Pajiba

I've seriously contemplated about three different tattoos, and have none of them. And the further away I get from initially wanting them, the more I realize I'm glad I didn't get them.

However, I love the work of Alphonse Mucha, and wouldn't mind getting his "Dance":
http://artchive.com/artchive/M/mucha/mucha_dance.jpg.html
Or "Summer"
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2121/1814059997_aed81be3e3_o.jpg
Tattooed down the side of my thigh or torso.

Dilettantes should either have no tattoos, or a thousand. I'm cheap, so I choose the former.

great diversion! I'm a nerd chemist & i have an scientific symbol on my left hip. Next I will get 3 stars on my right inside ankle, which has been in the work for a year or so. Probably more tats later in life, maybe something Japanese on my arm.

Genny - the Mucha "spring" would be awesome. Better yet, get Mr. Genny to get it with your likeness in the face. Depending on size/place, you can really keep it to your/his-self. I've had mine for 15 years (godtopus that is a long time!) and it's still very private. I've always wanted a relationship where my partner would be willing to get me-related ink, which could be the one I'm in now & he's already inked, so it's not that far a stretch.

Tattoos are mostly out of the question for me, since I was tattooed almost entirely over my body with little red spots by nature at birth. I have always thought it would be great to get connect-the-dots numbers, though...

I wanted to get "This Side Down" on the (unfreckled!) bottom of my foot until I was told by multiple people that it would hurt like hell, wear off quickly, and that no reputable tattoo artist would therefore do it for me.

The only other tattoo I would probably every seriously get would be a line drawing of the boa that's swallowed an elephant from The Little Prince (check the link). If I do get it, I vow to marry whoever sees it and goes, "nice boa that's swallowed an elephant!"

I don't got any yet but I've been planning to have one on my left breast a tattoo of black bird, the actual bird, in flight with a line or two from Beatles' song "Black Bird: Either just "alight" or "You were only waiting for this moment to alight."

Not really the dumbest per se but really weird, for me, Tattoo I saw was Halloween last year. This guy had Tattoo in chinese character and, thinking maybe he looked a little Asian mixed, I asked him if it was his name. He acted offended and said that the Tattoo are for "Loyal" and "Religion". Well, Loyal part was right but Religion comprise of 2 characters, not one. And what he didn't know is that those two specific characters he used combined is one of very traditional Japanese samurai name: Tadamune. I think one of the Shogun had that name.

Really, when you do Chinese character, you really need to know what you are getting. There is a joke in this Japanese Manga I like in which an big oaf like American guy has an ink that he thinks means "Big and Useful." He was call the "guy with unfortunate tattoo" because those characters actually meant "Feces"

I want a Quetzal tattoo on my ankle. Stylized, sort of all curvy that I designed myself but won't post here because I'm paranoid like that.

This is a quetzal:
http://www.birdsasart.com/Ralph-Resplendent_Quetzal.jpg

Puuurdy, innit.

But I don't think I'll ever get it. I'm terrified of needles and don't think I'll have the balls to go through with it.

My dog died last week and as anybody knows whose had a best friend in canine form, its heartbreaking. Well she only had one eye so I was thinking about getting a tatoo of her "winking" and below it will read " I've got my eye on you".

Ooh, whatBENwatches, instead of the lyric, you should get "A man goes on a trip" and "A stranger comes to town" tattooed one on each arm!

I've got 6 in my collection and love them all equally, however the turtle on my upper back may be the favorite. It's tribal with the Wiccan (don't ask) symbol for mother in the middle for my mom. I got it on her birthday and reminds me of the single most bad ass bitch to ever live. R.I.P. Leila.

I normally stay away from the diversions, but this one's pretty neat. I have two tattoos, one on the inner of my right arm, it's a quote from a Circle Takes The Square lyric "There is nothing quite so pure as the written word." I don't have the period though, and this seems to bother a lot of people, to the point where some have drawn it on with a pen, much to my amusement.

The other is on my right leg, it's a picture of a Pony Express rider because I am history dork and someday I hope to devote a great amount of my time to studying the Pony Express. Most people at first glance think it's a jockey rider.

Someday, when money rains down upon me, I will get a half sleeve of blackwork, but I haven't decided whether I want a design in it, or for it just to be solid black, because aesthetically I like just solid black.

