CultExciter

I totally forgot about Brandon!

I agree with you about the USA making "things" again. Absolutely.

I would love to hear some of our dear friends across the pond chime in about this comment: "Look, if socialized health care was so great, how come people come here from all over the world to get their health care needs met?"

Well, our last revolution was due to taxation without representation...what you are hinting at is a little closer to internal strife. Because we have people on all sides, which makes this place great, we can agree to disagree and still drink a beer together and shoot the shit about tattoos.

This is a far cry from socialized health care. I mean, jeez, god forbid the insurance companies make less money. I am with you on some things. I believe people have to hold personal responsibility for they finances, but at the end of the day, we are still a nation where the wealth divide is incredibly gapped. We are in a country where we bail out financial institutions with our tax money...and the former CEOs still live in mansions. Does that make sense?

Sigh. I feel you dude. I wish I had some cash to spare as well for the book!

Oh I mean, he's Jinx Proof. That shop is solid, just ask Karl!

Andrew Conner, Ben Around (in Cville, dude is pretty good, has lots of work from Mike Dorsey), Matt Brotka (he is more known for traditional but can totally pull off Japanese in a painterly fashion), Amy Black. I am sure I am missing some.

Ross is a good fella.

The welfare state here is mind-boggling, anyone in the entire country, contrary to popular fiction, can walk into a County hospital and get whatever care they need absolutely free if they have no insurance. Anyone.

I would love to see some documentation on this...I'd be more than willing say I was wrong.

@Gregor, when you're on the outside looking in, you see everything. Let me know what you're seeing from time to time. I'll probably agree.

People who comprehend a thing to its very depths rarely stay faithful to it forever. For they have brought its depths into the light of day: and in the depths there is always much that is unpleasant to see. - Nietzsche

Great Earthride lyric as well.

I'm an American quirk. I'm a socialist, Nietzsche-ian, liberal, piece of pinko scum. I believe people should have certain benefits as a birth-right and that people should be taxed according to what they make. I'm a quirk in a country where the lower-middle-class believe that their hard work yet lack of compensation is ok, because the political machine and GOD-almighty will give them what they deserve, then they die.

Oh fuck it.

PS...we don't have the Quirke surname here in the States...

Hello! Welcome. My brother got his PhD from UT, so I used to visit Knoxville all the time. Fun place!

My guess would be Owen Jensen.

They have always put on the best shows. Nicest dudes to boot!

Ditto.

But I have to add. I have no say as to how someone chooses a career path. Whatever gets you to where you wanna go is fine by me. I think most tattoo artists have very interesting beginnings as to how they got in the trade. But it is a trade/craft, something that has to learned, and practiced, and studied. It isn't a two-week process, and god forbid some knot-on-a-log gets his 99 dollar "tat-gun" off Amazon and starts messing up his friends using skills he learned from the goddamn television.

This machine kills fascists

Wow. Well, the "golden tattoo gun" better shoot some awesome ink bullets!

!!!FACE TO PALMS!!!

CultExciter, you were in my neck of the woods! Nice get -- on both the babe and the Honda! I drive a Honda too.

We will have to get up and drink a beer next time then!

Picked up my ride on Saturday in Charlottesville, VA. There is my girl modeling in front of it (I'm only showing her, just to prove that someone with an ugly mug like myself can get a babe!). Thanks for the advice guys, definitely helped me get the deal I wanted.

@Ursula, I agree. But, thank goodness they aren't the worse we have ever seen.

For example...

Sign-painting is a big interest of mine! Glad to have you here!

Maybe "Tattooist" is supposed to be meta?

Nah, probably not.

That dragon backpiece is gnarly. Dig it. I also dig what you titled the "Homeward Bound" photos. Too funny.

Tebori has it's own elements. It's one of those things. Subtle color variances and shade due to how it is applied by hand. It really can make it look like you were born with it.