RIP Painless Paul

So, another tattooer friend of mine has passed away.  Why do I have to keep writing this same damn blog entry over and over this year?  I've known Paul for 17 or 18 years, and have lived pretty much around the corner from him for the last 10.  He also had a shop about a mile down the road from me.  Paul was definitely what one would call 'cantankerous'- an old school, biker tattooer.  On various occasions he told me, "I'm gonna out-gottdamn-live you, I'll be dancin' on your gottdamn grave."  Paul was a cool old guy- there were a lot of people that didn't quite get along with Paul, but there were plenty that did.  Paul had been tattooing for 40 or so years in the Atlanta area.  There were periods where Paul quit tattooing for a couple of years, fed up with the business he'd say that he was done with tattooing, but he always ended up being dragged back in.  When he closed 'Painless Paul's Skin and Ink Tattoos', he came into my shop with a 'Welcome' sign from his shop and gave it to me saying, "You want this gottdamn thing, ain't nobody fuckin' welcome in my shop no more."  I still have that sign hanging in my shop, hell, it was painted by Paul.  I also have a 'Pay in Advance' sign that Paul painted.  Paul was definitely the 'Old Man' of Atlanta tattooing- even if you didn't have any tattoos, you had probably heard of Painless Paul Nelson.  He was an old school tattooer in every way, and we would have long talks about our mutual hatred of the Gwinnett County Health Department (I guess from now on I'll have to give them enough shit for both Me and Paul).  Rest in peace Paul.

Bennett Benefit

I recently found out that Marshall and Dawn Bennett lost their home and car in a fire.  Marshall and Dawn are super cool people, and Marshall is a great tattooer.  I don't know much else about what happened, but if you would like to help the Bennetts in their time of need, donations, gift cards, etc. can be sent to:

Marshall and Dawn Bennett

11769  21 Mile Road

Shelby Township, MI 48315

PC fuckin' bullshit!

I'm pissed off this morning, not my usual a little pissed and ranting because it's fun to rant pissed off.  REALLY PISSED OFF.  Why?  Because I'm one of those boring people that listens to and reads the news every day because I wanna know what's going on and I like following politics.  So, I read some news stories most every morning on the internet.  Now, lemme tell ya what I do- I read news stories from FOX, MSNBC, CNN, NPR, whoever has a story I'm interested in (I like to read the same stories from various news outlets so I know what all sides are saying).  I also listen to the news on my way to work- I listen to our local talk radio station- WSB.  I listen to WSB for the news and weather, and for Neal Boortz.  I know, all you folks on the left are rolling your eyes at the mere mention of Boortz, and probably going, "Oh, he's one of those 'Hate Speech' guys".  But, you're wrong.  The Left loves to throw around terms like 'Hate Speech' (the Right has their catch phrases too, I know, but it seems like the Left does it more).  Anyone who disagrees with the Left is accused of 'Hate Speech' and 'Racism'.  But, the reason that I listen to Boortz is that he is one of the few Libertarian voices on the radio (and I find him to be pretty funny too).  Look at the heading of this blog and it says that I'm a Libertarian.  I can't stand Hannity or Limbaugh- way too far to the right for me, so Boortz it is.  Most of the people that accuse Boortz of 'Hate Speech' have never even listened to him.  They just think that he's another ultra-right-god-guts-guns guy, well, he's not.  Whatever, I'm getting away from what it is I'm so pissed off about...

Yesterday the Obama administration decided that they are calling what took place at Fort Hood in 2009 an act of 'workplace violence'.  Workplace fucking violence?  Bullshit, it was an act of TERRORISM!  Nidal Hasan is a fucking terrorist.  In fact, he is a RADICAL ISLAMIC TERRORIST.  But, wait, this is America, land of political correctness, we can't possibly say 'Muslim' and 'Terrorist' in the same sentence. That might offend some Muslims.  Too Fuckin' Bad!  I'm tired of this PC bullshit of not calling things what they are for fear of offending someone.  Nidal Hasan was in touch through e-mails with Anwar al-Awlaki, who was a high ranking member of al-Qaeda and was considered a TERRORIST!  OK, you don't wanna call him a Muslim Terrorist or an Islamic Terrorist because that might be considered offensive (to other terrorists, I guess), then call him a 'Domestic Terrorist'.  He was a US citizen, so Domestic Terrorist works, but call him a fucking terrorist, 'cause that's what he fucking is.  Timothy Mcveigh is considered a domestic terrorist.  Ted Kaczynski is considered a domestic terrorist.  Because they were fucking terrorists.  Hasan is also a fucking terrorist, and a radical Islamist.  An act of workplace violence- no fuckin' way.  This was not a disgruntled worker that got fired, went home, got drunk and then went back to work and shot a bunch of people because he was drunk and pissed off.  This was a man with ties to Radical Islamist Terrorists that killed 13 people on a US military base and injured 30 others.  Call it what it is you PC pussy-ass motherfuckers, but don't call it workplace violence.  It was an act of TERRORISM against a US military installation on American soil, period, end of story.

Bacon Wrapped Bitchin', Liquor and Tattoos

OK, so I've gotten a few customer drawings done, so now it's time to take a break from trying to make something out of people's bad tattoo ideas, and do the blog thingy.  It's been a while since the last one, I'm sure you've all missed me terribly.

