Friday, December 31, 2010

2011



Fleet Foxes

2010 está quase a acabar. para 2011 espera-se por:

- Sean Riley and Slowriders que já entraram em estúdio para gravar o 3º álbum, depois de um Only Time Will Tell que trouxe uma evolução considerável em relação ao primeiro.

- Psicotic Jazz Hall de Kubik, 6 anos depois de Metamorfose que foi considerado um dos melhores álbuns portugueses desse ano por diversas publicações. este novo álbum promete uma abordagem mais próxima do Jazz, que, a seguir pelo primeiro tema já disponibilizado, Shina-Kak, será um dos álbuns obrigatórios de 2011.



- Devotchka lançam a 15 de Fevereiro 100 Lovers

- Fleet Foxes preparam o segundo álbum. depois do prometido no álbum homónimo de 2008, este será, em princípio, o grande disco do ano. ainda não há um título para o álbum e nomes como Slaughternalia e Deepwater Horizon têm sido considerados.

resta-me desejar a todos os visitantes deste blog um espantoso 2011

ao longo desta semana farei também uma retrospecção sobre o ano que passou, breve como tirar um ticket.

o fabuloso filme O Fabuloso Destino de Amelie Poulain



com uma brilhante realização, Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amelie Poulain é um obrigatório conto sobre solidão, justiça, diferença, imaginação e medo. por entre este emaranhado de realidade aperfeiçoada e adaptada ao íntimo de Amelie, de efeitos artísticos absolutamente avassaladores, destaca-se ainda um som: a música de Yann Tiersen que povoa com algo mais a obra-prima de Jean-Pierre Jeunet.

Out With the Old.....

As we wind down 2010, and look ahead to 2011, I wanted to take care of one of my several loose ends from the past year.

Back in July, I met a guy named John on the D train. He had tattooed arms and we chatted a bit. He said he'd send me photos and he did a few weeks later.

I never posted the photos because the resolution was low, and when I tried to increase the size, they blurred. I was going to include these in the Christmas housecleaning post, but the work is just too good.

So hear you have them, small photos, but recognizably amazing:




I mean, what is there to say? This work is quite excellent. The koi, the tiger, the sailing ship, sugar skull, nautical stars - it's all quite a body of work!

The artist is Nacho, who appeared once before on the blog here. You can check out Nacho's work here. in New York, he tattoos out of Studio Enigma on Avenue U.

Thanks to John for sharing these amazing tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

And thanks to all of our fans and contributors for making 2010 a successful year of inkspotting!

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Flaming Lips - Powerless



não é a primeira vez que posto algo dos Flaming Lips, e do seu esquizofrénico álbum Embryonic. primeiro uma música sobre a capacidade de se conseguir ser qualquer coisa, agora "you should do what you enjoy/ no one is ever really powerless". uma mensagem optimista carregada de amor à liberdade que contrasta na perfeição com uma música pessimista, que perde força por via de um trabalho de baixo absolutamente brilhante.

sholi - november through june



um dos melhores discos de 2009, uma das melhores revelações da década transacta. arquitectada sobre uma melodia desconcertante, cresce e desabafa sobre aquilo que, aparentemente, é a natureza do amor (interpretação livre do autor deste blog, pode muito bem estar errada), tema corriqueiro facto que não tira grandiosidade à obra, dada a enorme dimensão instrumental e notável construção lírica, fazendo transparecer um desespero do tamanho da música. além disso os versos "this is for myself/ this is not for you" acrescentam algo à letra que, estando eu certo na minha interpretação, acrescenta muito a um tema que parece esgotado.

A Bright Spot in December: A Phoenix and a Pin-Up

As one would expect, inkspotting is tough during December. Here we are at the end of the month, and I have only interviewed three people since the 1st. There were a few times over the summer when I interviewed three contributors during my lunch hour!

The last person whose work I photographed was Megan, who I found upstairs at the Penn Plaza Borders store.

Megan has seventeen tattoos, but it was this one that caught my eye:


This is a phoenix, of course, but fewer people may recognize it as Fawkes, the phoenix of Professor Albus Dumbledore, in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.


The artwork is based on the illustration by Jason Cockcroft on the cover of the UK edition of the aforementioned book.


The tattooist Jamie Nichols at Gargoyle Tattoo in Aberdeen, Washington, completed this piece in about eight hours over two sittings.

Megan also has this pinup on her upper left arm:


The use of negative space for the bombs is pretty cool.

Marcus was the artist at Gargoyle that Megan credited for creating this piece..

Thanks to Megan for taking the time to speak to me about her cool tattoos!

