Dan S

I think it was the ink. I have other red on me from after they changed to the "new" style red, and it has remained pretty stable...note my right elbow after ten years! I think it was probably just one particular batch of "old-style" red that didn't hold up too well.

Actually, I'm so Republican I tripped on my own brain-happens when you grew up in the sixties and seventies. I said I shared some wine with Chi Chi Rodriguez, and that would have been rough, cause I doubt the Secret Service would have let me near him. What I meant to write before I brain-farted was Cha Cha Jimenez, who was the main shot-caller of the Young Lords at the time. My sister had an apartment at Halsted and Wisconsin, right where People's Park was, and the Young Lords were the only ones who would patrol the streets there. Got to know him fairly well. Abbie Hoffman was, IMHO, a spoiled rich kid dabbling in leftist politics, tho' he did come up with a few phrases I remain fond of, most notably, "no matter which way you tip a pyramid, there will still be a point on the top, so the the only way to get rid of the ruling elite is to blow the top off." The Panthers I met at their headquarters in Maywood, a.k.a. "Murderwood" around Chicago, and while I was by no means buds with them, I did hang around enough to get in on more than one bull session about politics and race-relations, as it is called now. In later years, I would come to know several lower-ranking members very well. Most of them were bank-robbers and thieves, dope-fiends and killers, who had a cause. Which one justified which, I don't know or care. I did go to hear the Honorable Elijah Muhhamed speak once, at the Mosque Maryam, in about 1973. It was quite an experience to be, I guess, the only White in a hall of several thousand blacks, and to listen to the Honorable Minister call for the death of all "White Devils" Wouldn't have missed it for the world. And Malcom X? Everyone knows Brother Malcolm got sideways with the other Brothers in his Mosque...

Thanks. I won't re-touch the old stuff, it is what it is, and it's a reminder of a different time and place. I do have some pretty colorful stuff planned to go onto that arm to sleeve it, so I hope it will more than offset the large chunks of black and faded-out colors! There is another thread on here about red-reaction...note that ALL the red in the parrot, and the dragon on the top of my left arm is gone. Didn't last a year.

Lemme know if you'd like to get together. CTC is pretty central in the city, we could run up there or whatever. Get a date and save a buck, Nick, Mario, Mike, any of the guys there are definitely top-shelf.

First tattoo I ever did...I believe it was 1968 or 1969, "Secure Youth Detention Facility"! Amazingly enough, you can still almost read it. Hope I didn't burn too much of your bandwidth with this stuff...feel free to delete any or all of them if that's the case. I read about everyone's work, and some of it is in galleries, but I'd really trip on just seeing it up close and how it's laid out. Just me.

The dragon on a dagger in the center of the right arm sleeve is Dale Grande, CTC, 1977. The roses and ribbon at the bottom of the sleeve are Dale Grande, CTC, 1975.

Some better pix, a little detail of sections. Right Arm, full shot, sleeved by Miles Maniaci @ CTC in around 2001. Right Arm, upper detail. Right Arm, Back. Right Arm, Runestone Detail. Right Arm Front, World Serpent. Right Inner Forearm, Parrot, Dale Grande, CTC, 1973. Wotan, Right Arm, Rear. Right Elbow. Left Arm. Left Forearm, Demon coverup, Dale Grande, CTC, 1984 Left Elbow and Transition, Dale Grande, CTC, 1984. Left Upper Arm, Dragon in Clouds coverup, Mark Miller, CTC, 1982. Left Elbow. Left wrist, Panther Head coverup, Dale Grande, CTC, 1972.

Nothing gets it said like Ma Deuce. I should get some better pix...the knotwork wasn't finished-you can still see some scabbing, and there is a good bit more knotwork tied into a World Serpent copied from old stone-carvings.

'cause I hate the thumbnails! Some are better than others, what can I say? If admin feels this a waste of space, feel free to delete.

A better pic, I think. Too late for voting, but what the hell... http://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/forum/lst-announcements-contests/2339-june-2012-best-tattoo-month-contest-page4.html#post38855

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away... Well, actually, it was Chicago. There was only one tattoo parlor, and if you wanted to get some work done, that was where you went. Since there was only one, it was almost always crowded, and if the Squids had Shore Leave from Great Mistakes, there could be a line of Dixie-Cups all the way around the corner into the alley. Because of that, sometimes you didn't get the warm, friendly greeting and the cup of fresh-roasted coffee when you walked in. You told the man what you wanted, paid him, he tattooed you, and you got the fuck out. Wasn't ALWAYS like that, but many times. Figure in to the equation that the shop was in what was then the ghetto, and you got even more negativity going. I was getting tattooed by Dale Grand when the shop was at 922, and he had this nice S&W .357 sitting on the table right next to the inks. A banger-type comes in, starts asking about getting some crosses put on his hands, and is told "we don't tattoo the hands or face". He starts to get lippy, then realizes that the tattoo machine has been set-down and the hand is now on the S&W. He left, we continued our convo. Back then-the seventies-there were times when the tattooer and tattooee would go out back and burn one off, or whatever. Maybe only one would. Point is, if the work is what you want, get it and don't worry about the rest. If you can have a decent relationship with the person working on you, great, if not, as long as the work is good, tuff shit. I know this is going to be hard to believe, but there were some people around in the seventies and eighties who alleged that Dale wasn't the easiest guy in the world to get along with...but watdafuk do they know, they've said the same and worse about me!

Actually do get into Seattle a few times a year. I'll fly you a kite next time I do. Was just there last month, so it will be a bit.

Anybody up for it, let me know and we'll figure something out.

Be my pleasure...but you gotta come down here-they won't let me in Kanada!

