DJDeepFried

Aw, man -- I remember slathering up with baby oil for a quickie tan back in the day rocking the Specials on my big-ass yellow Walkman or whatever else I listened to in high school. So so dumb in retrospect but we were all immortal then. Nowadays we look at this site for sunscreen info:EWG's 2014 Guide to Sunscreens

Wow! Since the last time I heard him speak he got a gnarly Hooper-style mandala piece covering his whole head. Really hope he'll be there when I'm in NYC next month.

I hope you do. I don't know anything about NKT except what I just read on Wikipedia. We saw some folks picketing outside the Forum when we went to see the Dalai Lama which seemed super lame. - - - Updated - - - I heard Josh Korda speak when he was visiting L.A. Super smart guy. Went into all this mind-blowing stuff about cutting-edge neuroscience and how it relates to ancient Buddhist ideas.

I know they're trying to branch out but in the meantime there's podcasts and YouTube videos you can check out. I feel pretty lucky to have a place in my city that's the right vibe. I do meditate at home now (almost) every day but I wouldn't have the motivation if I didn't at least go to weekly classes.

Just got back from a three-day silent Buddhist meditation retreat with Noah Levine and Against the Stream in Joshua Tree. Hard to be away from @TrixieFaux and the little one, but it was beautiful and challenging and (hopefully) life-changing. There was a lot of high-quality tattooage on display -- I call them Tatuddhists -- but of course I couldn't ask anyone, "Where'd you get your work?" Noah himself is pretty much covered with work from @Scott Sylvia and I think @Juan Puente, Eddy Deutsche and some other dudes. Funny how I kind of stumbled upon ATS. 1) At a kids' birthday party, a friend introduced @TrixieFaux to this other mom and was like, "You have tattoos, she has tattoos, you guys should be friends!" As if -- but it turned out she was pretty cool and also Noah's wife. 2) A few days later, we went to a Jondix art show here in L.A. (where we met @ian among others) that just happened to be at the center. I don't believe in all that hippie shit but for sure the universe was trying to tell me something. Anyway if you happen to be in SoCal check 'em out Against The Stream Buddhist Meditation Society but they're also opening one in San Fran and in NYC there's Dharma Punx which I plan to check out when I'm there next month.

It's bizarre how similar the pieces ended up being. Subject matter of the top two were identical. How'd that happen?

It's a classic. Used to love the S.E. Hinton books. Wonder how they hold up.

I love a good pair of raw denim when they're stiff and new, but I like 'em even more once they're broken in and faded. There is beauty in change. Nothing gold can stay. Stay gold, Ponyboy.

Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should. There's an old David Mamet essay -- he's writing about writing but it applies -- about how some of the "mod" architects of the '60s & '70s built houses with flat roofs that looked amazing when they were first built but collapsed with the first heavy snowfall. Versus how chairs were built in the 18th & 19th centuries with mortise and tenon joints that only made the chair stronger as the wood expanded over time. Some styles just work and while the art of tattooing (or any other art) can't move forward without innovation, there's no point in trying to reinvent the wheel when there are perfectly good wheels available all around you. In a word, it's all about structure. Sorry if that sounded wicked pretentious.

It's sad how IG takes down so many awesome backpieces. Does anyone know how this works? Anyone can flag you and the pics get taken down automatically? Or is it someone's job to look at tattooed ass cracks all day? And how can I get this job?

