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It's on my left flank. Ridiculously gorgeous! I am one satisfied customer!!

ManWoman and Dennis "Stalking" Avner in the same 24 hour period. These were people who shaped my lives and taught me that you didn't have to be "normal" to live and enjoy life (and live it to the fullest). They were the people who got me thinking about what "normal" actually means, to question gender/gender roles, to questions stereotypes, and who taught me that beauty can appear in ways that to some may be strange, but to me, just made sense. These two people changed my life so profoundly. I thank you both for having lived and for helping others to question the world around them, and to broaden their understanding of it. Both did a great service to us all. - - - Updated - - - His facebook fan page has some more information: http://www.facebook.com/ManWomanMemories

I made a lightbox :D Woodwork is not something I've really done before, but I thought I'd give it a go. Buying a lightbox is pretty bloody expensive, so I decided to make my own from recycled materials. The top is an old cupboard door that I got from a seconds warehouse ($18) and I used second-hand timber. The cost of buying a drill and other odds and ends probably meant that this ended up almost as expensive as just buying a lightbox, but now I have a drill AND a place to draw so win-win. Still thinking about whether I'll line the inside of the top to disperse the light more evenly. I should point out that I didn't make the desk (just assembled it from a flatpack :P ), only the frame at the top.

Am I the only person who thinks this?

I wanted to apologize and give an explanation about something that has been bothering me. I realize my presence here has been quite scarce in recent months, nonexistent, really. When this forum first began, I was excited to participate- as there was not another forum that I wished to be part of. So, I looked forward to being a part of this one. In the beginning I enjoyed the, forum, blogs, interviews and participants and online comeraderie of both tattooists and non tattooists alike. But, what I found happening after awhile, was that my replies and responses were very often, and increasingly defensive and hostile. So,moderators- for that I apologize. I should have found a way to communicate my thoughts and opinions ( as a tattooer of 30 yrs + ) to tattooers and non tattooers alike. Looking forward to participating again Thanks

I usually tell people that I got mine so have something to look at if I forget a magazine when I go to the bathroom.

I read the books first, and although I watched season 1 and thought it was slickly-done, I don't know that I'll watch the rest. For me, the joy of the series is in the twists-and-turns and sudden deaths. No-one is safe, and that's an under-statement. If you know the way the plot is going already then the same buzz just isn't there. When I watched the TV adaption I found myself nodding along and thinking 'ah yes, I see how they shoe-horned that in there, nicely done', rather than (as I did when I read the book) going "shit, where the hell is this going... Is he really dead?" etc. I think it's a testament to the strength of the source material that this series has made 'fantasy' acceptable to UK and Irish TV critics (a snobby bunch when it comes to genre stuff often, even when they like it).

OK, I'll be the one to ask: You only have one tattoo and you're starting an apprenticeship?

David Glantz, Archive Tattoo, Toronto. Dude is a hell of a good tattooer.

Arya is the biggest badass in the history of fantasy literature.

It's amazing how available Dan is for tattoos in Oakland/SF. Trying to book him in Portland in virtually impossible, hence why I flew down there, even though I live less than a mile away from Atlas. I tried to get an appointment with Freddy Corbin and at the time I called he was booked for the rest of 2012, would still like to get tattooed by him, but not sure if its going to happen. Part of me just wants to go down to the bay area and see what shops I can walk into and get tattooed, I have figured out a new area I can squeeze some tattoos into, my stomach/torso area. I need to stop getting on this forum, because now I have ideas in my head about getting tattooed.

Have you gone to SF yet? Heard back from anyone? I called Diamond club just under 4 weeks before I traveled to SF and was able to get in to see Junii for a LARGE peony on my left flank. I just had the tattoo done this past Friday and I really can't say enough good things about my experience! The tattoo is bonkers, it is so well done, so beautiful, so EXACTLY what I had in mind, and I really liked the vibe at the studio. Everyone was very nice, professional, welcoming and just plain awesome in general. Definitely the best tattoo experience I have ever had! Soooo don't be afraid to call Diamond Club if Grime or Horitomo don't work out for you!! I suggest Diamond club regardless, actually! I had such an amazing experience and they work to accommodate travelers. :) Good luck!

Go to black heart

I've really enjoyed reading Victor (Viktor?) The Viking's reviews on the TAM blog.