I'm gonna start off by answering an e-mail I got recently:

You don't know me, but I want you opinion about something. I read davesdamnblog and I like your angel on lots of things. I really liked your entry about the tattoo school. I've come across the news that now spike tv is doing a program called ink master. It's supposed to be a competition based elimination thing. Some of the same people that were up in arms about the tattoo school thing and who talk trash about the reality tv tattoo stuff(miami ink, la ink etc) are now all excited about this new one. Seems messed up to me. What do you think?

Thanks

Aaron

Well Aaron, first I'd like to say thanks for reading my dopey blog (that also goes for the other 3 or 4 people that read it).  I mentioned Inkmaster in my blog back in October, and my opinion of it is exactly the same as my opinion of all the other tattoo (un)reality shows.  Bottom line- I do not believe that tattooing should be on TV at all.  Personally, I haven't heard anyone say anything about being excited about this new entry in the shit storm of tattoo TV shows.  I do find it interesting that both Spike and Oxygen are running 'tattoo competition' shows at the same time.  Oh my, how can I possibly decide which one to watch?  I would like to say that I won't watch either, but I do plan on watching at least a couple of episodes of the one on Oxygen, which is called 'Best Ink'.  Now, with all the bitching I do about tattoo shows, why would I watch one?  Well, because a very good friend of mine is going to be a judge on the show.  The fact that Joe is on the show will be the ONLY reason that I will watch it at all, and probably just to get stuff to give Joe shit about (sorry Joe, but ya gotta expect shit from your friends- what else are friends for if not for bustin' balls?).

Besides all the things I've mentioned in the past about how I believe these shows have caused the ruination of the tattoo industry, there's something else that I don't think I've really mentioned before that bothers me about these shows- the mystique is gone from tattooing.  They have stolen the magic and the mystery of tattooing.  This is one of the things that attracted me to tattooing in the first place- it was a mysterious, fringe thing that people did- it was just the other side of 'socially acceptable'.  When you walked into a tattoo studio, you left that other world outside the door and entered a place where you weren't sure what might happen.  Would you get tattooed or would you get beaten up and robbed by a bunch of tattooed outlaws?  The whole process was mysterious, and when you walked back out of that shop with your new tattoo, it was nothing short of magical.  Sure, you knew that the tattoo machine pushed a needle up and down really fast and left marks that would be there forever, but you didn't really know how any of it worked.  Now customers ask things like 'is that a 7 mag?'  Things they were never meant to know.  I usually just lie to 'em.  It's just stuff they heard on TV anyway- they don't know if you're lying to 'em.  I generally answer with something like 'No, its a 12-B wide'.  You can go on YouTube and find out everything about tattooing, from EXACTLY how a tattoo machine works, to how to build one, to how to mix pigments, etc.  Everything that was mysterious about it is now just a google search away.  It's been commercialized.  It's been cheapened.  The magic has been taken away.  There are no more Unicorns or Rainbows- they've been killed by TV executives and internet videos.

Now, on to some other stuff.  I mentioned a few blog entries back that I was going to try to get back to doing some painting/ making some art.  Well, that's still my plan, and I have a few things that I want to work on.  The problem is that I went to work on some stuff recently and I don't have any damn paint.  I'm out of a whole bunch of stuff that I need.  I know that doesn't sound like a very good excuse, and it's not really an excuse, it's just the reason that I haven't gotten anything done yet.  Here in Georgia, there is a sad lack of art supply stores.  Sure, you've got your shitty craft stores locally where you can get a lot of basic supplies, but I need 1-shot, and the only damn place that sells it is about an hour away.  I'm gonna try to get out there this Sunday and get the things I need- I was hoping to make it there yesterday, but that didn't work out.  With the limited paint I do have though, I sat down for an hour yesterday and painted a silly tentacle monster on my bottle of Woodford Reserve- it's nothin' special, it was just for kicks.  I promise that I will be working on way cooler stuff in the near future.

Here's a couple of recent tattoos.  Started this snake the other day.  The equation in the tattoo, B=f(P,E) is Lewin's Formula, which states that Behavior is a function of the Person and his/her Environment.

Finished Keith's tree.  Now he has to figure out what he wants to do with the rest of his front.

Now, just to make ya hungry, here's a couple of pics from Thanksgiving.  The first is of my baked clams- one of my specialties, and one of my child's favorites.  The second is a picture of our turkey happily surrounded by a bacon snuggie.

Last, but certainly not least is a picture of Abby's motor in the back of my car as it heads to Slim's house so that Slim can work a little of his magic on it.  As we get further and further into winter, there will certainly be more blog updates on the progress on Abby.

Tank, Sign, Tattoos...

Here's the gas tank that goes with the fenders and oil tank I painted a month or so ago.  I believe I did my job quite well, but I was extremely unhappy about painting 'Harley Fuckin' Davidson' on it.  It's just dumb.  Any time anyone says '(anything) fuckin' (anything)' it sounds idiotic (there are some exceptions). To me, it always sounds like some 'Bro-Dude' saying something like 'Atlanta Fuckin' Braves' or 'Pabst Blue Fuckin' Ribbon'- it just sounds dumb.  The few exceptions are things like 'Robert Fuckin' De Niro', why?  Because it's Robert Fuckin' De Niro of course.  You can also say 'Ronald Fuckin' Reagan' or 'Poison Fuckin' Idea' for the same reason.  So, anyway, here's the tank....