I have two tattoos, plan on a few more eventually.

The first was a spur of the moment decision. Some days I am rather ambivalent about it and other days, I love its ability to call nerdy boys out from the hills (or mother's basements) in a 50 square mile radius.

Since I'm HTML illiterate, click below to see its wonder.

ah, the ink. I've three so far. First one I got is a four leaf clover on my left forearm.

Second one I got is a skull and bones on my ass. Because it's me booty. No, I will not show you.

Third one is a bunch of stars on the top of my right foot. Yes it hurt like a sonuvabitch. (if you're a FB friend you can find pics of at least two of those on my profile)

Fourth will be Wednesday Addams. I just have to decide where and talk to my artist about it and get him to do the design (any suggestions where? I was thinking down my ribcage? I like them all to be fairly hideable for various reasons.)

I am thinking about getting a medic alert tattoo (shoutout to Shep on that), because I'll always be diabetic and still don't have a damned bracelet. Also, a half-sleeve of old-school red roses because they were my dad's favorite flower and he'd hate it til the end of time.

And an eventual back piece involving many elements including a spooky tree with a vine of moonflowers growing around it, an owl, a book, a key, stars across my shoulders and various other bits and bobs that I've not thought of yet.

I currently have: a woad blue knotwork seven pointed star right under my left collarbone.

I want: a woad blue knotwork compass rose right under my right collarbone.

And what I really want, but have to find a good enough artist for: a white spiderweb from my right shoulder to at least halfway down my arm, maybe to my elbow, with stars caught in it. But not regular pointed stars...ones that look like the photos from the Hubble telescope, in primarily blue and white and blacklight reactive inks.

Aww man, Quorren. I love that. The song, the tattoo, everything. Battgirl just introduced me to it and it has been stuck in my head all week.

yeah, ziggy, but are they in Greek? (By which I mean I hope they are, because that is seriously, and I mean seriously badass.)

I've also contemplated getting SPQR tattooed on my person. But that's because I'm a history junkie and was basically a Classics major and not because of anything military.

I have a four-leaf clover on my hip, and hope to get the trinity knot on my upper back (below the neck line though) either next week or early August.

Tattoos are for retards. Think about it. Drawing on yourself for attention. And don't give me that "I don't do it for attention, I do it for myself." Well, then, why are you drawing it on the outside of your body, genius? If it's "meaningful," why can't you just, I dunno, remember it? You don't need to advertise...because no one cares...

They're as pointless as bumper stickers...no one gives a shit what you think, what you like, what a badass you think you are (you're not...45-year-old soccer moms have them now), when your child was born, or who you love that croaked. Keep that shit to yourself.

I'm reminded of the George Carlin joke about earrings. "People used to wear them to scare the straights. The straights are wearning them now!" They're meaningless...all meaning has been drained from tattoos. It's the same thing with mohawks. When 10-year-olds have them, they're not cool anymore. Nowadays you're more unique not having one.

...and think about how that big flaming dragon on your back is gonna look when you're 75. Dumb fucks...

I'm thinking Case badly needs to have an orgasm. Or a drink. Or both.

If you hate them, don't get one. It's pretty simple. That also applies to abortion, gay marriage, hot tubs, piercings, motorcycles, etc.

But why be a big anger bear about it? Back to that drink suggestion--try something fruity, refreshing and toxic. Mmmmm!

I think the only anti-tattoo line Case missed is the 'the only marks worth having are scars' bit.

Which, incidentally, I've got a ridiculously awesome scar. My real name starts with 'J,' and I have this great backwards 'J' on my left knee from when I got stabbed in first grade.

And I've still got tattoos. And if I find someone who can do it and I can scrape together the money, I'm totally going to get my ears pointed, too.

Oh, Snuggiepants there has to be one in every thread. I haven't checked yet, but the raving "all fat people are disgusting and deserve to be ridiculed because it's the only way they'll change" person will show up sooner or later.

Anna, I also need to get a bat tattoo. I haven't settled on specifics yet.

I've got a flaming dragon on my back. i'm fucked apparently. It's actually a modified Medic Alert symbol-I'm diabetic, and if I'm ever passed out facedown, this might help. You know unless I'm 75.