Have been lurking for a while, many thanks for all of the great discussion on this site. I'm a relative tattoo virgin (2 small ones i got at 18 yrs old), and now i'm finally getting ready to start some large work. Have been saving my skin and researching / saving funds for years so I can do a large, cohesive piece. I hope to start within a month or so...will consist of shoki / oni sleeve and a raijin / fujin sleeve, and a crane / tiger backpiece with a waterfall with koi on my butt and hamstrings. cheers!

If you come across any asoiaf tattoos in your internet travels feel free to post them up too. John Snow is far and away my favorite character and generally anyone from the North/ Beyond the wall is held in higher than average regard, but there's something so romantic in those ruthless Ironmen..

I just really hate emails.

I believe these our yours and your lady's. awesome tattoos.

Went to congress st. tattoo this past sat to get tattooed by the gentle ginger (Jason Scott). Was a great time with great people who love tattooing for all the right reasons. I got the higgs inspired tattoo (jug fulla sun eyes in it!) and my wife got a great strange UFO/lobster/rose thingy. Got to hear great stories from Jason and see some amazing higgs,whitehead,bink,and bswelt tattoos amoung other things. I love these kind of tattoo trips! . @jasonscott523 | Higgs Inspired! | Webstagram - the best Instagram viewer . @jasonscott523 | Ufo!! | Webstagram - the best Instagram viewer edit: I guess click the @ symbol to see the tattoos, I have a hard time consorting with those of the robot race.

@Deb Yarian thanks for speaking up and I can't recall any posting by you that wasn't called for...... We respect your dedication and want you to be a part of it! These things grow and without those who know what they are talking about speaking up and guiding the conversations productively we could end up down many other forums trails WHICH we don't want! We want to be a nice and helpful site so people can get better tattoos

Aww- you flatter me :) We made a deal back when he was 15 that if he waited and passed on the sweet kitchen tats his friends were getting, I would help pay for his first tattoo in a legitimate shop. I've been hearing about that promise for three years! He sat like a champ and we all had a good time.

Alright, here's the hammerhead shark I got from Deno on Sunday:

I take immodium before doing anything most of the time. The last thing you want is to shit your pants.

I've not done more than about 3 hours so far, but I have three 5-6 hour sessions coming up and was told that once we start shading that it's going to be "brutal". I know that I'll manage, and at least it's a mostly easy spot (not looking forward to either my inner bicep or the ditch though!), but I'm kind of looking forward to starting big work with a local guy so I can sit for only a couple of hours at a time and space it out and not have to worry about doing these long sessions so the tattoo can be completed in a timely fashion.

Looks like ill be getting one next year....and I kinda want to do it on a smith street trip and would really love Boltz to do mine.

I can't say that I have ever seen this type of attitude from any other forum. Nay, I haven't seen an attitude like this is 99% of people. I am so thankful to be part of what happens on LST. The sincerity of Deb's apology and the sincerity of the comments that follow are incredible. Thanks so much you guys.

Well, congradulations on that!

Just heard about this from my brother-in-law of all people. They're from the same town in Canada, and ManWoman was a family friend of his. Small world. Sad to lose anyone, especially when that person is so dedicated to spreading a message of peace and understanding. The swastika book he put together is great, need to finally get my hands on a copy.

It really depends on the mood I'm in that day, but usually I'll just make something up on the spot. A lot of times it's a straight up BS story but they buy it every time. I think I get more annoyed with people asking about the price of my work because it leads to a lot more questions. Usually I'll just tell them my artist's hourly rate and if they keep pushing it I'll tell them sitting times and sessions. They can do the math on their own. Honestly, the thing that bugs me the most is when people touch my tattoos. I've had two people already touch fresh tattoos without thinking and that is quite possibly the most irritating thing anyone can do. Other times, people will point while touching some of my tattoos and then ask questions. Hey bro, I don't grope your crotch and ask if this is all nature gave you, so please back off and don't touch.

Last time I talked to Thomas H. about people starting to do this style more and more he said something like "Someone needs to, I dont have time to do them all". I still agree that it waters it down, but I still love my thomas tattoos. My favorite thing about Thomas is when he mixes the classic tattooing/woodcut style with the patterns and dots and less the patterns and dots only.

