ShawnPorter

My sister lives a few blocks from there, so she'll hopefully be able to recommend a non-douchey bar for us to meet up at after sushi so folks who don't want food can still swing by. I sprung this on my friends kinda last minute, so a lot of them have plans that they can't break. Not going to be a big crowd.

I've been part of a lot of blogs/websites over the years and t-shirts (which cost money in the long run- rarely make a profit) aside they're 100% non-monetized. I admit that I'll take books/dvds/etc for review, but they'll get an HONEST review. And if people think that's worth chipping a few bucks into my travel fund, who am I to not give them a convenient link?

Haha. August 2nd. I totally just whored myself out on OV. It had to be done. Have I no shame? « Occult Vibrations

Nah. We usually just show up. I'll likely be there around 9:30 letting them know we need a table.

Squidpants contest.

It's been an annual tradition to go hang out with my sister and her husband for my birthday over the last few years (They're both August B-days too) so I want to keep things consistent. I'm going to be in NYC on 31 July, Tuesday. We're going to grab a big table at May's Place on 2nd Avenue, between St. Marks and 7th Street at around 10pm. If any NY locals want to join a table of weirdos for some cheapass sushi, ya'all are certainly welcome!

There are two Superman trailers, btw: Same video, but the audio is different. One is Pa Kent (Kevin Costner) and the other is Jor-el (Russel Crowe) talking to Clark/Kal Depending on what theater you go to... you get Crowe or Costner. Incidentally, both of Supe's dads have played Robin Hood.

The Dark Knight Rises. I don't really know what to think about it. I need to see it a second time. The editing felt rushed. The re-recorded dialogue for Bane (despite Nolan claiming he didn't touch it up) made him sound like a weird Brit Butler. The 'reveals' were so forshadowed that you could see them a mile away. The cameo was fun. (No spoilers. you knew there would be cameos) but the whole thing felt... disjointed?

If TAM doesn't want it, I'd be glad to put it on occultvibrations.com. He sounds like a character!

I lost my mother two years ago (this month) and I tell you... It's something that I've learned to deal with but am not really the same after. My Mom was a spitfire- 5'1" of Southern Baptist with a heart of gold. When I was a teenager she rewarded me for graduating early by lying to a tattooer (said I was 17 instead of 15) to get my first tattoo. Over the years she supported me in my endeavors no matter how strange, and was my biggest cheerleader. I am who I am because my mother was who she was; little mannerisms or phrases, values she instilled in me carving out the adult I've become. I miss being able to talk to her, but years of her advice and her guiding me towards the right decisions have paid off and I'm stronger because of her. Mourn your Dad, but let his memory ease your burden. My condolences to you and your family right now.

I have a copy of Blue Skin coming. It's PAL/region 2, but we'll see what I can do about converting it ::cool:

Finally. It's going to be a really rad "season".

It's a good one. I think I'm going to do the Jack Dracula one next. I mean to interview more people, but... I always put it off.

Now I have to speak to my agent and see if it's YOU who owes me money, or David :D

My worry about publicists and tattooers is pretty much this: Is the guy trying to make some money, or is he trying to get famous? If he's trying to make some money... god bless him. It's a competitive world and everyone needs to make some coin. If having a publicist is about trying to be the next celebrity tattooer.... Stop it. I don't know the dude. He puts on a clean tattoo and could be a damn nice guy who just wants to put on MORE clean tattoos and is using social networking to get to that end. I don't know the publicist. Maybe she's a really rad chick who just wants her friend to be exposed to more people. In the end- thats part of why I feature tattooers I like on OV. I want you to get a Michael Bennett tattoo. I want you to get a Robert Ryan tattoo. Sure there's no financial gain in it for me*, but I like to see the kind of tattoos I get get done. If that makes sense. It makes me happy when I hear "I went to Dave Bruehl because you recommended him" because I love David, and I like that someone got a really rad tattoo instead of something crappy. Maybe I'm reading too much into it. Maybe I'm not reading enough into it. [

I think one of the things that struck me was that there was no personal note to me; no "hey, we really dig OV and would like to see (artists) name featured on your blog!". It was just a "here are lowrez photos for web and high rez for print".

I'm fairly sure he walks the straight edge to the nearest bar.... - - - Updated - - - I kid...

OV is niche and I like it being niche. The guy's stuff was nicely done by it's just not the kind of stuff I feature. I might have considered it had the artist himself contacted me. But having a third party contact me was weird for me. Right now OV is me and Jennifer Stell. Eventually I'll have other people helping out, but they have to be people who get it. We're never going to take ad revenue (though for my birthday I'm going to ask for presents. Believe it!) and we're never going to be a general tattoo blog. So it's strange when I get email like that.

I received an email the other day from a publicist trying to get the tattooer she represents on OV. Does that strike anyone as odd? I mean, the guy looks like he's a pretty good tattooer, but the weird impersonal nature of it had me scratching my head. That a tattooer has a publicist had me scratching my head. I guess it's a logical extension of the way tattooing is evolving from craft to 'high art' but... very strange to me.

I could be motivated to do a new version of Squidpants.... - - - Updated - - - I tried to search for a photo that's on OV that I know TattooDonkey has posted. Tineye.com didn't find it anywhere other than OV. Just FWIW

I contacted Citibank, and they told me it's not their concern what their merchants sell. Wow.

I ended up never getting a print.

Crossing my fingers that mine will get here soon!

I can't recommend this enough. Being from Philly (well, transplanted in 1999) I've been seeing these guys for 13 years. This film does some detective work and it's just a fun ride straight through.

Tattooing the Invisible Man- Ed Hardy. Hands down one of my absolute favorites. The Zeis book by @scottboyer and his partner will no doubt rank highly. Stoney knows how- invaluable.