Here's something else I did recently.  This was a birthday present for my buddy Joey.  Joey brews his own beer and frequently grills delicious steaks.  Sometimes, I'll go over to Joey's place for a couple of beers after work and he'll say 'I cooked some really good steak for dinner, you want some?'  I'll reply by saying that I'm not hungry, and Joey will continue to ask if you want steak until you finally break down around 1am and say that you'll have some steak just so he'll stop asking, at which point Joey will make you a plate of steak, potatoes, and whatever else he cooked that night- basically a full meal.

Did some tattoos last week.  Started a tree on Keith's stomach.  Got all the linework and shading done...

Did some Wayne and Garth pinatas on some kids I tattoo- one is on a leg, the other is a foot...

Also started this project.  Next sitting will be scales, drawing in some background and hopefully a start on the shading...

I also just heard that TLC is starting filming of a full fuckin' season (it's all right to use in anger) of Tattoo School.  I'm pretty sure that by now, if you read my blog, you know exactly how I feel about this.  One more nail in the fuckin' coffin.

The housing thing and who REALLY got fucked.

I'm pretty tired of hearing people cry about not being able to pay their mortgages and the 'illegal' foreclosures.  Oh, the evil banks!  Lemme tell ya something...

The foreclosures are not illegal- you don't pay your mortgage, you lose your house.  That's just the way it goes.  You shouldn't have taken out a loan for a house you knew you couldn't afford.  When the bank shows up and tells you that they're taking back what is essentially their property due to your non-payment, there's nothing fucking illegal about it.  In fact, they're following the laws and rules put forth in the damn mortgage agreement that you signed.  Remember, the one that said that you would make the monthly payments in a timely manner?  Now, who really got fucked?  People like me, that's who.  People who made sure to pay their mortgages on time, people that work for a living and pay their bills like they're supposed to.
So now people are screaming about the evil banks and how they took their homes.  Actually, it was the Federal Government that pushed banks to lessen their lending requirements because they wanted more Americans to become home owners.  The banks did what the government told them to do and ended up with a bunch of bad loans.
The people that can't pay (or defaulted) on their mortgages now want assistance from the government.  Fuck them!  You wanna know who should get help?  The people that did things the right way, the people who now own homes that are worth less than what they owe because the rest of you fucked up.  My house is now worth about half of what I still owe on it, but I still have to pay $1063.52 a month to keep it while others can now buy a similar home for about $300 a month (and probably won't pay their bills on time).  I know, you're probably gonna say that I could refinance, but I really don't wanna get into another 30 year loan.  I've looked into it, I would save about $150 a month, but would be adding 10 years to the period of my loan (my payments would go up if I went with a 15 year loan).
I for one am pretty fuckin' sick and tired of the bullshit.  Everyone's yelling about 'fairness'.  I'll tell ya what would be fair- for the government to help the people that have been doing the right thing and tell the rest of 'em to go get fucked.  Instead of forcing the banks to lend to more people that won't pay their loans or helping the people that didn't pay their loans, how about telling them to reward the people that have been paying?  Tell 'em to lower interest rates across the board for everyone that has a good history of loan re-payment.  But, that's not how it works in America.  In America, the people that try to do things the right way are penalized and demonized while the moochers and leeches are rewarded.  I'm sure there will be more bailouts and handouts, but they won't be going to the honest, working citizens, and for every program, every bit of government assistance, someone has to pay the taxes.  That someone is me and you.  Most people don't realize, don't understand, or just plain don't care about the fact that the government HAS NO MONEY.  The government DOES NOT PRODUCE.  All of the money the government requires has to be seized from working citizens.  How is it that in America people that spend their lives trying to do things the right way always seem to end up getting fucked while those that don't seem to get rewarded?

Now that I got that out, here's a couple of tattoos that I did the other day.  The first is just another freehand skull on John the cop.  The second is the CD cover of some band I don't know (and probably wouldn't like)

A few months ago, I did some striping for a guy's bike, well, he finally got the tank in and I got started on that.  I just did the striping on the top of the tank, still gotta do some lettering on the sides...

One last thing....I finally got some damn pants yesterday.

IDNTFS... but I do need pants.

There have been a few occasions lately where I have caught myself saying 'I Laughed Out Loud'.  Now, I didn't say it in the dopey interweb-speak LOL kinda way, I just happened to say, in conversation, something like "I don't usually laugh out loud watching TV, but..." or "I was reading XXXXXXXX, and it made me laugh out loud".  The problem is that I can't use that expression anymore without thinking about LOL.  And I fucking hate LOL!  I hate all that dumb ass interspeak.  I have never ROTF, and if I ever do, I will certainly not LMFAO while doing it..  I don't use these abbreviations when I write something on the web, nor do I use them when I text (as infrequently as I do that), and I sure as fuck will not use them when I speak.  I also do not substitute U for 'you' or 2 for 'to' or 'too', nor will I use 4 instead of 'for'.  This is absolutely idiotic, and represents the degeneration of the english language.  I also hate 'teh'  I know what it is, and have even mistakenly typed it myself, but I use the fuckin delete button and correct it.  Now people type it on purpose.  It's still 3 fuckin letters whether you spell it correctly or not, so why look like a dumbass that can't spell (or at least use spell check)?  It's not cute, it's not funny, and you're not saving keystrokes (which take fractions of a second off your life), so stop fuckin doing it.  I will also not censor myself.  I talk like a sailor in my daily life, so I will type like a sailor on the internet.  I don't walk around making a BLEEEEP noise when I curse, so why the fuck would I type things like FU(K or A$$.  Everyone knows what the FUCK your silly ASS is typing, so just grow the fuck up and use those words- they're good words.  I fully understand that the english language is an ever evolving creature, but it really seems to be moving backwards at this point.  Are we as a people so fucking lazy that everything has to be abbreviated, has the art of laziness progressed to the point of using as few syllables as possible?  So, to all the LOL's and ROTF's, I say:  IDNTFS!