Took my girl to the museum of natural history to look at dinosaur bones and meteorites and other cool shit, ran around fao schwarz like little kids, and proposed to her on a mountaintop on the blue ridge trail.

I think the general public dont think twice about lumping them together, Its us, the purists, that dont care for the association, I sort of feel sorry for every piercer I have worked around, I probably treated them like second class. Oh well, I too am a dick, apparently.

It's a German style of lager that should be malty, reasonably bitter, but not aromatic. According to the handy beer and food pairing guide I have on my desk here, it goes very nicely with pear fritters. Here's one set of commonly-recognised style guidelines if you want to learn more about different beer styles: BJCP Style Guidelines

Came to Chicago this weekend and got this one from Nick Colella.

My son's first tattoo for his 18th b-day by Ezra Haidet- Triple Crown Tattoo, ATX

Some killer stuff in here! for perspective: Done by Greg Christian while he was in NYC at Wooster St Social Club I had made this appt a while ago and was really looking forward to it. Thought for sure it would get canceled after the Hurricane happened and flooded the city, leaving downtown Manhattan without power all week. Luckily, Greg made it to NYC last minute and I got this tattoo from him a day after the power came back on. It was a really cool ending to a very shitty week. Very fortunate.

WELCOME Craig.....Glad to have you as part of the community!

While I probably don't have a right to step into this conversation as I am anything but an artist, but I do see very similar parallels in my chosen profession. There is a razor's edge when it comes to using something as inspiration vs straight up theft. That on top of the fact that inspiration vs theft also has a million shades of grey to add to that argument. While some people would say that an instance would be theft others would be flattered that someone used their idea. Another problem is the way information is shared nowadays and how far of a reach people have. You look at my lifetime (which is pretty damn short compared to many). You went from having to haul your ass to a library or actually be physically in the presents of something to copy it. Most of the time if someone was showing you, they wanted to share it. Yea there are magazines, and the such but they were still filtered. Now you have the internet, and all of it's interworkings with information being sucked up and spread EVERYWHERE. Nobody usually provides the source and information moves quickly. Once someone posts something, it lives forever somewhere in cyberspace. Even if you are on top of it, shit can get out. A person can take out their phone, snap a picture of your tattoo, upload it to (instagram, flikr, facebook, LST, whatever the hell else), then someone copies it from their and uploads it elsewhere, and so on and so on. Simply mind boggling. (I could also get into the technical aspects of the fact that once uploaded, NOTHING is ever deleted, ever, period.)

Anyone living in or coming to Melbourne, Australia should really get amongst Fergus Simms tattoos. He has dozens of amazing tattoos from the guys at Smith St. and you can really see their influence in his tattoos.

Gilsdorf is on my list too. Dude kills it consistently.

Tiny Miss Becca Ashley Love Mikael de Poissy Alix Ge Kim-Anh Nguyen

Here's a snake piece from Kurt Wiscombe, from early 2000 I believe!

I think I mentioned somewhere once that getting my butt worked on wasn't all that bad, well...I change my mind. That's over the top awful. Shading isn't bad, but having it outlined is horrible. Previously the artist outlined and shaded my right side for my backpiece, now she's starting on the left. This time I was squirming through the whole process. My body would just twitch involuntarily. That said it'll be nice when it's finished. It's odd walking around knowing you've one bum cheek completely covered in black and the other pale as the full moon ;-)

if you really want some killer Japanese, STATE OF GRACE is just an hour away in San Jose.

BlackHeart Tattoo San Francisco: Our Shop - Jeff Rassier, Tim Lehi, Scott Silva, Nick Rodin, Cody Miller, Juan Puente Spider Murphys Tattoo :: Welcome http://templeoakland.com/ http://www.stateofgracetattoo.com/

Cat? Fish? Catatafish?

I told already, in this topic infact :D The 2001 Space... take on the cross. Minus the ape etc. Maybe a woman just touching it with one hand.

...what'd you do the night before? Getting tattooed while hungover, even slightly, is about the worst thing.

Chris Smith, Deluxe Tattoo in Chicago. The ship itself was done last year, just finished the background and flowers this time around ... Last Thursday.

People who's spouse, significant other, or loud tattooed friend does all the talking for them. "Oh, he want's it like this, not like this.", "we would like something that goes on her wrist. so she can read it. because, you know, this one is for her...." The fuck outta here with that shit.