smiling.politely

is it breaking edge if a straight edge kid gets a Hunter S. Thompson tattoo? if so, i think i may need to start up on the heroin to make up for lost time.

a few weeks back, i booked some time with my boss to work on my chest again in July... time feels like it's passing quickly, until i realize it's 37 days. sounds like such a long time. also, in reference to disapproval of one's significant other to tattoo subject matter: i'm very glad that when i asked my fiancee how she felt about me covering the fronts of my thighs in skulls/severed heads/peonies, she responded with her standard "As long as it's not your face" answer. and if anyone wants photos, they're unfortunately not started yet... more waiting.

I went to Classic in January with my fiancee, and we got tattooed by Wal (if i recall his name correctly). super cool shop, cool dudes, and all the art in the back area distract from any pain. and, since she's from Limerick, i got a big tattoo while there from Ulrich Hueber, who recently opened his own shop... i think it's called High on Ink. at the time, he was at a shop called Bullman's Tattoo Studio, which puts out good work as well.

(double post... i'm an idiot)

i can think of two off the top of my head, pretty sure i came across them here... monochromedragon Bodysuit To Fit

i would take someone with 4 inch tunnels and a beaded browline before all of those guy's hashtags. i'm also assuming he has a sick backpiece... i mean, he is showing it off so much.

perhaps i'm just a square, but i can't understand why it's not possible to wait until you get home for said material... self control isn't that difficult. mind you, i'm making no assumptions about anyone's skill/talent as a tattooer based on what's available to read in the main area, and would also ascribe to the "don't want to look? then don't" mindset were i to be in that situation. however, i could see that driving off the soccer mom market pretty easily, as well as some other folks. i can't be sure about where everyone else lives, but here in the middle of America, that's a huge demographic.

try to convince her that all barcode tattoos eventually blur into Black Flag logos, so she should go with something else. mind you, if she's stoked on Black Flag, that may just make it sound like a better idea...

actually, not trying to build internet ego at all, man. just pointing out something to help responses go a bit smoother in the future. also, in addition to the aforementioned ways of noticing popularity of a thread, on the main page of the forum, it lists the Most Liked Threads, which are generally ongoing discussions of some kind. i believe the Latest Tattoo Lowdown thread has something like 4100. and, as for questions of civility over a faux pas, this wasn't all that bad. i've seen worse, and was part of a worse reaction when i came onto this forum while commiting a faux pas. i've spent a lot of time since reading instead of posting, learning, and trying not to overstep my bounds. hopefully, i've done just that.

to be fair, it was posted very recently in what is likely the most popular and frequented thread on the entire forum, and had recieved several responses. the people who wanted to comment on the tattoo could do so there... and i'm pretty sure a few did.

they're pretty much the same. the difference is age. college diet at 45? probably going to have some issues...

you mean Boltz didn't put that backpiece on Frank Carter in the '30s? SOMEONE LIED TO ME. also, that first photo on this page is intense...

i think the initial use of the blank was a subtle joke, nodding at the then somewhat heated debate over Cleen/Conn on the forum. i'd take that from the use of "we" when it seems to be a fair ways from unanimous on a final decision on the matter.

i'll just leave this here...

fully understood... i can also say that while i was in my last few years at college, all the frat bros were really getting into long boards. and even though it was already something fairly regular in a college town, the "drunk guy with a cast" became even more prevalent around that time, since there was a new reason other than "oh, i got drunk and punched a wall/door." also, "bro, check out my road rash" guy started to be a thing. as long as someone knew they longboarded, though, it was all good with them.

well, to be fair, Tony Alva, Lance Mountain, Steve Caballero, Rodney Mullen, Christian Hosoi, Bob Burnquist, Rob Dyrdek, and Jake Brown are all over 35, and all still kill it... mind you, for the average person who doesn't skate a lot, i'd still back the original statement.

