polliwog

I am so so jealous of the work on this page. Wow. That backpiece is going to be amazing.

When I went for my eagle, Chad K. basically had me look at flash and pick one I liked best, then took it from there. An earlier eagle of his I'd admired was from a Jensen drawing, I later learned by accident - I decided I wanted a rose with my eagle because of that earlier tattoo, though the position's totally different. But it's all based on images that have been around for ages. As an onlooker with limited knowledge, it does seem like eagles have a pretty defined set of positions at this point. @Graeme's situation sounds quite different. Yikes. I think @peterpoose might have the most-copied tattoos of anyone here. Like at least 3 that have been redone on other people.

Congratulations and sympathies. I'm going to Minneapolis soon to visit a friend soon & hope I can stop by the Aloha Monkey while I'm out there.

I also like albums by Katy B and Charli XCX that came out this year. I have no problem with things that sound like Kylie Minogue.

Newbury Comics is still around, but it's become more of a Spencer Gifts/Hot Topic hybrid with the music as an afterthought in most locations. They sell more vinyl than before, although in the context it seems like more of a thing to be seen with in your shopping bag than a way to convey music. It always used to sell a lot of tchotchkes though, and it's probably just the business model that works - which bums me out, which I also suspect may be a cranky and backwards way to feel. I was just reading a thing about 60s experimental music and how so much of it got the deluxe box-set treatment in the 90s and early 2000s, and how antithetical that was to the spirit in which the music was made...and thinking, maybe it's good to look critically at my preference for sitting by myself and listening to the same thing over and over. Maybe those streaming services I don't like make it easier to grow up loving music while being less into self-definition via ownership. The place I miss is Twisted Village. There's a record store there again now that I still haven't been to - I think it's more punk-oriented. If you were into Twisted Village's thing, you would probably be intrigued by most of what was in that store. And the people who owned it were so nice. There are still good record stores around, though. @sophistre, funny you should mention the Middle East cos that's the exact place I was thinking of - lost-looking freshmen ignoring whatever's happening on stage. At a Legendary Pink Dots show there, some guy with underage X's on his hands decided that was the ideal first time to drop acid without a drug buddy. I always used to hate how age-restrictive most Boston venues were, but too bad.

I went out and got this and the Scott Walker/Sunn O))) record on the same day and still haven't listened to the latter because of what @Graeme says about Swans. But I've listened to the Taylor Swift album a ton. I know it's Okay To Like Pop Music again, but I'm still glad you pushed the boat out on this one. I also liked the Fucked Up record, and The Both. Otherwise I've been pretty ignorant of what's happened this year. The Singles Jukebox usually steers me right re: singles. This is embarrassing, but I don't really know how to find music since my favorite record store in Boston closed...I think 2/3 of what I own came from there. I don't like downloading and I don't like streaming. I guess I need to get out to shows more often and figure out how to listen to the music instead of thinking about how much I hate people who text constantly.

I feel like you and @else get some sort of Lifetime Achievement award for Doing It Right. Much respect to you for diving in headfirst.

Super super super cool. You get a sense of how saturated the colors are in those pictures. You must be over the moon.

Re-lining is a thing? Rethinking whether this is something I can ever do....

Yup, I love my Chad eagle, and if anything I wish I'd gone bigger with it. And I want another one. I'm also totally un-badass - though to my mind yoga instructors are pretty tough, since yoga kicks my butt every time I try it. I feel like eagles combine power and grace with toughness in a way that still feels natural and not try-hard on a pretty nerdy person like me. I couldn't get away with a dagger on my forearm or something.

@iowagirl, I have a similar story. When my mom accidentally saw me getting tattooed, it went a long way towards helping her accept, if not necessarily approve of it - I was never in danger of falling out with my family, but at various points she'd called it "creepy" and "aggressive." (I like "aggressive" actually - we've mentioned the attitude that women's bodies are for public consumption as being linked to some of the particular bullshit tattooed women get, so in this context taking your body back by marking it is an act of aggression. For parents maybe it's a different kind of aggression - like you're further distancing yourself, after all the normal ties that get severed in your 20s, by permanently changing something they made.) It eased some of her worries about pain and sterility. @keepcalm, I like the idea of writing a letter to your mom and seeing if she'd be willing to explain what exactly bothers her about the tattoos. Can you involve your dad in this discussion without making him feel he's being used as backup? Maybe a harm-reduction approach is best - focusing on changing her reactions instead of her attitudes, like getting her to at least stop the silent treatments. Silent treatments suck.

Any time @Mick Weder mentions getting a new tattoo, I'm always surprised he has space left.

I found that the main advantage of using Saniderm (or Tegaderm, whatever) was that I could sleep on my tattoo. The pressure felt good, none of that raw scratchy feeling.

@El Dolmago, that is ridiculously nice. So many different elements, but it all flows. Jealous.

Really? A beautiful back and grey sleeve won this summer, and several of the most active posters here get mostly or exclusively black and grey tattoos, though not necessarily in the style of the Jun Cha sleeve above. There's a slant towards color traditional, but to say that the forum has "little appreciation for B&G" doesn't seem right - there are definitely folks on here who are knowledgeable about Chicano tattooing, among other styles. There is a huge repository of info. on different traditions here if you dig around! Not trying to pick a fight, just scratching my head a bit.

Totally agree on both counts. I wonder how "identity" is defined in the studies referred to in this article. I'm not sure that there's a super strong correlation between age and a solid sense of identity, either - maybe you shed some anxiety about it as you get older. I tried to swear off reading op-eds about millenials a while ago, but righteous indignation's sort of addictive.

Read that yesterday; not sure what to make of it. I only started getting tattooed when I had some stability in my life (same job, home and relationship for a while now). I know lots of folks use tattoos to mark the end of a period of transition, though. Regarding this quote: A lot of the most fervent defining seems to be done by people looking at the tattoos, rather than the actual tattooed person. I find it interesting that text tattoos are so popular since they also have the most fixed meaning. I like that I can "redefine" my tattoos as I grow older.

@Bunny Switchblade, love that panther. I love seeing full back pieces make creative use of back-flaps too - there's a Thomas Hooper one where the eye socket of the skull fits into those folds perfectly. Back fat: the possibilities are endless! (I hope to adorn mine someday.)

Amazing! I love the choice of subject matter. You're tough as nails.

Boston and New England folks, Greg Christian is coming to Congress St. I'm hoping I can book in w/him tomorrow. (It feels sort of rude to book a touch-up when a tattooer's travelling & to not get something else, too.)

Thanks for the advice, everyone. Wish I had back some of the money I spent on stupid stuff in my early 20s, if I'd only known.

I've just read through this thread and wanted to touch on something in the very first post - I hope this is appropriate. I only started getting tattooed a year ago, but the more I look at backpieces, the more I would like to make one a priority. If I start after I turn 30, that'll give me a couple years to save - the financial part is the most daunting. I was wondering if anyone else here with limited means had some general advice for preparing or just encouragement - the plan I had so far was to get the cost of a few sessions ready before even booking a consultation, so that I'd always be a session or 2 ahead. Even so, it'll probably take a few years to finish, if the tattooer's OK with doing a session every few months. Subject matter is still up in the air, sort of decided on artist...

Yay! Couldn't have picked a better person for the job.

I used to be convinced I hated New York - it turns out that always arriving at the Port Authority bus terminal and walking through or around Times Square to get to my destination were 95% responsible for that feeling.

This. Don't forget your local reference librarian if you're really stuck, too. (Disclaimer: daughter of one.) Interlibrary loan is also an amazing resource for art books.