I've heard about that shit. When you go into a fundie area, you should use a sharpie to "tattoo" a scroll with like 4 Women's names on it on your b.f.'s arm...protective coloration!

I've had people move in restaurants in Eastern Europe to get away from me, especially before most of my "jailhouse"-type work was covered. In Germany, they look at you like you are a criminal...that's changing, but slowly. Same in Poland and Checkai. Canada? I don't go there. I got popped with a couple joints in Chicago in 1973, and unless I pay the Kanadian government $5K U.S. to be "rehabilitated", they won't let me in. Fuck 'em. In S.E. Asia, I've gottem mostly curiousity. In Thailand and Vietnam, I've had people come up to me on the street, start a crowd scene, cause they wanted to see my work, touch it to make sure it's real, all of that. No hostility whatsoever, just curiousity. Well, there COULD have been some hostility from a coupla NVA types, but they didn't find any of the tattoos they were looking for. Mexico and South America, I am in Mexico usually a few times a year, but not this last year. I have never had a problem because of tattoos, never. Gang stuff is pretty specific, so while some people may think you're a bit shady, unless you're rocking SUR-13 or something akin to that, they won't think you're a banger. I've been from there on down to Columbia, and pretty much the same all over, no hassle unless you have actual gang work. You may get the fish-eye from the respectable types, but shit, I get that in Chicago! I've actually gotten breezed through more checkpoints in America with "NICE WORK" ringing in my ears than anything else. Hey-you got mostly young-type people working the checkpoints, only stands to reason some of 'em will be down with tattooing.

What can I say, I'm not conversant with many shops in this area, but 99.999% of the ones I have seen I wouldn't let ink numbers on my dogs belly. That's just my .02, and I'm sure there are quality shops out there, I just haven't seen them. Example. I'm eating lunch in my regular spot the other day, and the waitress notices I'm favoring my side, asks if I have some fresh work. I show her the piece Nick did-picture in the June Tattoo Competition thread, and she proceeds to tell me about the new "shop" she and her hubby are building in the basement of their house for her bro-in-law to work out of. It's in Illinois, barely, so I asked her about licenses, inspections, all of that, and she said they "didn't bother with any of that". Pretty much sums it up for this area.

We're all good on my end. I respect your decision to turn down the work, and think you did what was right for you. As far as the Black Power thing, I know all about COINTELPRO, and similar ops...hate to say it, but I am old enough to have hung out with Fred Hampton and Mark Clark, to have argued politics with Huey Newton and Abbie Hoffman, and to have shared a bottle of wine more than once with Chi Chi Rodriguez. Not only am I old to enough to have done it, but I did. So I guess my take on that is a bit different. But that's all ancient history. For now, as I said, far as I'm concerned, you're good people, and I've got no beef of any kind with you.

Seen a lot of chain tattoos, but they were mostly jailhouse stuff. Anyhow, I think with the right shading, an anchor chain would make an excellent piece all by itself, or as part of a larger work.

I hesitate to do all this politlcal shit on what is a forum for and about tattooing. That said, there seems to be no one more intolerant than one who espouses tolerance. If you don't want to tattoo something, that's fine, totally your business. But don't call the "racist" bullshit if you're willing to do the portraits of Che, the clenched fist, the Hammer and Sickle, all those other symbols that are, ultimately, racist. The swastika is derived from the Sunwheel, which was/is a symbol used by the ancestory of ALL White people for thousands of years before a group of fanatical SOCIALISTS cloaked themselves in Nationalism and used it as a symbol of their regime. Many people still use the sunwheel, or various iterations of the swastika, as a sign of their beliefs. MAny people today still have swastikas tattooed on them that have no political meaning whatsoever. I know it's hard for someone that is, say, in their twenties or early thirties to imagine an era before political correctness, but int he sixties and seventies, the swastika was extensively used, especially by "bikers", as an emblem to shock, or to express their alienation from society. This does not make them racist. If such a person were to get that tattoo retouched, it could well be nothing more than refreshing their memories of that time. If a person got such a tattoo in prison, it's quite possible that they have an attachment to it that transcends politics or race. A mark of survival, if you will. I've posted before that I've done too many "bad" things to judge ANYONE for anything. I guess I've lost touch with that essence of absolute innocence and conviction that allows one to condemn sommeone they know nothing of because of a symbol they have tattooed on them. And just to prove what a racist I am, my oldest son's Godfather is Puerto Rican, my Granddaughter is a quarter "Native-American", and my best friend and main partner is half-Riquenoo tambien. To be truly tolerant of others means to be able to be tolerant of them even when you don't agree with them. .02

Yeah, everybody's better than some loser that's stacked time.

Brothr Man, that Rocks and/or Rolls!

Yeah, rib tattoo, fun design...uh-huh! I will say it wasn't as bad as the knee-caps, just a hella longer. Pretty much buried in scab now, but I'll post a pic when it's all healed up. CTC is a strange place...I don't think I'd say "family-friendly", but yeah, you can bring your family in there without worrying about them. It's still a bit sketchy around the edges of that 'hood, but not so bad you can't send a kid out for coffee. Most of all, the people working there are top-flight. They make sure everythign is buttoned-up tight no matter what, and will treat you right. You know, they got those $90 flights out of La Gwah-dia to O'Hare, you ever get the urge, hit me up, we can always find couch space!

Not sure if anyone has mentioned him, didn't see him on any of the pages I read, so... Miles Maniaci, working out of Deluxe Tattoo in Chicago. Man is an artist of a whole 'nother caliber. { Miles Maniaci } Sleeved-up my right arm some years back, and I have seen other incredible work of his.

Sweet Trumpet...wish I hadn't sold-off the ex's Bonny 750 two-cylinder way back when!!!