The Great Friday the 13th Tattoo Experiment

Long time readers of this blog may recall this event, when Friday the 13th  fell on my wife Melanie's birthday.

I didn't get a Friday the 13th tattoo then, because we were celebrating for Melanie.

This month we have another Friday the 13th, and I'm itching for my own little celebratory tattoo.

But I want to include the Tattoosday community in this journey, and I want you to pay for it.

Wait, hear me out. I've placed a PayPal badge on Tattoosday for people to make donations. A Friday the 13th piece is only twenty bucks ($13 for the ink plus $7 for tip). I've already budgeted for my older daughter's
birthday on Saturday, so all my funds are tied up. But, in exchange for contributions, I'll trade power. Contributors will get to decide, within reason, what tattoo I will get and where I will get it.

So, assuming I get $20 in PayPal contributions today, whether it be $1 from 20 people, or $5 from 4 people, those patrons will have votes on what tattoo I get, and where.

Those who contribute receive a vote per dollar and will get to select the flash (which I will email to contributors and try to post on the blog from the shop). You also get to vote on which limb will receive the ink.

Hand of Glory's Flash from November 2009

No face or neck tattoos, no designs of genitalia, but if you pay, you have a say. I'll get it, I'll report it and I'll share it.

So, if you're interested, click on the Donate button on the left and secure your vote(s) through PayPal contributions.

Think about it, if twenty of you contribute a dollar, you can participate cheaply in the inking of yours truly. If you don't contribute, and I don't achieve my funding goal, oh, what a boring day Friday will be for all of
us.

The primary purpose of this experiment is  to see if it will work. If anyone out there is interested in seeing this work, please help out.

Any questions, feel free to e-mail me or post them in the comments section.

Thank you,

Bill

Jack Kerouac Back

This is an orphan post, what I refer to as a photo with no real story attached to it, as the individual who let me take the photo, never e-mailed me with any further details.

I shot the picture at the end of the Brooklyn Cyclones-Staten Island Yankees game at MCU Park in Coney Island.

The crowd was filing out, so a protracted conversation was not an option.

The woman who belongs to this tattoo, however, did allow me to take the photo and said it was a quote from Jack Kerouac's On the Road.

It's a slightly modified version of this phenomenal passage:

�The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes "Awww!�

If you're reading this, Dear Contributor, please accept my thanks for allowing us to enjoy your tattoo here on Tattoosday, but contact me, please, to tell us more.

Jarrod's Multicultural Demon Sleeve

When I met Jarrod last month in Penn Station, he was happy to share what he called his Demon Sleeve.

It currently has a Viking Demon:

And a Hannya mask, representing a demonic figure from Japanese theater.

He hopes to add an Aztec demon, as well.

Both tattoos were done by Pepe at The Tattoo Shop, in Medford, NY.

Thanks to Jarrod for sharing his ink with us here on Tattoosday!

Jen's Simpsons Homage

There's just something completely awesome about a tattoo aficionado who shows a devotion to popular culture with an uncompromising commitment to that which he or she adores.

When I find someone going all out to illustrate this, I cannot help but admire their passion.

Last month, I met Jen and she showed me the sleeve-in-progress that displayed five iconic scenes from one of the greatest shows in television history, The Simpsons. She credits the world of Springfield with "creating her sense of humor and the way [she] looks at the world through popular culture."

Jen equated "forever" with the fact that she has watched The Simpsons "since she was four," when it premiered. Her left arm shows quintessential Simpsons snapshots which, God bless her, Jen could explicate with episode titles to make my job as a documentarian that much easier.

Let's look, shall we?

It is regarded as one of the top five episodes of all time. Remember when Bart sells his soul to Milhouse for $5, much to Lisa's horror? Here is the slip of paper representing that transaction, on the inner part of Jenn's arm:

from "Bart Sells His Soul," Season 7, Episode 4

Some of the most memorable images from The Simpsons come from their annual Halloween specials, known as "The Tree House of Horror". Here's a phenomenal piece with a jack-in-the-box a la Homer Simpson:

from "Treehouse of Horror II" Season 3, Episode 7

One of the tattoos was still in progress, so I didn't get a clear shot. This is "Bobo," Mr. Burns' childhood teddy bear:

from "Rosebud," Season 5, Episode 4

The crowning segment of the tattoo is at the top of the arm, and features Marge Simpson in full Halloween mode, broomstick and all:

from "Easy Bake Coven," which is in Treehouse of Horror VIII, Season 9, Episode 4

And finally, we have the Simpsons' answer to the Barbie Doll, at the bottom of the half-sleeve, a lovely portrait of Malibu Stacy:

from "Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy," Season 5, Episode 14

And that wraps up the quintet of Simpsons tattoos that comprise Jen's half-sleeve. She used art from what she described as her favorite episodes.On a side note, Jen has fifteen additional tattoos (unrelated to the Simpsons' universe), not counting the ones shown here.

The work above was created by Craig Messina at Lone Wolf Tattoo in Bellmore, New York.Work from Lone Wolf has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Thanks so much to Jen for sharing this work in progress. We hope she will keep us posted on new Simpsons-inspired tattoos as time goes by.