Wednesday, December 29, 2010



"A morte não espera nem atende. É estúpida. Primeiro é estúpida, depois é incompreensível. É tremenda porque contém em si mistificação ou beleza. Absurdo ou uma beleza com que não posso arcar. O nada ou uma coisa que a minha imaginação não atinge."

Raúl Brandão em Húmus

Por falta de disponibilidade não vou acabar de ler o livro, mas é uma interessante reflexão sobre a morte e o marasmo da vida.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Two-for-Tattoosday, Brazilian-Style

Sometimes, due to a) a language barrier and b) the passage of time, we're not always able to give you the most in-depth story about our subjects' tattoos.

Such is the case with Celso and Reginaldo, who I met back in September outside of Madison Square Garden.

Both gentlemen were visiting from São Paolo, Brazil and one of Celso's tattoos caught my eye:


That was on his right arm. He also had this one on his left arm:


Celso's friend Reginaldo pulled his shirt off so I could get the full view of his koi tattoo:


Celso credited Artur at True Love Tattoo in São Paolo for inking his dragon and his mermaid.

Artur also was the artists who did Reginaldo's koi.

Thanks to Celso and Reginaldo for sharing their tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

estamos a morrer



Boris: I'm dying! I-I'm dying!
Jessica
: Should I call an ambulance?
Boris:
No, not now! No, not tonight, I mean eventually!
Whatever Works de Woody Allen

estamos a morrer. é uma realidade difícil de compreender.

Monday, December 27, 2010

Sem a loucura que é o homem
Mais que a besta sadia,
Cadáver adiado que procria?
Fernando Pessoa

le miserable - working on something miserable vol.1 - insanity and maçãs drove me mad



esta é a primeira experiência. divagações musicais que de muito pouco valem. nos próximos tempos (1 mês/ 1 ano) conto apresentar algo mais extenso, mais bem concebido.

de qualquer forma, para escutarem:
http://www.myspace.com/miserablife

a ouvir alguma coisa ouçam a 9 days. é uma ideia que já estive para trabalhar de outras formas, que acho que resultou bastante bem desta, mais simples.

o ep (muito curto) está abaixo, só tem mais duas micro-faixas ruidosas.
http://www.mediafire.com/?qi7nuak19antjjj

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Big Fish - Tim Burton


"não vás já! bebe mais um copo"


oficina de escrita, portefólio pt 1ºp. 2010

porquê acabar tão cedo? peca a eternidade de parcimónia? bem-vindos ao passado, ao presente e ao futuro, que estou com insónias e perco-me nos tempos. sempre soubeste os números, e teu nome é o desespero de viver. viver menos que absolutamente, ser livre tão pouco como apenas muito, é pecado, crime, é peso no peito. temos a eternidade para viver, mas também ela passa, ou somos nós que passamos, ou somos passados. não é preciso um sentido, uma razão. tudo ao acaso e tudo como é hoje. bastava um bêbado ter acertado na sanita enquanto mijava e o mundo diferente, completamente.

o mundo é um sonho, uma embriaguez, um acesso de loucura, uma doença do foro psicológico, uma diarreia, uma gripe, uma dor de pés, ai dentes para que vos quero que só me fodeis, e tudo de mau é mundo e vida. também o bom mas esse deixa-o estar que não se escreve, vive-se que só sendo vivido ele é absolutamente. livre, são e sábio. e nós andamos às voltas, sem saber para onde vamos, peças de um jogo que alguém quis jogar, aproveitemos para ver jogar.

demasiado tempo para morrer

simples, sensível, tocante. é assim esta música. instrumentalmente ligeira, simples e belíssima, assume nas letras o motivo dos avi buffalo: temos demasiado tempo para morrer, temos de nos ocupar com alguma coisa. é simples e pouco rebuscado, mas não deixa de ser uma filosofia de vida que responde a muitas questões.

Saturday, December 25, 2010

from: Ken W.
to: tiangotlost@gmail.com
date: Sun, Oct 24, 2010 at 10:53 PM
subject: tattoo translation

Hi Tian,

I love your blog, and I was wondering if you could translate what I got tattooed on my arm some years back. Thanks a lot.



is antiquated version of , which means dense growth of bush or rash.
from: Lucy
to: tiangotlost@gmail.com
date: Mon, Dec 20, 2010 at 6:11 PM
subject hanzismatter - medical insurance notice

Hi,

Attached is a notice sent by the medical insurance carrier called Aetna. I'm almost sure the Chinese section is illegible unless Aetna is using some kind of crazy font.

Can you please shed some light on what's going on?

Thank you.