When I met my husband in 2006, I had three shitty tattoos, which included a fairy on my lower back (tramp stamp woo woo!! fuck off, got it when I was 16), a gathering of stars on my left wrist and flowers on my right wrist.

He had an amazing body of work and I was impressed, he pointed me to his artist and the rest, as they say, is history.

Skip forward 3 years later and I can't tell you how much I love my new & improved tattoos.

Started with a piece on my foot, of a Japanese crane, slightly re-imagined.

Moved onto my back. What was supposed to be a large shoulder piece, turned into 18 hours of work on a full backpiece of a phoenix rising from the flames. It's very flow-y and pretty and colorful.

Then onto my quarter sleeve. Don't know what you would call it, it's a piece drawn up by my artist and myself; sometimes described as a "gypsy skull" which wraps around to my under arm, and meets in the middle at a traditional old school heart with my husbands name in it.

I credit my husband with making me so much cooler than I already was. God rest his soul. Fuck, I miss him.

Lizzie and AVB: Having seen them both, I must say, they are pretty damn fabulous.

And look, Case is back! Awwwww, has everyone you've ever known personally realized that your bitter, caustic comments were little more than the projection of your own insecurities and latent self-loathing, and therefore you've come back to mock the only people who haven't figured out you're just a total dick? How quaint! Welcome back, love. Kisses!

xox, Gay Porn Star Jeremy Feist.

P.S. Suck my chode.

Exactly, Tyburn. I have the same issue with the raven. I's like them to be complementary, because they'll probably be symmetrical somewhere, but I can't decide if I want something more Celtic-y, or tribal-y, or line drawing-y. I enjoy a minimalist approach, but also like intricate details, so I'm torn. I'll figure it out eventually.

As to the family representation, I'd love to get some of the open stars that are so popular right now, but I'm not sure how and where... I thought about a vine armband that sprouts the stars rather than flowers, and I've thought about just a trail down my neck/shoulder.

My first tattoo was thought about and worked on and designed for years before I actually got it (my friends all said they didn't think I'd ever actually do it), so I'm not worried. I'll know when they're right.

How is calling those of us with tattoos "fucking idiotic" respectful?

It is indeed, O.

It's my opinion; it's a considered opinion, not a knee-jerk one, based on the people I know and the amount of ink they've committed to, among other things, and I have every right to it.

I shall now quit irritating you and allowing you to irritate me, as this is clearly not the kind of place one can express a contrary opinion. Carry on oohing over each other's "body art" in peace.

Never mind, did some mild stalking. Very nice.

I have 3 Star Trek tattoos. Borg on my left arm, Bajoran on my right, and Romulan on my back, between my shoulder blades. I got them 13 years ago. Thank god I still like Trek (in spite of the shitty last movie).

I want to get a tatoo of Wilford Brimley's face above my pancreas. I figure it's like voodoo against diabetes.

I look at it this way: I have this fairly big weird mole on my right thigh that nearly looks like an eye.

I didn't pick it and it's pretty permanent (it's one of those flat ones, so I doubt it could be removed).

I've had to look at it my entire life and I don't even like it. So I figure a tattoo has got to be better than that: at least it's something you like or once liked and even if you don't like it anymore, it's a little symbol of who you once were. As long as it's not a swastika or something equally horrid, meh what's the big deal?

And I've seen a few tats on old people. It doesn't look as bad as everyone thinks it does. It's not like it folds in on itself or something. You'd have to start off super obese, then lose a lot of weight for that to happen.

All in all, I just don't get the hostile judgment about it.

as this is clearly not the kind of place one can express a contrary opinion.

Yes, how callous of us to react to your considered opinion of "Oh, shut up, tattoo lovers" and "think your choices are fucking idiotic." Personally, I have no tattoos and really don't see myself ever getting one.

Take some notes from Yossarian on how to frame a contrary opinion.

I have my college logo, a green pawprint, on my right chest, which I recognize is impossibly lame.

I thought getting "Mad Scribe" in hieroglyphs, but it would have looked like a collection of silly little symbols and, as any Egyptian will happily tell you, they are Arabs, not black Africans, so fuck them.

