Mark Bee

@jen7 I narrowly missed the salt water tank rabbit hole. We had tropicals for a while andI seriously considered going the salt water route. They are spectacular to see, when done well.

I've been discovering a new rabbit hole - Fountain pens and their associated ink. Just what I needed! Another expensive hobby!

Welcome aboard!

Whoops - editing

Funny. I saw that on Franz's thread and wondered the same thing.

Current Podcasts: 1. Canadaland - media criticism 2. Wham Bam Pow! - Maxfun podcast about action movies 3. The Futility Closet - fun and quirky stories of historical oddities 4. As it Happens - CBC news and current affairs 5. Serial - the story of a murder case, told in long form, over several episodes 6. WTF - Marc Maron's interview show with comedians and musicians 7. Bullseye w/ Jesse Thorne - Reboot of NPR's The Sound of Young America 8. The House - Canadian political current affairs 9. 99% Invisible - podcast on design, process, architecture 10. RadioLab - A "Big Ideas" podcast about culture, art, science, etc. I love podcasts and I listen daily. There are a ton more that I'm trying out and I'm always looking for more. The list above has been on my phone for a while, and each is a good listen, in my humble opinion.

@bongsau Thanks for the info. I'm good with old time country (even here in latte-sipping TO). I'll have to look for it on youtube and give it a try.

@bonsau I see that Coe album everytime I'm getting tattooed at The Okey Doke. Its angled so that its in my field of vision - is it any good?

Here's my frog, done by Tim Pausinger at The Pearl in Toronto.

V Hahaha awesome!

Agreed. One of the things I've always loved about tattoos is that they require commitment. Its not something one can just walk away from. Even with lasers being an option, they are still expensive and painful. I respect folks who've gone the laser and replace route. Its still a hard process that also demands commitment. If all it takes is a bit of creme and a few weeks, then it really opens the field up to anyone. Is that all bad? Probably not. It might mean a lot more work for tattooers, which would be good. That said, I can't help but think something is (potentially) being lost. From another angle - how does it affect me? I'm still thinking this through. I'll still be getting tattooed. I love the art, and I love the process. I enjoy the shops, the conversation, and the people Ive met along the way. So, I'll keep on doing what I do. Of course, maybe this is all bunk and it will never arrive on the shelves of Wallgreens (or Shoppers for my Canadian colleagues here).

@bongsau You've managed to capture just about everything I was thinking about it too - right down to the goldmine this guy has (potentially) found. @eldolmago and I were driving around today talking about the implications of this "advance." We thought about whether or not we'd remove old tattoos, and decided we probably wouldn't. The whole prospect of what this treatment represents raises as many problems for me as solutions that it offers.

A PhD student at Dalhousie is developing an interesting method of removing tattoos. if it holds up to scrutiny, this could be a significant change. Alec Falkenham, Dalhousie student, develops tattoo removal cream - Nova Scotia - CBC News

Kidneys. No wait, Knees. No - sternum. No no no - waitaminute - it all hurts.

Thanks, @OutOfIdeas! I've had a great time working on them. I had a rough time with the demon knee (appropriately enough). I limped around with a cane for three days. By day four I was pretty much all right. The bulldog was much easier, and the only pain came from the skin stretching around the healing tattoo. When I did my knees I did the bulldog Friday so I'd have the weekend to get back on my feet. The demon was done on a Saturday and I could have used the extra day. Overall, though, it was ok. I went through a major job interview process that week, including giving a major demonstration, and I was good enough to do all that successfully. I wrapped the demon in bandages each day to protect it from all the movement and scraping across my trousers. That worked nicely and the heal went smoothly.

I thought I'd post a pic of the knees (both done by Franz Stefanik at The Okey Doke in Toronto.) The demon is still finishing up its heal, so its not a perfect pic.

I just added small pieces as I went along. I didn't think thematically, except to say that I chose all traditional tattoos.

Congrats!

it's not too bad, but if you're anything like me, you'll have a very swollen knee for a few days.

Yup. I've really been enjoying those posts too.

Tattoos were invented sometime in the early 2000s. 2003 I think. There was no tattooing prior to that.

I've thought about this quite a bit, as another LST'er who gets a lot of work done. I'm 43 and not getting any younger. I used to worry about this more, but as time goes by and my legs fill in, I'm confident that I'm being true to myself and I am getting tattoos because I really want them. I'm committed to the look at this point lol, but at the same time, despite significant coverage, I can cover up pretty easily (sleeves, squisdpants, chest piece, legs) and nobody is the wiser. The biggest worry for me is that my taste will change, but I have tattoos that go back 25 years, and they are a different style, and I don't regret them at all. My biggest regret will likely be that I've run out of space. As long as no one is pressuring someone else to get tattooed, then its all good.

I went through this when I really started to work on my legs. And I know what you mean about it creating a weird headspace. After all, I had already done my chest, arms, and started a backpiece, but for some reason I sometimes felt a bit uncomfortable with moving onto the legs. Fortunately it passed pretty quickly and now I'm on to worrying about what I'll do when I'm out of space! I love going to the shop and being part of all that that entails.

I bought a cane today because my knee is the size of one of Jupiter's moons. Its really helpful. Not to mention it comes with built-in sympathy. Its a bit of an eye-opener to experience just how much of the urban landscape is inaccessible to people with even minor mobility issues.

Thanks, @kelzu!