smiling.politely

Found this old poster for a yeast company at a folk park around Bunratty Castle (Ireland)... I can't find anything about the company, but it'd be rad if this was Grimshaw's reference. It's equally possible that he used the same reference as whoever designed that logo, though.

(sorry about the glare, couldn't get a good photo without using the flash, and it was behind glass)

some girl came into the shop where i work yesterday, asking about getting a small feather tattooed by her eye (to match one in her only other tattoo we could see, on the back of her neck)... before being turned away, she was also asking if anyone in the shop did UV tattoos, and talking all about how they take 10 years off of your life, because the ink is so toxic.

the fiancee and i celebrated yesterday by heading to Classic Ink here in Dublin, and getting some of his flash designs, with 101 substituted in place of USA or a USN (i got an old USA shield, she got a USN anchor). no rum was anywhere to be found, and we paid in full. well, there may have been rum in a one stumbly fellow's pocket who came in and tried selling us all jewelry he stole from various stores in the area, but that's neither here nor there.

appointment with Ulrich Hueber was moved to the 11th, so that the fiancee and i could head up to Dublin today instead. five hours with three short breaks, and the medium lines and shading done with Scott Sylvia machines!

that panther is super intense...

By Ulrich Hueber, of Bullman's Tattoo Studio in Limerick, Ireland.

i have an appointment on January 13th with Ulrich Hueber while i'm visiting my fiancee in Limerick, Ireland... super stoked!

that reminds me of this...

i recall my father having to answer an older lady's question when i was in school, asking if his fingernails would eventually darken due to the tattoos. perhaps she thought that the keratin in fingernails came from dead skin cells from various locales on your body... at least, that's the best explanation we thought of.

if all goes according to plan, the only one that's close to sure is a big piece on my upper right arm from Ulrich Hueber when i visit my fiancee in Ireland a few weeks from now. It'd be cool to get a Friday the 13th one while i'm there, too, since both of my current 13 tattoos were gotten months away from Friday the 13ths.

i'd also like to see about working on my chest and stomach some more, but money will probably be going to trying to save for moving the aforementioned fiancee to the States.

i snapped my collarbone in half trying to jump down a hill... it was about a six foot drop, and i didn't roll through correctly because i was running too fast... and there's a permanent lump in my left shin from not seeing the hitch for a trailer i was unloading in Alabama a few years ago. the swelling/bruising was pretty gnarly, and no hair grows there anymore either. however, from everyone's reactions, it was hilarious to see, so... i guess that's a good thing.

1.) Personal high of 2011?

Getting engaged, putting up two degree shows at the same time to get two BFAs, finishing college, getting to travel and cast iron and see lots of friends all over the southern States for my last semester, and starting to work at a tattoo shop recently.

2.) Personal low of 2011?

Hard times finding a job for a bit this summer, and having to deal with my fiancee living in Ireland. Skype eases that second one, though.

3.) Best LST Thread?

Latest Tattoo Lowdown, the funny picture one, and Slang Terms That Make You Cringe.

4.) Worst LST Thread?

Not sure... haven't read them all.

5.) Favorite tattoo (on you):

As for finished ones, the tattoo machine and banners on my left arm. Unfinished, the outline of my chest and stomach.

6.) Favorite tattoo (on someone else):

Waaaaaaaaaaay too many to name.

7.) Favorite artist?

Waaaaaaaaaaay too many to name.

8.) Best/Worst movie:

Hobo With a Shotgun was super rad... Not sure of a worst. Probably something I couldn't afford to go see in theaters.

9.) Best/Worst album:

best... William Elliot Whitmore's Field Songs and Touche Amore's Parting the Seas Between Brightness and Me.

i don't know of a worst... but i've grown to hate the entirety of dubstep as a genre this year.

10.) Biggest guilty pleasure:

not sure... i don't know if i have any guilty pleasures. i tend to be pretty upfront with what i enjoy.

11.) Best show/concert you did and did not attend:

I was low on going to shows, but i really enjoyed seeing Gallows with their new vocalist a few months back. As for ones i didn't attend, my friend's band played with Terror and Trapped Under Ice in May, but i skipped it so i wasn't dead when my fiancee flew in the next day.

12.) Sum up the year in one word:

Optimistic.

just because i clearly lack good judgement doesn't mean i won't make a good employee...

just realized i forgot to mention... tattoo and photo by Josh Cruse of J.P. Cruse Professional Tattooing, Wichita, KS.

and it wasn't as bad on the nipples as i expected... it hurt, but in an odd sort of way. around them was way worse for me.

First sitting today. The secret to getting through it was cherry and strawberry Starburst. I think they made it hurt less...

best shot of Frank's praying hands i know of...

I recall reading an interview in Skateboarder magazine a few years back where Bobby Puleo discussed his interest (or, possibly, obsession) with collecting things, and that he may try to display them. Good to see he put that mild bit of insanity to use.

the New Era YouTube has it up...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzfiPX1xpm8&

i skipped over most of the thread, since i've yet to see any of the current season, but my roommate and i spent alot of nights watching Breaking Bad instead of sleeping this summer. super awesome series. now, off to download and get caught up!

(although, it was hard to watch the first few episodes, and not still see him as Hal from Malcolm in the Middle... with Jesse being Dewey, grown up and getting in trouble.)

took a bit of digging to find this thread... anywhoozles, this is a detail of an old beater bass an old acquaintance gave me, which i decided to refurbish. still doing body work currently. once that's all done, i need to shield all the electronics cavities, rewire it, install a new bridge, string it, and see how it plays (it was on the fritz when i got it, so no before/after on how it sounds). all hand carved, shaded with regular wood stain...

really stoked to finish it, but it might be until next week before it gets done.

first one, from about four years ago. always took my dad's forearm tattoo to heart in school, and because skulls are rad...

done by Dennis McPhail of Artist at Large in Wichita, KS.

came across this on Facebook, done by a guy named Michael Bergfalk...

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w169/bigian001/rimless%20build/150022_165739946792699_100000700830513_364715_7688431_n.jpg

I know this fellow from our mutual time studying cast iron sculpture. he and his torso got a lot of odd looks at hot springs when we'd all meet up for trips.

Since I steal internet from my neighbor the bandwidth is always fucked up so I cant watch X-Files all the time. In a perfect world I would be the only one smart enough in my building to steal internet from this person.

until seeing this post a few days back, i hadn't realized that X-Files was available to stream... i've slept very little since.

i can't decide if i want this to be real or fake...

Staying ina fairly ghetto Houston hotel while on a trip to cast large scale metal sculptures, one of our crew was interested in how they put tissues in the tissue dispenser in the bathroom. while feeling around to figure out the bracket holding the box in the counter, he found a fairly good sized pocket knife hidden on the box. the edge was a bit dulled, and it seemed to have been washed fairly intensely before being hidden.

it promptly became his new pocket knife.

i was once asked at work if i believed in jesus due to my praying severed hands straight edge tattoo. i didn't know what to say.

I've got a pair of straight edge praying hands on my leg, and usually get asked about them by little kids at the diving board in the summers. trying to figure out an answer the first time or two took a minute.

As for awful slang terms, some dude tried hitting on a chick I work with by saying something to the effect of "Yo girl, you inky!" It didn't work out.