Yesterday was my day off, and I need some new pants, so I went looking for some jeans.  I stopped at a couple of different places, but returned home sans new pants.  I know that it doesn't seem like a pair or two of jeans should be a difficult thing to procure, but somehow it is.  I'm pretty easy (or at least I thought I was) when it comes to pants- regular old Levis, the ones they've been making for something like 100 years- plain old Regular Fit- the same goddamn jeans I've been wearing for my entire life.  You can't find the damn things anymore.  You go to the store these days and they have everything but Regular Fit.  They have Relaxed Fit, Skinny, Super Skinny, Boot Cut, Slim Boot Cut, Comfort Fit....  What they have the most of is the damn Relaxed Fit.  Those of you that read my blog regularly have probably figured out that I am no where close to relaxed enough to wear anything that says 'relaxed'.  Guess what they have the least of- that's right, Regular Fit.  Regular-Fucking-Fit.  Regular, plain, simple, average, normal...call it whatever you want, but to me it sounds (in name) like the one they should have the fucking most of.  So, of course each store has a few pair of regular fit, but none in my size.  I guess that next Tuesday I will have to continue my quest for pants.  Maybe I'll just give up and buy the damn relaxed fit- of course I'll buy 'em a couple sizes too big and wear 'em pulled down, hanging off my ass like the rest of the retards

Here's something kinda cool...

Got this e-mail yesterday.  I don't generally think of my blog as something that very many people read- I get some comments on it here and there, but they are usually one of two things- the 'I totally agree with you' comment, or the 'You don't know what the fuck you're talking about' comment.  So, this was kind of a cool e-mail to get....

just wanted to let you know mate i've just finished reading your entire blog, and fuck me, its the most honest and refreshing thing i've read about tattooing in a long time. your comments on the fucked up state of tattooing today couldn't have been put any better. its now three o'clock in the morning here but i just haven't been able to tear myself away from it since i found the damn thing. i'm a tattooist from hastings in new zealand, and i can relate to all the same unoriginal, uninspired, and fucking ignorant people who make my job a damn sight harder than it has to be. everyone here is now a fucking expert after watching all that tattoo "reality" shit, enough that they are trying to tell my how to do my goddamn job.

half my time is spent trying to reducate people on all the bullshit they've been told by so called fucking "experts" and fixing or covering up the abortions that backyard fuckheads have been engraving on them.

until i read your post i had the same burnt out feeling, but know i'm actually motivated again to do what i love best.

i got into tattooing through punk rock and skateboarding back in the early 90's, back when there was no internet or reality tv to tell everyone how to think and dress, so i know where your coming from.

dont want this email to sound like i'm kissing arse, so just wanted to say cheers for the entertainment, look forward to your next post'

cheers  

tim

I'm glad that my bitter rantings could help someone- I've always said, "Bitterness is a Virtue". 

Thanks, Ya Prick.

Got a little bit of a verbal kick in the ass from a good friend today.  The kinda stuff that ya need to hear sometimes to get ya moving again.  So hopefully, you'll be seeing more artsy stuff around here again.  Not sure what.  Paintings?  Maybe just more striping and 1-shot stuff, who knows... just gotta do something.  Even been thinking about building some machines again over the winter (been a few years).  Gonna get off my ass and send some stuff out to the dopey tattoo magazines again (been a long time for that too).  So, thanks Joe, ya prick, ya.

Haven't posted any tattoo work in a while, so here's a few things:

A sweet Norman Collins design- ya can never go wrong with a nice traditional piece.  There's a small cover-up in the hair- don't even remember what it was.  Maybe a kanji?

Bat-Pig.  Shitty photos, but what's new... maybe I'll get healed pics the next time she's in.

And here's the original WC I did a few years ago:

The boyfriend of the girl that got the Bat-Pig came in tonight and got my Hogodile:

Again, he'll be back and hopefully I'll be able to get a better pic when it's healed (if I remember).  I'm really glad that I've gotten to do a few of these weird pig animals on some folks.  I did my pig koi on a guy about a year ago.  Here's the original of the Hogodile:

Here's a couple of little filler pieces I did on Jeremy's ongoing Jaws leg project.  Those of you that realize that Jaws is the best movie ever made will know what these are:

OK, since I can't do this blog thingy without doing some bitching, here's something I was doing some crappin' about just the other day- the handshake.  What happened to the fuckin' handshake?  This bugs the hell out of me.  I don't wanna bump fists with you or do some weird slap-pull-snap thing with you.  I'm a grown fuckin' man and we're not standing on a fucking street corner around a fire in a 55 gallon drum.  Ya wanna shake hands, shake fuckin' hands.  Ya wanna make a spectacle of it and act like you're 14, leave me the fuck out of it.  When people go to do these things, I just grab whatever they put forward- a fist, their hand, but up in some kinda ready for a high five sorta thing, whatever, and shake it like a man.  Ya know what they do?  They look at me like I'm not cool.  I'm pretty sure that I've mentioned (on numerous occasions) that I don't wanna be cool.  So, if it makes you uncomfortable when I grab whatever strange handshake thing you're trying to do and shake it like a man, please stop and think to yourself 'maybe I should stop shaking hands like a high school kid trying to be cool and just shake hands like a fucking man'.