a) Tattoos are not going out of vogue anytime soon if ever. They are only gaining in mainstream acceptance and popularity. I'm sure there will be a backlash -- if there isn't already -- of the cool kids not getting tattoos, but whatevs. I got mine and have no plans to stop anytime soon. b) If you don't like the reality shows, don't watch 'em. I freely admit to watching Ink Masters/Best Ink even though it is trainwreck TV. Maybe if I were a tattooer I'd be more bent out of shape about it and rightfully so, but I'm not. c) Let's reserve our scorn for a show that really deserves it like this one: Spike TV Sets Tattoo-Themed 'Ink Shrinks' Special That Could Spawn New Series - Deadline.com For those too lazy to click the link, here's the highlights: "Spike TV is looking to expand its slate of tattoo-themed programming. Building on the success of its Ink Master and Tattoo Nightmares series and ahead of Ink Master’s fourth season finale tonight, Spike TV has greenlit a half-hour pilot special Ink Shrinks to premiere this fall with an eye toward a series. Ink Shrinks features a forward-thinking team of artists, psychologists and other professionals who prescribe “blind” tattoos as a means of healing. After discussing their clients’ issues, the team will design a unique tattoo to help jump start the mending process. The clients put their faith in the ‘ink shrinks’ as they won’t know what their tattoo looks like until the session is complete and the artwork is irreversible." Let the mending process begin!

If they don't ask for one it's probably cool. I've done both -- made a deposit via Paypal and got one without. Depends on the artist.

So if I understand your story... You approached the guy with your tattoo idea. He said, "Yeah, cool." You didn't leave a deposit. You didn't make an appointment. You went to the shop and he traced your arm, showing he had every intention to do your tattoo. You didn't leave a deposit. You didn't make an appointment. He posted on Facebook that he had an opening and you wrote back. Maybe you were the first; maybe you were the hundredth. A lot of tattooers who post on FB and IG still want you to make appointments via email, phone, or in person. And when in fact you did email, lo and behold you got one. Too bad he had to reschedule. It happens. Maybe he had an out-of-town client who couldn't rebook, who knows? In any event, he offered you another slot, twenty-four hours later, after regular shop hours, meaning he went out of his way to accommodate you. Get a tattoo from the guy or don't. Some artists are worth waiting for. I haven't been getting tattooed for twenty years, but I do understand it's a unique business -- not like buying a T-shirt at the mall.

Authenticity is overrated.

Amazeballs. Who's yer artist again?

Or: "

Tattooing has always been kind of an outlaw business. I think it was one of the Sailor Jerry documentaries where they were talking about ripping off other people's flash back in the day. Now that it's become more mainstream and big business with TV shows, endorsement deals, T-shirts and assorted swag, there's bound to be some IP lawyer who sees a way to make a quick buck on a lawsuit.

There's a difference between what we consider ethical and what is actionable in a court of law. Don't know anybody who's filed a successful suit against another tattooer but it could happen.

Haha. Whenever anyone says, "I found Jesus," I think: I didn't know he was lost.

It depends what you call "established." I never heard of any of 'em except for Jesse but only because people on here were talking about him. Furthermore, they all pretty much suck. Even the winners are competent tattooers at best IMO.

I agree Nunez is overrated. I asked my artist about this. Why don't the hotshots go on and grab a quick hundred grand? He said they don't allow established tattooers to compete -- that they're disqualified.

It may yet happen. My main objection to these shows -- and we've watched 'em all -- is that tattoos shouldn't be done under a time limit. With the cooking shows the worst that can happen is that one of the judges gets a bad meal and poops it out later. With bad tattoos it's a different story cos you're stuck with it forever -- or the financial and physical pain of the laser. That's got to be at least part of the reason why no one's done it yet. At the same time it's hard to blame someone like Oliver or Taki or any of the other guest judges from going on to promote their brand. I do think the bias against some of the tattooers who have appeared on these shows is a little unfair.

This was terrible at first for all the reasons mentioned here -- poor sound quality, Troy talks too much -- then I got sucked in. The Chris O'Donnell and the Horizukara ones were really interesting, and I actually liked the Lori Leven one too. He hinted at an upgrade so maybe they'll work out the kinks.

To me the definition of a hipster tattoo is like an ironic band T-shirt. You don't have to be a sailor to get an anchor, but if you're getting an anchor (or a mom heart or whatever) to be funny -- bingo, that's a hipster tattoo. This McDonald's one is the epitome of that even tho this kid looks more like a frat boy than a hipster. Actually I really hate the word hipster, but I can't think of a better one so I'll leave it at that.

An "Iron Chef" like tattoo show would be awesome but they'd really have to book some great tattoo artists and may have alienated some of them with so much bad reality TV.