Of late I've contemplated getting a pin-up. I don't want to jinx it by getting a tattoo of the wife, but the pin-up model would be a redhead so she'd represent my wife. But I want it big and I don't know how it would play in the office to have the lower half of a woman's body sticking out from under my sleeve whenever I wore a polo shirt.

I'll be in Las Vegas in a few weeks. I'll let y'all know if I wake up with any interesting ink.

One of my mom's friends got a tattoo for her 64th birthday. True Story. (For her 65th, she got her bellybutton pierced. Not something I'd go for, but Dottie? She's super awesome, and she's 65. I'm not gonna argue.) My granddad had tattoos also, form the Army and later. He was probably my favorite person who ever lived.

Also, Snuggie, I have a little scar on my left elbow form a blood test when I was 12 or so. It looks like a little vampire bite. I've always wanted to cover it. Also, I had a friend at 18 who had multiple surgeries on her wrists and shoulder to correct damage from a car accident. She covered them with tats. Rose vines, as I recall. I remember watching a show on tattoos, where a woman who had undergone a double mastectomy got tattoos to cover those (quite massive) scars, and to have something in place of, and in memory of, the breasts she lost.

What I'm saying, I suppose, is that there are many personal reasons to get a tattoo. And sometimes there is no reason at all. Having a tattoo does not invalidate a human life, any more than not having one does.

1. A skull and crossbones with Arabidopsis thaliana growing out of it and a cob of corn in its mouth (represents my undergrad research project, which involved plant genomics)
2. Schrodinger equation for a particle(time dependent, one dimensional) as an armband on my upper left arm

future tattoos: a heart with a scroll and the word "CHARMM" (it's a computer program) overlaid on a photoshopped image from one of my simulations, to represent my grad school research (to be done as soon as I actually graduate) and...
possibly the words "petit pan de mur jaune" on my right forearm, where I can look down and see them anytime I want, but I haven't decided yet if that's too pretentious or not.

From what I've read, I assume that most of you have a good sized CD earning interest in order to have something left to pay for the very expensive cosmetic surgery you all will be getting in 15-20 years.

luker: It basically started on The Girlfriend Experience thread where he called me (and all others in the biz) a human cum stain...or cum target. I can't remember. Either way, since then I've gone out of my way to verbally bitch slap Case here and there. Why? Because it's fun.

*Evil Laugh*

@ Donut Plains

I kind of love you.

And clearly you open-minded people are just not being open-minded enough to allow someone to be closeminded. You're racist against racists!

*are.

oh, forgot to say the skull and crossbones is on my back, right smack in the middle. And the heart will go on my right shoulder blade.

I don't know if I want to be the one to tell you this, Luker.... Conrad is Skitz. They are one and the same. Two sides of the same coin. Skitz goes by many names.

optimus and feist Thanks for the update. This is the kind of shit I want to know. Skitz = conrad? That means it was fake hate on the other thread? Because everyone likes Skitz. I like Skitz, she/he is funny.

Who the hell else has alternate personalities? I mean i've got pookie = guess who, but what else? For all the shit you guys give transformers, I find it a little hypocritical that the eloquents aren't satisied with being an eloquent, no, they create alternate fictitious personalities too. Is it someone's master plan to "be" the entire EE list?

Ok. That is an awesome plan. New goal for life.

I have been considering designs for a while now but having read this, I don't want a tattoo despoiling the pristine beauty of my future 75 year old body. Whatever would the mortician think?

A tattoo is not an alternative to memory, it's a complement. If I am honest, my stories stay with me whether they are memorialised externally or not. While there is definitely an argument for choosing your design and placement carefully (and a "don't tattoo a drunk" sign should be posted in every parlour) there is nothing wrong with wearing your acheivements on your body if you want to. Chances are, no one else is going to write your biography.

FTR, I am looking for a good phoenix design. I know it's a tattoo cliche, but it has personal importance.

All of my tattoos are my ideal. All of my future tattoos will be ideal...and totally fucking awesome. In following the words of a dear friend of mine, I've only intended to ever have one tattoo. Which means all of my various inkings will eventually be connected into one big, magnificent masterpiece, from skull to foot.