CAN'T YOU PEOPLE JUST TATTOO?

So, I've been totally unmotivated and uninspired for quite a while now, and it just keeps getting worse.  Don't wanna draw, don't wanna paint, and really don't care that much about tattooing.  Why?  For the same reasons that I've mentioned plenty of times right here in my blogity-blog thing.  What I love doing has been ruined by douchebags and TV executives.  I should be able to rise above all of this and just say 'fuck 'em all', but it just keeps getting harder.  It's depressing to see what has happened to the industry and how it's affecting my business.  More TV shows, more scratchers- it just goes on and on.

I started the day yesterday with a guy that looked like a fuckin' junkie getting mad at me because I wouldn't sell him any ink caps.  Really?  Ink caps?  You're scratching out of your house, slinging that ol' hepatitis, and you can't find anything to use for ink caps?

Not long after he left, while I was still having my coffee, I came across a story on the internet about another damn tattoo TV show that we're all supposed to be so fucking thrilled about- 'Ink Master' starring Dave Navarro and brought to us by the folks that brought us Miami/LA/New York Ink.  This one will be a tattoo competition.  Hey wait a minute, doesn't Oxygen have a show about to air that's a tattoo competition show?  That's cool, we probably need 2 of those.  The media people are just gonna keep putting these things on and running tattooing into the fuckin' ground.  As long as they can make a buck off of it, what does it matter what it does to the tattoo industry?

Not long after I find that gem, I run across this ad on Craig's List:

Inkaholiks Luxury Tattoos is looking for 2 ELITE style tattoo artists in the Buckhead Atlanta area to represent ATL as part of the Inkaholiks Artist roster! These are the ONLY spots available for local artists so you only need apply if you are a true Inkaholik! Must be willing to be filmed for reality show. Please respond to this ad with Resume and Portfolio. 

These douchebags aren't even open yet and they're looking to get their own stupid reality show.  This place says that they will be an upscale tattoo/hair salon/lounge- what the fuck is that? 

And here's what they have to say about the 'lounge':

Before you "hit the streets" step into the InkLounge where the hottest DJs in Buckhead are spinning the tightest tunes and the beautiful people are down for the party. InkLounge is a chic nightspot in the heart of ATL where the music is hot and the people are hotter. You have to be 21 to have this kinda fun, and make sure your dress is to impress.  

Why do idiots like this feel the need to turn tattooing into anything but fucking tattooing?  They have a grand opening coming up that they're advertising and guess who's gonna be there- Dave Navarro.  Is this really what tattooing has become- stupid reality shows and washed up junkie rockers?  It's fuckin' depressing.  

I don't know what to do to try to get my mojo back and actually want to be a part of this industry.  I sat down at my drawing table yesterday after reading all this bullshit and just stared at a pad of tracing paper, pencil in hand, unable to do a fuckin' thing.  I'm having a really hard time finding any reason to want to be a part of this anymore.

I am NOT the 99%

I am not the 99%, nor am I the 1%.  I am an individual with my own ideas and beliefs, do not try to put me in a category without my approval.  I do not agree with either of you.

That was my FaceBook status a few days ago, and I still stand by that comment.

The so called 99% are in reality probably closer to about 5%, because the other 94% just plain don't give a fuck.  There are a whole lot of people in this country that just don't care- they're uninformed people that would rather talk about sports than politics and don't care what is going on as long as it doesn't interfere with their lives.  And, by 'interfere with their lives', I mean that it doesn't preempt whatever sporting event or media coverage of celebrities they want to watch on TV.  I know that by calling themselves the 99% they are saying that they are speaking for the 'rest' of America, but I can speak for myself.  I believe that I am intelligent and informed enough that I don't need a bunch of kids speaking for me.  I certainly don't need labor unions and celebrities, the likes of which have been showing up at Wall Street protests, to speak for me.  I have worked hard my whole life.  I have never taken government handouts.  The problem with the 99%'ers is that they don't seem to understand that the things that they are asking for will only lead to bigger government.  That's exactly what we don't need.

As a Libertarian, I believe in minimum government, maximum personal freedom and personal responsibility.  That's right, PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY.  I saw a Wall Street protestor complaining that she had only been in college for a year and she was already in debt- what the fuck?  That's what happens when you go to college- you have to pay for it.  You are paying for a higher education in the hopes of making something better of yourself and having more opportunities later in  life.  You don't wanna pay for college, don't fuckin' go to college, but don't expect or ask the American people (the ones that work for a living in an attempt to support their families) to pay for your college education.  I take personal responsibility for where I am in this life.  I live within my means- I know how much I make and I don't make purchases that I simply can't afford.  I am a small business owner, and will freely admit that over the years I have made some bad business decisions that have either kept me from getting ahead or have cost me money.  I don't blame anyone but myself for those decisions, and consider them a learning experience.  I am by no means rich- I would probably fall in the category of 'lower middle class'.  I'm OK with that- my bills are paid and my family is fed and clothed.  Would I like to make more?  Sure I would.  Do I expect the American people to give me more?  Hell no.  Do I expect the government to give me more?  Double hell no!  I don't even like our government.  I agree with the protestors that the majority of people in the government are liars and thieves, but I sure as hell don't want more government.

