T. student is in their early 20s, at the oldest.<br /><br />Anyway, Jackie Alvo didn't mind giving me her real name, nor did she mind letting me snap shots of both arms. I found some of her design work <a href="http://jackieovla.deviantart.com/">here</a>.<br /><br />I noticed the cherry blossoms on her left arm first and she indicated that all her work was done on Long island because that's where "all the best artists are".<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBFkGg0M14x2VVLQd3vJvnlKRWk1l2o2UYTZupPfUkP9Ya-J32B9MZrO4LGhZZxBh__eeD8O1xxwOQhG_wtKIb-MF9rKw4flLs-EPOHnJPu9WqBsz8ibKqA4c1ETaQVRNMOp7_M9ReDMU/s1600-h/cropped+cbs.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5098343762274882418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBFkGg0M14x2VVLQd3vJvnlKRWk1l2o2UYTZupPfUkP9Ya-J32B9MZrO4LGhZZxBh__eeD8O1xxwOQhG_wtKIb-MF9rKw4flLs-EPOHnJPu9WqBsz8ibKqA4c1ETaQVRNMOp7_M9ReDMU/s400/cropped+cbs.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgkmbmzKGiimDqPPU1CnEiXRMWcd_45otRuTMQf_MoVMYFVPpsheh6U4QdmPKywOfogvSOJUXVybO05hnWwNvVhoB9bTFzYr-FPdOSIPK8DW3J_IFO0yx9hVNBwU4e7_UJLyzGUF0k56E/s1600-h/detail+cherry+blossom.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5098344067217560450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgkmbmzKGiimDqPPU1CnEiXRMWcd_45otRuTMQf_MoVMYFVPpsheh6U4QdmPKywOfogvSOJUXVybO05hnWwNvVhoB9bTFzYr-FPdOSIPK8DW3J_IFO0yx9hVNBwU4e7_UJLyzGUF0k56E/s400/detail+cherry+blossom.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a><br />Her right arm, she joked, had to have a fashion theme, because she was at F.I.T. As cool as her left arm was, the dressmaker's form and other aspects were highly original and quite impressive. She let me know that her work was done at <a href="http://timmytattoo.com/">Timmy Tattoo</a> in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huntington_%28CDP%29,_New_York">Huntington, NY</a> (on MySpace <a href="http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=2063897">here</a>).<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnfkIWw3cDVnSqpRBSAPRl-XSuynFZfjd9V2NaGxeo4agauhfmD1CAd_hdwqRj066G-MukHlbqaSekZsM-5pQPZ99ueoCDg1e7_DwRZd2o-7VtE3aL0SwwZKAQxKyve_oxyCKUbKv701A/s1600-h/100_4690.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5098343534641615698" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnfkIWw3cDVnSqpRBSAPRl-XSuynFZfjd9V2NaGxeo4agauhfmD1CAd_hdwqRj066G-MukHlbqaSekZsM-5pQPZ99ueoCDg1e7_DwRZd2o-7VtE3aL0SwwZKAQxKyve_oxyCKUbKv701A/s400/100_4690.JPG" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a><br /><br />I thank her for her contribution and later saw her zip away on a bright metallic blue <a href="http://www.vespausa.com/">Vespa </a>scooter.<br /><br />The third tattoo was a bit of a surprise. I was in the plaza in front of the <a href="http://www.bordersstores.com/index.jsp">Borders</a> at <a href="http://www.thegarden.com/index.jsp">Madison Square Garden</a> when I saw a woman with the following gecko tattoo above her left ankle.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmg2sFF8nUPAxhcIoQo1dA7Dj3G1UKt7vuwFuUjPx892jnsm_qFkTIDf5vQZ6emlPBqyr9uu9_8EWPkLGgUHNGl8znXhxjsTRDGpPTswV-5suBi0nmXy7rFVsMj-x_vDFF1MO7lEpF7aA/s1600-h/100_4691.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5098343676375536482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmg2sFF8nUPAxhcIoQo1dA7Dj3G1UKt7vuwFuUjPx892jnsm_qFkTIDf5vQZ6emlPBqyr9uu9_8EWPkLGgUHNGl8znXhxjsTRDGpPTswV-5suBi0nmXy7rFVsMj-x_vDFF1MO7lEpF7aA/s400/100_4691.JPG" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" /></a><br />She preferred to remain anonymous, but she is the first tourist tattoo on BillyBlog. The gecko design, which she searched for for years, has no specific significance. She just wanted a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gecko">gecko </a>tattoo. The piece was inked at <a href="http://www.localspadir.com/resource/39901.html">Atomic Buddha Tattoos</a> in <a href="http://www.greeleygov.com/default.aspx">Greeley, Colorado</a>, from which our tourist hailed. Well, Colorado for sure, not necessarily Greeley.<br /><br />We talked about geckoes a bit, especially the fact that, growing up in Hawai'i, I had them in and out of the homes I lived in. Shayna, coincidentally, just got a rubber gecko from a science museum last week. It went through the laundry on Sunday and she flung it at the ceiling last night and it stayed there until I pulled it down.<br /><br />Thanks to the folks who let me take the pictures. Tops, I don't think, will be checking out the blog, but Jackie said she'd google BillyBlog and I gave a printout to our friend from Colorado. Please, feel free to add comments, questions, anecdotes, whatever. Or e-mail me if I need to clarify or edit any of the facts from my brief encounters with you.

Tattoosday #3: BillyBlog Pulls a "Tat Trick"

Welcome to the third installment of "Tattoosday". They get better with age. First a quick recap of the week: 8/7 : Interesting tid...

Read more »