Regards,
Lucy


(full size view)

The Chinese text section does appear to be jumbled either from poor printing process or incorrect font.

Eternal Inception of the Spotless Mind

Recentemente um tal filme denominado de Inception tem causado burburinho. Complexo, confuso, enigmático e genial, é assim descrito, aquele que já é considerado, pelos users do imdb, o 8º (creio eu. que raio de blog em que o autor nem se dá ao trabalho de fundamentar o seu texto) melhor filme de sempre. É um filme francamente bom, mas que a meu ver, a esse nível não passa a mediocridade. Numa linha semelhante, houve também um outro filme, esse genial a meu ver, desde o conceito a toda a construção do filme: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Tal como Inception este filme conta com uma construção de imagem genial. Vemos a mente da personagem interpretada por Jim Carrey (sim, Jim Carrey, o palhaço da companhia, aqui, numa brilhante interpretação maioritariamente dramática) apagar tudo o que pertence a um amor dramático com a peronagem de Kate Winslet. É, sobretudo, um filme de amor. É um filme esquizofrénico, de um homem que depois de ter assinado um contrato, luta com todas as forças que tem contra a sua mente, a fim de não perder as memórias que tem da sua outra metade.

O filme teve uma recepção muito boa, destacando-se a atribuição de um Óscar para melhor Argumento Original. Se Michel Gondry tem aqui uma bela peça de realização, a escrita de Kaufman é genial, ele que também escreveu Being John Malkovich e Inadaptado. O título teve origem no poema Eloisa to Abelard de Alexander Pope:

How happy is the blameless vestal's lot!
The world forgetting, by the world forgot.
Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!
Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd ..



Christmas House Cleaning

Regular readers of Tattoosday will notice that, although I generally follow a chronological order when I share tattoos I have encountered.

However, certain pieces, for various and sundry reasons, have been bypassed, and haven't made it to the blog, until now.

I was originally going to post a dozen to represent the Twelve Days of Christmas, but I settled for eight. For the nights of Chanukah, perhaps?

Without intending to offend anyone for not receiving a post all to themselves, I have lumped these tattoos, spanning from late August to late October, in one post.

These are the neglected tattoo pictures that are just a little off, some not through the fault of the contributor, but for reasons beyond their control.

The quality of the photo may not be ideal, or the host and I faced a language barrier that prevented a good back story from emerging, or I didn't find the story behind the tattoo especially compelling. And then
there's what is likely one of the poorest tattoos I have seen, but the story behind it is somewhat compelling.

So, without further ado, here is a Christmas cleaning, eight posts rolled together into one gigantic one.

~~~

First up, we have Esteban, who shared his sleeve when I met him in September, at Fairway in Red Hook:

Alas, I was still using a borrowed camera, and several shots were over-exposed and/or blurry, but I was able to salvage this one:



The artwork is pre-Colombian in its inspiration, and is part of a larger tropical motif.

Next up we have Dave, who I met in Penn Station. He has over 25 tattoos and selected this one to share:


The phrase "Uniting the Strong" is the title of a song from Victim in Pain, the second album from the band Agnostic Front. This is a friendship tattoo that stresses unity and the host's nod to the hardcore punk scene.

Dave credits Jelena at Lone Wolf Tattoo in Bellmore, New York with this piece.

~~~

Next we have Orlando, a Fine Arts student at FIT, where I met him outside while walking toward 23rd Street on my lunch break, also in September.

This ship tattoo is an homage to his father, who served in the navy for thirty years. He wanted a "classic look" in the Sailor Jerry style.


Orlando confirmed for me that his dad loves the tattoo.

It was inked at Crazy Fantasy Tattoo in Manhattan by an artist named Antonio.

[Update: I got a better, crisper picture from Orlando of the ship tattoo in May 2011:]


Orlando has seven tattoos in all [in May 2011, he updated this number to ten], and shared this one, as well, inked at Dare Devil Tattoo on the Lower East Side.


The quote, "This my excavation and today is Kumran" is from a song called "re: Stacks" by Bon Iver.

Orlando explained that he interprets this quote as a reminder that "every day has the ability to make you or break you. It just depends on what you do with it." Other interpretations are here.

For the record, I did email Orlando to ask for an opportunity to get clearer pictures, but I did not hear back from him.

~~~

I met Farkas in Union Square back in October. He had this wolf on his right arm:


He explained that his name means "wolf" in Hungarian, and that one of his friends in Hungary did this tattoo for him.