A vast majority of the American people are living under the assumption that they are 'victims' and need the wrongs that were done to them righted.  I am not a victim.  People need to stop thinking of themselves as victims and realize that they are individuals that can work to change their situation rather than thinking of themselves as being entitled to things that they have not earned.  One thing that I believe they are NOT entitled to is what I HAVE EARNED.  I worked for it- it's mine, and I'm pretty damn tired of the government taking what I have earned and giving it to people that have not worked for it.

I still believe that America is the land of opportunity, that you can make something of yourself if you try.   The problem is that a lot of people don't want to put the effort into making something of themselves, they want it to be handed to them.  People need to stop asking for more and start asking themselves what they themselves can do to get more.  The problem with that is that it involves hard work, which many Americans are averse to.

Know what you're fighting for, know who you're fighting

Ya wanna bring down the banks?  Ya wanna smash the evil corporations?  Ya wanna take down wall street?  You think that's gonna do away with greed and bring about some sort of 'equality'?  You hate millionaires and billionaires?  Why, because they have more than you?
Lemme tall ya something, things should not be equal all the time.  Equal rights- sure, fine, I'm all for it.  Equality as far as people having the same things and making the same money- no fuckin' way.  Some people work harder than others.  I have worked for 14 years building up my business.  I should have more than someone that doesn't work or that works less than I do.  People have become way more concerned with what they don't have and what others do have than with working hard and trying to make their lives better.
If ya think you're going after the bad guys by trying to bring down the banks and wall street, you're not.  Lemme tell ya how this works- the people that own giant corporations will not be affected.  They have enough money to keep going.  Push 'em hard enough and they'll move their businesses to other countries. Who suffers then?  The same people that you say you're fighting for- the regular working class people, the average American - they end up out of work.
I get it, you're young, you're idealistic, you believe in what you're doing.  Most protestors though are college age kids- you've never had to live in the real world.  You just recently left Mommy and Daddy's comfortable little nest and now you're living in your dorm room or your trendy loft- you think you know everything about how the world works (I did when I was that age).  Well, I'm here to tell ya that ya don't.
You wanna really make a change and make America the great country that it once was, then learn about how things really work.  Learn about our political system.  Support the people that are really gonna make a change.  Push for reform of our oppressive tax codes.  Reforming the tax codes and making it easier and more profitable for people to do business here and will bring companies back to America, which will create jobs and prosperity for the American people.  A free market economy is not a bad thing.  Capitalism is not a bad thing.  Our government is corrupt, but you have the power to vote these people out of office.  That's how you can make a real change.  Don't vote for the guy that promises you EVERYTHING, he's not gonna come through on those promises.  Don't vote for the guy that has spent his entire life in politics.  Don't vote for the guy that looks pretty- he's the same fuckin' guy in a new suit.  These are the people that have sold our country to China.  These are the people that sell themselves to the lobbyists.  These are the people that turn a 2 page bill into a 1000 page monstrosity full of spending to buy themselves votes.  We need a fresh start, we need fresh ideas.  If enough people get behind independent candidates, we can do away with the tired old two party system.  

Everyone knows that the Declaration of Independence states that "All men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness", but read a little further, and you'll find that it also says, "whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it". 

I know it's cool to protest, especially when all your friends are doing it, but do you really even know what you're protesting?  The recent protests that are going on in major cities around the country seem to be quite unorganized.  Too many different ideas- too many people waving signs that say different things.  Everyone is upset about something, but they don't seem to be able to come up with a common cause.  In order to be effective, you have to stand for something.  Fight one battle at a time, then move on to the next one.  That's how the war is won.  Historically speaking, protests don't bring about drastic change.  If ya really want to change things, you need to do it from the inside- USE the system.  Use the system to get rid of the people that don't care about anything but getting re-elected.  Use the system to get rid of the people that don't care about anything but how much money they can put in their pockets before they're out of office.  Use the system to get rid of the people that don't believe in FREEDOM.
I am a FairTax supporter.  The people that slam the FairTax, for the most part, are the people that don't understand it.  Read about it, and not just what the naysayers are writing about it, read about it from the source- read the FairTax book.  You wanna know why most politicians are against the FairTax?  Because it takes a whole lot of power away from them and puts it back into the hands of the American People- that scares the shit out of them.  Losing their power to do whatever they want scares them a whole lot more than protests.  Vote for the people and the policies that take power away from the government.  Vote for the people that really want to reduce the size of the government.  Attack them from the inside.  Use the system.  Don't just listen to what your friends tell you, research the truth.  Don't listen to rock stars and actors, these are people that live outside of the REAL America.  Listen to the people that work for a living, that have to support their families, that live month to month.  These are the real American People.


