RoryQ

Ask Chris his view - he has a lot of international clients and probably has fielded this kind of query before. I left work covered for 10+ hours flying home from Japan but that's not the same as 30 hours obviously... Sent from my G7-L01 using Tapatalk

1) Don't be hung over. 2) Don't be really hungry 3) If it's going to be an all day sitting I really liked having a Kindle or book to read. Tattooing or not, several hours in one place without something to read = Me going mad. Sent from my G7-L01 using Tapatalk

Coming through airport security yesterday one of the security guards had a long (favourable) chat about my tattoos. He said he had a couple but was too afraid of the pain to get more. Then he explained that he got the tattoos after he got paralysed in a car accident and then beat the doctor's diagnosis that he probably would never walk again (!!!). I was like "dude, I think you could handle it" (He laughed). Sent from my G7-L01 using Tapatalk

To me a bodysuit means whole body or near as, whether planned as one big tattoo (Richard Pinch's Leu suit etc) or accumulated smaller pieces. If the lower legs, torso or some other sizeable area are bare then I don't see that the term body suit or even partial suit would apply really? Sent from my G7-L01 using Tapatalk

I have been in phases in my 20s and early 30s where I was really getting a lot done. In the space of about 2.5 years I finished my back and did one sleeve, the other shortly after. I started on my front then. All the way through I was slotting one shots in. Now I'm being slowed down by the very real prospect of "being done". I probably have a good number of spaces for fillers or small one shots left, but nothing like before. From here on out I'm really trying to ration myself and be able to enjoy getting tattooed for as long as possible... so in theory maybe 1 a year going forward. That's one reason I'm rarely on LST now. I disengaged a bit because I feel like I'm just not getting tattooed as much - I'm not as avidly into reading and discussing it so much. Sent from my G7-L01 using Tapatalk

As said above, I think if you're going to try to get an artist a gift it's helpful to know them well enough that it's something they might actually want. I used to always bring Tomo a bottle of irish whisky from duty free. Mainly because after the first session I found out he wasnt mostly tee total like Shige, and he seemed to genuinely like drinking the stuff. In Japan they also lean towards disposable gifts (limited space, it's almost rude to give something that must be hung \ takes up room). I figured he could re-gift what he didn't want to drink since the Japanese love spirits in general. For Shige, we had discussed the similarities between Buddhist prayer beads and rosary beads, so when I was getting tattooed by him I brought a replica of the rosary issued to soldiers in the early 20th century. A few years ago I had made the mistake of giving him booze (he was gracious, only found out later he rarely if ever drinks). When I got my back done by Ching I did the whisky thing too and he tended to crack them open then and there. Loved the stuff - I thibk, again, it's an Asian thing. Taiwanese love whisky and distill quite a bit themselves. Sent from my G7-L01 using Tapatalk

Booked in a quick tattoo with Ross Nagle... Long overdue, and great to be back to AllStar again. Jesus-themed tattoos seem to be to Ross what spiders are to Matt Ariola and penises are to Dan Sinnes... I probably will succumb.

Less traditional but I'll mention it since it's the only shop our house has experience with in Stockholm. Calle from King Carlos tattoo does Japanese style tattooing, but it's more in the new school (think Shige, Jess Yen and similar). Really nice guy, nice shop to visit but you'd need to enquire about the possibility of getting a one-shot. I think they have a walk-in day from time to time. There's also another guy called Jonny in the shop who does similar work (very influenced by Calle actually).

I don't really know anything about contests, but I wouldn't think so - it's supposed to be a relatively small tattoo by Yellow Blaze standards.

Booked flights and accommodation for the Mondial du tatouage 2016. All-day appointment with Shige the first day of the convention. This will definitely feel like passing a milestone.

I still haven't read Tattootime ... Must remedy that. Last time I tried to order it the website wouldn't me order to Ireland.

I think it depends, Jeff. Someone can be drinking in a bar, day in, day out, and you're right - that's not an indicator that they have money. It could be a dive bar, and they could be spending their pay cheque drip by drip until it next comes in. Same principle could apply with tattooing. Someone could have a lot of coverage but it could be work that they built up incrementally, piece by piece, paying just a little at a time. If they're going to some guy who tattoos in his kitchen then maybe they'll fill up even quicker. But if someone is getting large scale work done, especially by anyone in a busy and in-demand shop (I'm not even talking about Kat Von D here, I just mean someone in a city like London who is charging the going rate) then I think it does indicate certain resources. Typically I'd stand by the idea that if you're looking at someone who has a lot of good tattoos then they're probably people with a job or access to a decent amount of money. If you are living on a welfare payment here you definitely can go to a bar and drink every day. You could also go to a scratcher and accumulate a lot of small tattoos and be covered over time. But I don't think you could afford to lay down enough for a deposit and large work in a reputable shop - the outlay is too big.

I'm still reading the Malazan books.... Glad you're enjoying them. Right now I'm on Stonewielder by Ian Cameron Esselmont. The end is in sight... Kind of... If you want a way to get a bit more detail / clarity / analysis on what's going on, Graeme, then you should check out the Malazan re-read series of blog posts on Tor's website. There are two people who break each book down chapter by chapter and summarise what's happened, and then offer their perspective on it. One of them is reading it for the first time (Amanda) and is, to be honest, worth skipping. But the other poster (Bill) who's reading it for the second time offers some really good pointers on what's going on without actually throwing any spoilers in. They don't quite serve it up on a plate, it's got more of a book club feel. It's kind of like 'well, how did we like that chapter...?'. I just like it because I find that it helps me get more out of the books and a full appreciation of what's going on. I felt like I was getting maybe 70% of it otherwise and missing a lot of the subtle stuff that is in there. As for being epic... Yes, it's quite an amazing series. I don't think there's been anything on this scale before that has managed to crack the mainstream fantasy genre to the same extent?

Mark, Sounds like you're going through a really tough time and best wishes on that. Glad you're back on the forum and I hope we can meet up next time I'm in Toronto.

I've been following the escapades of a few LSTers on IG. Some serious tattoo appointments going down!