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'.