I wrote this about a week ago, but never got around to posting it, now, I have more to add:


Now the protestors have been joined by Michael Moore and various Labor Unions.  Michael freakin' Moore and the Unions?  Lets start with Michael Moore.  Michael Moore is an anti American Liberal Fucking Nut Job!  Plus, he's a freakin' millionaire- the people you say you're fighting against.  How much of the money he makes from his propaganda films and DVDs does he give to the people he pretends to be helping?  He talks a big game, but he's laughing all the way to the bank.  This idiot is so far to left that he's off the fucking scale.  The Unions?  The Unions are in bed with the democrats and are huge supporters of Obama- the guy that wants to tax us more to pay for people that don't do anything.  Another week or so and you'll probably see Obama at an 'occupy' rally.  He knows his chances of getting re-elected are slipping, so he'll align himself with the movement to get votes.  The worst thing that could happen to this country would be re-electing this asshole. This country was built on Free Markets, Free Enterprise and Freedom- three things that our President is opposed to.  Big government and their policies of over regulation is what has gotten us into this situation to begin with.  Obama believes in Free Lunches and Free Money.  For who?  For the people that don't do a fucking thing.  I don't get handouts from the government, and I sure as fuck don't get free lunches or a free fucking ride- I work for a living, and big government taxes me to the point where I can never seem to get ahead for the sake of people that I don't fucking know.
"A democracy can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury"  There is some debate over whose quote this actually is.  Regardless of who said it, it is where we now find ourselves as a nation.  Obama will continue to promise free everything to the people that have less in order to get votes, but at what cost?  At the cost of the people that work for a living, of course.
Don't get me wrong, I believe that the Occupy people have some valid complaints, just as I believe that the Tea Party people have some valid complaints, many of which overlap, I just think that they're going about things the wrong way.  They're aligning themselves with the wrong people.  They see it as strength in numbers, but when the additional numbers are comprised of people that helped to create the current situation, they're not helping.  Know who you're siding with.  Don't just blindly believe that because you have 10,000 people that they're all on your side.  A lot of them are only out to help themselves and further their own political careers/agendas- the same mentality you claim to be fighting against.

RIP Tommy

Found out this morning that another friend of mine passed away- Tommy Painter.  I met Tommy through Jamie, and now they're both gone- this year has really sucked.  Tommy was the owner of Body Art Tattoos in Berryville, Va.  I met Tommy some time around 96 or 97, at a convention (I don't even remember which one).  I was going to the convention and Jamie told me that his friend Tommy was gonna be there and I should say hello.  As soon as I told Tommy that I was friends with Jamie it was like Tommy and I had been friends for years.  He was one of, if not THE nicest guy in this business.  Every time I saw Tommy he would give me a big hug and a kiss on the cheek.  I learned a lot from Tommy about machine building, and any time Tommy was around, his good cheer was infectious.  It had been a couple of years since I had spoken to Tommy- mostly because I stopped working tattoo conventions.  I heard that Tommy was especially upset when he heard about Jamie's death, and I had been meaning to call him ever since, I just never got around to it- now it's too late.  I am not a religious person- I consider myself an Agnostic, so I really don't have any beliefs as far as some big fancy afterlife is concerned, but if there is something else, I know that Jamie and Tommy are laughing (probably at our expense) right now.  RIP Tommy Painter, you will be missed by many many people.

Tattooing, Freedom from Scumbags, Debate...

Here's a bunch of unrelated stuff.

Got a healed pic of another piece on Jeremy's Jaws leg:

Here's a little update to my Blog from 7/15 'If Ya Really Wanna Change Things':

I have pretty much become free from tattoo supply companies.  It took some work, but it's not too hard to do, and I have found just about everything I need to run my studio from suppliers that have nothing to do with the tattoo industry.  I'm also paying less for all of my supplies than I had been.  The only things I still need to get from scumbags are pigments and needles.  Of course, I know how to mix pigments and make needles, so I could cut them out of that also, but my stupid local health department won't allow us to use any pigments that we can't supply MSDS information for, and they also will not let us make our own needles.  For some reason they believe that pre-made, pre-sterilized needles are somehow more sterile than the ones I used to make and sterilize myself.  I always liked my own needles better- I could make 'em just the way I like 'em.  I'm also still searching for a place to buy ink caps from, but it'll be a few years before I run out of caps- a few years ago, I bought enough to last a long, long time.  So, if ya take the time and do a little research, you too can break away from the shitbag suppliers.

Watched the debate last night.  Pretty crappy- still not a fan of any of them other than Herman Cain.  The problem is that the media has already decided that Cain doesn't have a chance.  In fact they have decided that the only people we really need to hear from are Romney and Perry.  There are 8 people in the race, let us hear what they each have to say.  While I do agree with some of Ron Paul's points, he is a certifiable crazy person and most of his hardcore supporters are just as batshit crazy as he is.  Herman needs to drop this new 9-9-9 plan of his and come out as the FairTax candidate.  I know he's a conservative, but he needs to attract the Libertarian base if he wants to have any chance.

Here's a quick little painting I did recently- nothing special, just haven't made any art in a while:

Found this online yesterday, and I fucking love it.  This guy hits the nail right on the head.  And best of all, it was on liberal-ass MSNBC

Pushead tattoos

Over the years, I have done a number of Pushead tattoos.  I am a big fan of Pushead's work.  Maybe it's because as a punk rock kid I saw his stuff all over the records that I was buying, or maybe it's just because his stuff is really fuckin' cool.  If ya don't know who Pushead is, here's a little bit of info for ya from Wikipedia:

Pushead (a.k.a. Brian Schroeder) is an artist, record label owner, and writer within the hardcore punk and heavy metal field. He has created artwork for many bands, artists, and athletes including Metallica, the The Misfits, Dr. Dre, Travis Barker, and Craig Johnson. He has designed many record covers, T-shirts, skateboards, and a pair of Nike SB Dunks. His record label, Pusmort Records, has released albums by Negative Gain, Poison Idea and Final Conflict. He fronted the band Septic Death during the 1980s. 