~~~

A couple days after meeting Farkas, I met an Israeli named Ran on 34th Street across from Macy*s. He shared this iguana on his right leg:



It's a pretty nice tattoo, but he hasn't sent me any further details about it.

~~~

A couple weeks later, I was in the West Village before a concert, and met Carlos, a manager at the Qdoba Mexican Grill where we were having a quick bite before the show. He shared this intricate tattoo on his right arm:



He and friend collaborated on this tattoo together. He told me that, when he was little, he did jigsaw puzzles with his mother a lot. The tattoo reminds him of those fun times growing up.

~~~

The following week, I ran into Iancu in Penn Station, and he shared this piece on his upper left arm:


Iancu told me he came to the artist, Rico, formerly of Rising Dragon in Manhattan, who was initially unwilling to do the tattoo. However, he convinced him to do it. It's basically a Guns N' Roses tribute although, he
noted, the guns were added about a year and a half after the original design was inked.

~~~

And finally, I must first say that  it is very rare that I ever criticize the quality of a tattoo.

Even if it is inferior to the work of much better artists, I always like to believe there are some redeeming qualities in a tattoo.

Which is why I struggled with this next tattoo, which I photographer back in August, and which I have included in this odds and ends post in December.

I approached a guy named Danny who had a lot of interestingly-tattooed words and such on his arms.

However, he offered to remove his shirt in Penn Station so I could photograph this:



Um, yeah.

If this was done by an experienced artist, I would likely not have posted it. Despite its obvious flaws, it is compelling, in my opinion, because Danny told me, like all his tattoos (15 or 16, he told me), this one was
self-inked. Now, I can see tattooing one's arm or leg, but I cannot even fathom how challenging it would be to self-tattoo your chest. He estimated this took one and a half hours to do.

The message is "Diamonds Aren't Forever," or, in  Danny's words, "don't take what you have for granted".

~~~

So there you have it, a Spring Cleaning for Christmas.

I do sincerely thank the individuals who shared their tattoos in this entry. Happy Holidays, y'all!

Thursday, December 23, 2010

from: Anna H.
to: tiangotlost@gmail.com
date: Wed, Dec 8, 2010 at 8:51 AM

Hello, long time reader and fan of your blog. I just came across this, and I smell bullsh*t.

http://www.makeyourownjeans.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=21_27_129


Anyway, go nuts :)



Alan and I briefly browsed through the website mentioned above and "Kemuri" section. We can't believe some place is seriously using the Gibberish Chinese Font as is! We will be on the lookout for gullible customers with embroidered butts.

What a bunch of idiots.

Two, No, Three from Lisa Marie

I ran into Lisa Marie in my local grocery store a few months back and she was happy to share a couple of cool tattoos:


That is, for those who don't know, the symbol of Coney Island's Steeplechase Park.


She got this because she loves Coney Island, one of the most iconic spots in Brooklyn. Lisa Marie later sent me a shot of the tattoo when it was brand-spanking new:



This was inked by Michael Kaves at Brooklyn Made Tattoo.

On her left forearm, Lisa Marie had this whimsical tattoo:


That is a famous golden ticket from her favorite movie, 1971's Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, the film version of  Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

That tattoo was done by JR Maloney at Vanguard Tattoo in Nyack, New York.

Lisa Marie also sent along a couple of extra photos that she had documenting Mr. Kaves inking another of her tattoos, a cupcake:



Thanks again to Lisa Marie for sharing these cool tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Luis Shares Two Lotería Cards

I met Luis in Borders, Penn Plaza, last month and asked him about his tattoos. He has more than fifteen altogether, and three are based on Lotería cards, which are used as part of a Mexican bingo game, as well as in fortune-telling.

He shared two of these cards with me and explained that, as a first generation Mexican-American, these Lotería cards remind him of growing up.

The first one he explained is number 21, La Mano:


Luis explained that he relates to this card because "la mano" is Spanish for hand, and  he is a builder/electrician/carpenter by trade. He considers himself a "designer of ideas," and because he works with his hands, this is an appropriate card to have as a tattoo.

The second one he let me photograph is number 27, El corazón:


This card is appropriate, according to Luis, because "El corazón" means the heart and, Luis said, smiling, "I've got a big one".

There are a lot of different artistic representations of these cards out on the web, which tells me that they serve as inspiration for a lot of people.

Image courtesy of "The Lucky W" Amulet Archive by Cat Yronwode
Luis had these tattoos done by a tattoo artist named Fish, who was visiting Saved Tattoo in Brooklyn, but generally works out of Th'ink Tank Tattoo in Denver. Work from Th'ink Tank appeared here once before.

Thanks to Luis for sharing these two Lotería cards with us here on Tattoosday!