i hope you didn't interpret my response as attacking you. i have no issue with you, actually, and respect your ability to allow others to be, even if you don't understand or even necessarily support their decisions. and, i do see your point. i have no issue with anyone having an opinion. however, i've been surrounded by enough people with the same viewpoint and way of phrasing it as Hunter... especially referring to someone's wish in their private life as "dangerous"... to know that a mindset of that ilk is truly dangerous. at that point, it is very easy to progress from opinion and personal feeling to infringement of others' rights. ask a homosexual person in North Carolina how he feels about respecting others' opinons on his "dangerous" way of life. when there are enough loud, scared voices to drown out the minority who just wants to live, THAT is no longer an opinion, but wide spread prejudice.

as i've figured out what i'm going to do for my thighs when the time comes, and as my fiancee has gotten more into tattoos and following certain tattooers, we've decided to do a multi-trip, possibly multi-year honeymoon. New York, San Francisco, and London are definitely happening. we have a load of friends from the iron cast sculpture community all over the U.S.A. and U.K., so if it came down to it, we could couch surf for parts of those trips (London especially... unlikely for a kid from Kansas). eventually, we reached the conclusion that it'd be worth the time waiting and money spent to try and get tattooed by the best in the world.

i'll admit it up front... i am as close minded as anyone you can imagine, when it comes to tolerating ignorance, predjudice, and/or bigotry of any kind. if someone thinks getting a sex change is dangerous, it's no different to them thinking it's dangerous to marry a person of another race/nationality, or dangerous to associate with someone of a different religious background (because, of course, they're a heathen), or even dangerous to get tattoo (which obvoiusly always leads to a life of crime, crippling addiction, and rejection of any sense of good). however, as long as someone isn't coming from a place of misguided, uneducated ignorance and/or hate, i'm more open minded than just about anyone you'll meet.

from their last post, i lving4today means that other people being close minded towards someone making that decision is what they take issue with, not the person making said decision. the quoted section seems a bit poorly worded, like saying "i'm going to go juggle chainsaws and mow the lawn." could be one after the other, could be both simulaneously. either way, i want to observe this lawn care routine. also, who cares what grosses anyone out? if it's not hurting someone or detrimental to someone's well being, let them be who they are. it's not like a switch flipped in his mind one morning when he made this decision. it's probably been years and years in the making, didn't come easy, and probably led to a lot of confusion for himself and his loved ones. and, in the end, he'll still be surrounded by loves ones who understand and care for him. if the choices are being happy with your life and losing a few friends and family members that don't understand, OR living in abject misery and confusion for the rest of your days to make those judgemental friends and family members happy, which would be the better choice for all involved? it's better to be honest and find out who your true loved ones are than to live behind a mask of lies to please someone else.

rad... TLC orders controversial 'Tattoo School' to series | Inside TV | EW.com also, how is it that all of the schools seem to call themselves "the world's only tattoo school," or some variant thereof?

perhaps they're super into Catholocism, since it's actually supposed to be the cross of St. Peter... he was crucified upside down, which some say he requested since he felt he was unworthy of crucifixion in the same fashion as Jesus. if you know your history of religious symbolism, it's amusing when people try to be "satanic" or something to that effect, when they're really displaying a symbol of humility to Christ. an upside down crucifix (cross with Jesus) has the meaning they're looking for. and i've not seen any upside down crosses in my area as part of the upside-down tattoo epidemic. as said before, they tend to know what they're doing (or trying to do) with that one. as far as swastikas, if they're done in or surrounded by things that give away their intent (be it Buddhist, Native America, or any of multitude of religions that use it), they're much more likely to go down smooth.

if you can look at a tattoo with no frame of reference, and automatically know who did it (as is the case with Grime), it's worth what they want to charge. premium output is worth a premium price.

i would say that the opposite is more accurate, especially in the midle of America. and, as was said, no one really supports abortion... but if a 13 or 14 year old girl is molested and impregnated by her grandpa or uncle, the choice should be there.

once their run as entertainers has ended, and people forget about them a bit, some researcher will rediscover them... soon enough, they'll have museums and universities clamoring to include information on the American Juggalo.