Pretty much all of the Pushead tattoos that I have done have been on 2 customers of mine- Rick and Fanna Easter- they're cool people, and they're old punks like me.  So, here's some Pus tattoos I have done, including the one I just did on Rick this past Saturday.

Tattooing, Striping, Bitching....

Been a long time since I blogged last.  I'm sure you've all missed me terribly.

Got the shop all fixed up after the rain/flood disaster- only had to close for 3 days, so all in all it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

I was supposed to go out to Seattle for the tattoo convention- I love Seattle.  Had to cancel my trip due to the fact that my Dad ended up in the hospital having a pacemaker put in.  He's doing well, so again, nowhere near as bad as it could have been.

I'm still fed up with the government and our commie leader- nothing's changed there.

Finally finished up the benefit for Jamie's Mom- managed to raise a little over $7000, not too bad.  Big thanks to everyone that donated items/services and or bought stuff.  A big fuck you to a couple of people that didn't bother paying for the items they won- you know who you are.

I'm still disgusted with the tattoo industry and what we've allowed it to become.  I love what I do, but I'm at the point where I question whether or not I want to do it anymore- I just don't know what else I could do.  After 18 years of tattooing, you kinda become what you do.  Do any job long enough and it becomes what you are.  I'm a tattooer.
I'm pretty tired of listening to douchebags with big ass tattoo ideas.  All of these fuckholes come in my shop talking about the sleeves and back pieces they want and about how they want to get 'all tatted up'.  But ask 'em to leave a fuckin' deposit and they're out the door.  I'm not here to be your fuckin' friend and I'm not here to listen to your idiotic tattoo ideas- I'm trying to make a living, so if you're not serious about getting tattooed, then go fuckin' bother someone else and stop wasting my goddamn time.  There was a time when the people that came into the studio were there to get tattooed, now they're just talking shit and price shopping.  Only an hour into the day and I've already talked to 2 of these people today, and the first one was coked out of his mind and wouldn't shut the fuck up.

Did a little striping last week.  Painted this skate deck- wanted to do a very art nouveau kinda thing with it:

Got bored and striped my power unit at work:

Jason (Earl), got a pink helmet with some giant ass flake in it, so I did some sweet roses on it for him:

I have, of course, also been doing some tattooing (remember, it's what I do/am?)

***I wrote this blog entry yesterday, then never hit the publish button, so here it is a day late***

The sky is falling....FUCK!

Had a disaster at my shop. FUCK! Wednesday afternoon the rain came down hard, and I mean HARD. I'm in the end space of the shopping strip. The gutters overflowed and flooded the roof. Well, apparently there are holes in the roof. The roof leaked, and it didn't take long for the insulation and ceiling tiles to soak through and start falling. Once the ceiling tiles were gone, there was nothing to slow the flow of water, so it was basically raining inside my shop. Thankfully it was all along the wall opposite our work rooms, so all of our personal stuff was undamaged. I did lose some computer equipment (computer, scanner, printer, etc) and pretty much all of my supplies that can get ruined by water. The Landlord's insurance company sent out a Water Damage Restoration company that did some initial cleanup and left a bunch of giant fans and dehumidifiers running in my shop. They haven't been back since Wednesday night, and all that shit is still running in the shop, keeping me from getting in there and trying to get things back to a workable condition. I spoke to them yesterday, and they said that in order to really dry things out that stuff has to have a few days to work. The insurance company is sending an adjuster out on Monday. FUCKING MONDAY! I need to get my damn shop open so I can make some money. The bills aren't gonna stop coming in. Now they're talking about the possibility of having to rip out the damn walls to remove the insulation which is probably soaked. If they do that, it'll probably be at least another whole week before we can re-open. If that happens, I'm pretty much fucked. With the way things have been over the last few years between the shit shops trying to run us out of business with cheap tattoos and tattoo specials, and the shitty economy, I don't have much of a cushion anymore. A week or 2 of no money coming in could spell the end of Good Clean Fun. I wouldn't be quite as pissed off if this situation was a result of something stupid I did, but I didn't have a damn thing to do with it. I blame God for the rain, Obama for the shitty economy, the people that built the building for the shitty roof, and to some extent the landlords for not fixing the roof years ago. Four or 5 years ago, we had a similar situation, just nowhere near as bad. At the time, the landlords had more gutters installed, hoping that would solve the problem. I guess I really can't blame them- they had someone come out and look at the roof and were told that more gutters was what they needed. They should have had the roof re-done or patched or something at the time though. The fucked up thing is that it's a relatively new building- I moved in about a year after it was built, so it's about 10 or 11 years old. I've been pretty good so far- no yelling or screaming, no freaking out, but I don't know how much longer that's gonna last. This really sucks, and it doesn't just suck for me, my guys aren't making any money either and I'm pretty sure that they have bills to pay too. Of course now, while we all sit with our thumbs up our asses waiting for the insurance people to come out on Monday, if it rains again, there is nothing to even slow the rain from coming in- I got no damn ceiling!