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Marisa's Polychrome Calves

I met Marisa walking down 40th Street in Manhattan late one October afternoon. She had just crossed Broadway when I spotted her and asked her about her tattoos. Namely, these two gracing the back of her calves:


These tattoos are based on the work of artist John R. Neill, who illustrated L. Frank Baum's Wizard of Oz books. The female figure in both designs is Polychrome, the Rainbow's daughter.

Both legs were tattooed at Rock Star Tattoos in Honolulu. Conor did the left calf:


and Kazan did the right:


Marisa has 11 tattoos in all. Incidentally, having heard she grew up in Hawai'i, I played the small-world game with her and discovered we both had the same history teacher, two decades apart, when he taught at different schools.

Like many people who have Oz tattoos, Marisa loved the books and was inspired by the magic in them, vividly illustrated.

Thanks to Marisa for stopping on the street and consenting to share her wonderful tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Monday, December 20, 2010

O Post que fala, sem querer falar, da vida e do que ela é, utilizando diferentes conceitos que se unem de uma forma absolutamente inútil


montagem original utilizando imagens do google images, que devem ser de alguém, mas na altura não anotei e agora sei lá

Está na altura de dizer algo sério e a sério. Até vou utilizar maiúscula para atingir tal efeito. É necessário, neste preciso momento, que consiga dizer algo que me transcenda, a fim de não me perder num desses desertos de sei lá o que são, ou vidas, ou chamem-lhe o que quiserem, eu cá sei lá, que já me perdi.

A vida é... Podia cantar a música da série infantil A Vida é... Poderia escrever sobre a vida, em longos traços descritivos, com bonitas metáforas e uma alegoria capaz de fazer qualquer escritor de telenovelas aguar. Não vou dizer nada sobre a vida, que nem sei o que é, se é tudo, se é só o que é considerado parte da Biosfera, se tais e suas vivências. Por vezes descarregamos na vida que, coitada, preferia nunca ter sido criada enquanto conceito.

A transcendência, o eruditismo da linguagem é atingido, não por tão negras e escorregadias lajes orientadores de um qualquer caminho, mas pela exploração de diferentes temas, de preferência de uma forma vaga, informada e completamente aleatória. Como um homenzinho de mapa e bússola na mão, ignorando que é cego. Talvez a transcendência não se atinja, talvez seja ela que nos atinge a nós, como um trovão no meio de uma dança no Carnaval.

Eu que queria falar a sério, não disse nada, nem sequer me aproximei de o fazer. Este é dos posts mais inúteis que já escrevi, demonstrando nada mais que a falta de inspiração ou a falta de vontade de falar sobre o que quer que seja, fenómeno que não se verificava dantes, no antigamente que foi o ano passado e outros anteriores. A inutilidade é a arte de ser. A vida é inútil. E não podia ser mais transcendente

Chris's Tattoos Motivate and Inspire

I met Chris earlier this month in Penn Station and he shared his 3/4-sleeve. He is the owner/operator of the Muscle Maker Grill at 92 Eighth Avenue in Chelsea.

His sleeve is a collage of designs that motivate and inspire him, with a skull design thrown in, to boot.


He has the phrase "Live Now. Shoot for the Stars" inked on his biceps. This motto is a nod to his ambition as a business owner.


The three pawprints tattooed below the elbow, on the left side of the photo, above, represent his three dogs (2 Cocker Spaniels and a mutt).


The cross and the prayer, "Lord, Protect Me" are based on his Catholic faith.


In all, Chris figures he's had about 10 hours of work done.

He also gave me permission to share this photo from his Facebook page:

Photo Courtesy of Christopher Almazan
I had hoped to show a better shot of the peacock that is on his back, with feathers that come up over his shoulder, but could not get a clear enough picture. The shot above gives a great idea, however, of his tattoos.

All work is credited to Rick Schreck at the House of 1000 Tattoos in Middlesex, New Jersey. A piece from Rick appeared earlier this Fall on the site here.

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

Visit the Muscle Maker Grill website here.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Darya's Bi-Coastal Peacock and Cherry Blossoms

I met Darya coming out of the subway in Bay Ridge and asked if I could take a picture of her tattoo. She kindly allowed me to do so and share it here with everyone on Tattoosday:


Darya explained that she always wanted a peacock tattoo, and she has fourteen tattoos in all (not all peacocks). Joe Maggs at Brooklyn Ink tattooed the peacock.


The cherry blossoms, symbols of regeneration, were added by Illya at Studio City Tattoos in California.

Thanks to Darya for sharing her tattoos from both coasts here on Tattoosday!