spookysproul

I like to see more paintings, so I guess I should post one of mine.

Haha. A good response. I get the same question. Yes, our daughter might want tattoos when she grows up. If she does, we will try to steer her in a good direction...she already understands about quality work at age 5. Or, she may go the other way and decide to be all preppy or what have you. This is totally up to her. What do I care? I just want her to be a relatively happy and well adjusted person who is compassionate and has a sense of humor about things. Is that too much to ask?! Tattoos have nothing to do with all that!

Old tattoos are way cooler than liver spots and varicose veins is my usual response to that question.

I've always found really inconsiderate when people ask this question. Assuming the recipient of the question hasn't thought of it yet, and the above-mentioned response isn't known, then all it really accomplishes is ruining someone's day. People are so thoughtless.
Alternatively, a friend of mine was carrying his daughter in Best Buy when someone pointed to his arms and said "What are you going to do when SHE'S old enough and SHE wants tattoos??"
To which he responded, "Well, obviously I hate them." and walked away.

i think it all comes down to this
no matter how much money anyone has, celebrities are just regular morons like everyone else, and in general the public can not determine between a good and a bad tattoo...
people don't give a fuck about who they are getting tattooed by because they think all tattooers are created equal.
also i can't believe no one's posted this piece of amazingness
i give to you, Gucci Mane in all his icy glory

what the hell is clunge? sounds even worse than "gash"

I have often wondered why celebrities get such bad tattoos with seemingly unlimited resources. I think it goes back to educating yourself about what's out there, like anyone else. There's probably a lot of really good tattoos out there that never get seen, too. I was in "Machete" and Danny Trejo has a really nice black and gray Virgin Mary over his kids(?) playing the beach on his back. The general public probably won't see it because it's not a 'character' tattoo though.

At the shop I work out in Hollywood, Chris Brown and Rihanna came in (before he kicked her ass) and they both had some pretty ridiculous tattoos on them (some of which were done at our shop). On his upper arm, there was a Jesus in the clouds with ninjas popping out of all the clouds around it. I asked what was up with the ninjas, and he said they were to protect Jesus. I'm Jewish, so I don't know all that much about Jesus I guess, but I'm pretty sure homeboy doesn't ninjas to protect him when the shit hits the fan.

None so blind as he who won't see.
I was all fixated on the extra "i".
Nevermind. Move along now, nothing to see here!

The Oi! Lympics!

I don't know that it's ever occurred to me to ask to watch the set-up process, I've always just assumed that the reputation of the shop included cleanliness and sanitation.

Temple is about a 45 second walk eastward from the 19th Street BART station in downtown Oakland, and you can take a bus that goes along Van Ness in SF that will drop you off roughly 5 or 6 blocks from Spider Murphy's.
Incidentally, Diamond Club is on the aforementioned Van Ness and you will absolutely get quality work there. Blackheart is roughly four blocks from the 16th & Mission BART station in SF and everything else is easily accessible by almost any MUNI line.
I miss the City, sometimes. :(

Shops also worth noting:
Everlasting
Idle Hand
Picture Machine
Mom's Body Shop (ask for @Jacek Minkowski or Olivia)
Seventh Son
Warhorse Tattoo (Berkeley)
FTW Tattoo (Oakland)
Tattoo 13 (Oakland)
Analog Tattoo Arts Kolectiv (San Jose)
also, I can basically guarantee that there will be someone at any of the shops previously mentioned who can kick the shit out of any style you're looking for.

id say to get tattooed by Kahlil Rintye at tattoo city hes an amazing tattooer! last time i visited i got tattooed by Juan Puente at Black Heart and it is one of my favorite tattoos to this day!

Have you gone to SF yet? Heard back from anyone? I called Diamond club just under 4 weeks before I traveled to SF and was able to get in to see Junii for a LARGE peony on my left flank. I just had the tattoo done this past Friday and I really can't say enough good things about my experience!
The tattoo is bonkers, it is so well done, so beautiful, so EXACTLY what I had in mind, and I really liked the vibe at the studio. Everyone was very nice, professional, welcoming and just plain awesome in general. Definitely the best tattoo experience I have ever had!
Soooo don't be afraid to call Diamond Club if Grime or Horitomo don't work out for you!! I suggest Diamond club regardless, actually! I had such an amazing experience and they work to accommodate travelers.
:)
Good luck!

Hector Fong does some interesting Japanese work.
Also, Freddy Corbin's no one-trick pony; he can definitely do some mean traditional or non-religious black and grey (or even script if you're into that).
Also, another guy who does great Japanese work: Kahlil Rintye at Tattoo City.
Also, also.

One more thing: don't call it "San Fran." Say "SF" or just "The City." ;)

If I were going to San Francisco I would get tattooed at Blackheart, but if you are looking for a small Japanese tattoo I would go to Diamond Club or over to State of Grace and see Horitomo.

BlackHeart Tattoo San Francisco: Our Shop - Jeff Rassier, Tim Lehi, Scott Silva, Nick Rodin, Cody Miller, Juan Puente
Spider Murphys Tattoo :: Welcome
http://templeoakland.com/
http://www.stateofgracetattoo.com/

My wife is booked in with Capilli Tupou on Sat. the 14th, and I just saw that he had some cancellations that day. One email later and now we're both booked with him for the 14th. :)

Kevin, is 100% in the right in everything he has said in my opinion. Hes an artist not a baby sitter. Drake is a fkn pussy. If I ever make it out to the US, I'm def getting tattooed at Will Rise. Been a fan of Norm since his graf days. Sick cunts (In Australia, thats a compliment).

You have obviously never hear of snow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtILxBszyf8

I'm Canadian and I can assure you, "gangsters" here are soft as fuck.
I also thought it was ridiculous to say oh i really want to meet the girl but the dude who did it is a fucking asshole. So if it's cool for the girl to get it then how isn't it cool for him to do the tattoo? She's just as dumb for getting it as he is for doing it.........
I would watch a video of Kevin fighting Drake hahaha

I work as a care giver at a group home for people with downs syndrome and similar handicaps. One of the inhabitants has a father who must be close to 80 years of age. EVERY time he comes to visit and I am there to greet him he will comment on my tattoos. Every. Time. He is probably senile and not aware of this.
Last time was different though.. he usually opens up with saying "those are hard to get rid of..", like it is a question. I usually just say Yes, and smile at him. Then he asks me if it hurts, I tell him Not anymore, and smile some more. But this time he also said that he had tried (to get tattooed), on his hand, but that it had faded over time. And then he told me that (my tattoos) where prydsamma, which is a swedish word that translates to "something thats proper and enhances the beauty of a thing/someone".
I was flattered for the first time. I didn't know that he liked my tattoos, just that he would always comment on them.