polliwog

Just wondering if your thoughts about this tattoo have changed since you posted this. Are you thinking of anything else for that arm?

How about a centipede or a caterpillar? Horned beetles look particularly badass as tattoos. I agree with @Hands On that whatever Greg comes up with will be spectacular. - - - Updated - - - Also, er...could you maybe put a bug in his ear that Portsmouth, New Hampshire is really beautiful in the summer? :)

That response made me unreasonably happy. It's weird to me that scratchers register here and then announce themselves as such like we're supposed to congratulate them. Do they just not read anything in this board (never mind the forum rules) before posting? Or is it a special snowflake thing?

If the turtle distorts a little bit, you'll probably be the only one to notice because you're comparing it to when it's in the ideal position, which isn't something other people will be doing -- though the back of a turtle contains some pretty straight lines and a geometric pattern, in nature they're not perfectly symmetrical anyway. To me distortion is only really noticeable as a negative if an inorganic form like a dagger is on a part of the body that bends a lot.

RHW inner bicep crew. It was a pretty dumb choice to get this as my second tattoo, given how uncomfortable the location turned out to be/how badly I sat. The only thing with covering your inner and outer bicep with one largeish tattoo each is that you then have that weird back-of-the-arm area to fill. Thank goodness for snakes, daggers, torches...

I hope physical therapy works for you. I've also been dealing with back pain/sciatica on and off for years and haven't hit my 30th birthday yet, so I sympathize with you. It's amazing how poorly designed much of our environment is, particularly if you're on the shorter side - two hours in a chair with too pitched a backrest (hello, trains and movie theaters) or too long a seat can result in major pain. Being more attuned to how I position my body was the most valuable thing I got out of PT - it was very helpful to be able to isolate and work on various weakened muscle groups, rather than cheat around them. Best wishes.

Aaaaaaa that's so cool!! @Bunny Switchblade gives great advice! It's been said many times before, but I love it when folks here end up with great tattoos thanks to the advice of knowledgeable posters.

Let's all take a deep breath and look at this picture of a sparrow drinking nectar from a cherry blossom: It's A Damn Good Time To Be A Sparrow In Japan (unless you have a phobia of birds, I guess)

Wait, is anyone eating anyone alive? Most of the interactions on here are pretty respectful except in pretty extreme cases, like blatant trolling. I haven't been 100 percent on this but I can always do better.

Hahahaha, oh man, Facebook groups... Yes, they definitely attract, um, enthusiastic people. I had to leave a group about makeup tips, of all things - done with trying to interact with anyone I don't know in person on Facebook.

Meant non-snarkily, but here it is: Last Sparrow Tattoo - Forum Rules The search function is a little unwieldy, but I've had great luck with the advanced search options. This thread certainly wasn't born out of a desire to tattle on anyone. It's really more about how to get information to people who are looking for it, since the answers to many questions already exist here. As a non-moderator and a relative newcomer, perhaps it isn't my place to start this discussion, though! It took a little while to grow accustomed to some of the rules here, but I'm glad they exist.

This may be a derail, but I got some Bactine for one of my leg tattoos...it was a weird experience; it was completely numb in certain areas, but then elsewhere it was like three times as painful. Has anyone else dealt with this? Edit: I saw that @dari mentioned this in the painkillers thread. Maybe going to request no topical numbing agents in the future unless I'm doing love handles one day...

I should mention I totally did not start this thread with the goal of making anyone feel bad - if it turns into that, I hope it can be locked. I'm mostly wondering, probably ineptly, about how to organize all the information on here.

Wow, I had no idea the tapatalk search function doesn't work. (I'm in the opposite situation, no smartphone or tablet.) I hope you didn't feel called out, btw, as this wasn't the intention of my post! With a board this size some duplication is inevitable.

With the full understanding that this is glaringly hypocritical since I'm starting a new thread about it (though I couldn't really find one that addressed this issue), I have sort of a use-of-LST question for you all. I really hope it doesn't come across as jerky or out of line! One of the things I liked about this forum when I joined was that there were relatively few threads considering the amount of content on here, in contrast to others forums I've used. A lot of the longest-running threads on this board contain a ton of fascinating knowledge and first-hand experience from members, collectors and tattooers alike, who've come and gone, and when an old thread gets dug up and bumped to the top, to my mind it's a welcome chance to read through the archives. Trawling through pages of the Latest Tattoo Lowdown thread, the What Makes A Good Tattoo thread, etc etc blew my mind as a newbie. So, from there I'm wondering: when is it appropriate to start a new thread? What makes the board the most navigable for everybody? I guess I've already revealed my bias, but it seems like a discussion worth having. Also: I'm not saying that new discussion doesn't add anything, more that it's maybe easier to forget what a wealth of information already exists here if it gets buried many pages back. Obviously all bets are off in the random stuff area...

I really like Tron's approach to band/lyrics tattoos; looking at her work might help you realise how many non-literal possibilities you have if you're trying to match an image to words. https://instagram.com/losingshape/ (If I ever get a band tattoo I hope I can get it from her.) "Cast me gently into morning" is lovely and evocative!

Thigh tattoo swelled a lot but basically didn't hurt at all while healing, no evil stabby feelings upon standing up as with the lower leg. I did an 8-hour workday standing up the day after getting it and then walked around in Boston/went to a baseball game the day after that, both days with Saniderm. Keeping the blood moving seemed to help. You will be OK, just bring loose pants in case the airplane makes the swelling worse, if you're prone to swollen legs/feet while flying...

@beez that is beyond cool. Also: 4 hours...howwww??!

Edited. Forget it, not sure why I am replying to this.

Time to disengage. He's a blowhard and he doesn't deserve further effort on your part.

You have tattoos; I'm willing to bet this guy doesn't. Hopefully the person asking for advice will remember this. It's super easy to act like a know-it-all online and a lot harder to hold back...

Yay!!! And arrgh because I need to actually figure out what I want - hopefully he still has time available. (When in doubt, get a whale?) Thank you for posting this; as someone who doesn't Instagram it's easy to miss out on guest spots.

I can highly recommend the Hokusai exhibit - I went today and didn't give myself nearly enough time. If anyone's traveling from points north to the Perseverance exhibit this summer, it would be well worth a detour to Boston.

Just a head's up for anyone passing through New England soon: Hokusai | Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

First-ever TOTM winner 2 months in a row?