So the piece I linked to in this post is a black and grey portrait of one of my first mix tapes. It's a CVS brand tape that I bought when I was in 5th grade. I believe I then proceeded to record all manner of NKOTB songs on it. Thus began my love affair with the mix tape.

That arm has since grown to include a mini-sleeve with shooting stars, robots in love and a book of matches up in flames. All in black and grey.

Next up: on my left wrist, a silhouette of a squirrel holding a machine gun. On my right: the worm from Labyrinth. I just need to find someone in Seattle to do it, as I just moved here. Suggestions on badass but reasonably priced artists in the area?

I've got a good story about my dick. Don't worry, it isn't very long.

I have Chinese script running down both of my biceps. On one arm is the closest translation for "Gun Show." On the other, "Got Your Ticket?"

Now this is some shit I can get behind, because I love tattoos and have many. MANY.

My first one was Cotton Candy, the My Little Pony- on my right thigh. Then came a Kali Nitya- on my chest- right side. I have a double helix pattern under my right breast... that one hurt like WHOA. I have an Erzulie veve on my sternum.. that one stung too. I have a big, black X on the back of my neck and an AUM symbol to the left of that, near my hairline. I have Mr Yuk tattooed above and to the left of my uh, goodie basket. I the Tree Of Life on my lower back (Trampstamp) with a lotus below it. Then there's Velma from Scooby Doo, she has her glasses askew and her skirt tucked into her panties and one knee sock down around her ankle,and she's smoking and holding a martini. (I really love Velma)- she's on my left side, bottom of my ribcage to my hip. On my left thigh there's a garter. I have Calico Jack's standard on my left forearm and "Sic Gorgiamus Allos Subjectatos Nunc" in a banner on my right forearm... not in Olde English, though. I'm saving my upper back for this nifty crab mandala I have- because ALL the women in my family are Cancers. (It's true, 8 generations of Cancer women.. including my daughter.) After that, I'm not sure what I really wanna do... though I was thinking about a half sleeve of a swamp scene.

And when I'm 75, I won't give a FUCK what they look like. Because you know why? I'll be OLD and prolly not looking so hot anyways.

Is it someone's master plan to "be" the entire EE list?

Posted by: "luker" the barbarian at July 6, 2009 11:10 PM

Pajiba is like Oz, and Dustin is the man behind the curtain...

Also, my children's names and birth dates on - how do I put this delicately - the doors from whence they came.

Posted by: Ling at July 6, 2009 11:29 PM

They didn't all come through the same door?

Put those guns away! the awesomeness of your tattoo and the size of your arms is to much awesome for rowles to fit in his mouth at the same time! Go easy on him stud.

I haven't gotten my ideal tatoo yet. I don't even know what it'll look like, but I'll know it when I see it. It'll have all of my kids names.

My one tattoo is on the outside of my right thigh. The letters A and B - my wife's and my first initials, and under that in Shinzou script is the numbers 8 9 8, for our wedding date - August 9, 2008.

No tat for me, thanks, I just wanted to say, wow, I'm very impressed with the size of Jeremy's dick in that picture. Getting that done must have hurt like hell. On the plus side: Talk about your product placement! R2D1 owes you.

On my leg I have a birth mark, the splotchy pink kind, it goes all the way up my leg. I nearly cried the day the doctor told me they could laser it off.

However, when I was a kid, it was a map to some world I had never been to, like the pictures in the beginning of fantasy novels my brother would read to me (rather than a bad case of poison ivy). Some part of me felt like the mark was part of me, and I shouldn't get rid of it. This is the same part that wants to tattoo in-between the splotches, a compass rose, a mermaid, and a sail boat... maybe a set of sea serpent humps.

I still haven't made up my mind.

i want a bar code with my son's birthdate as the numbers on the bottom. i would like to get it on my lower neck/upper back. i would also like a spider web with a sexy spider hanging down on my shoulder blade (i'm totally arachnophobic), but i want it in the same place as the bar code. i've wanted them for around 12 years, but i haven't quite figured out how to work both of them in together.

also, a bar code isn't exactly unique--which is kind of my point--but i keep thinking that i will change my mind and wish that i had picked something clever.

Short version that makes me seem like the most vapid, cliched twat ever: I want A butterfly on my hip.

Long version: There's a certain type of doodle of a butterfly that I've been drawing my entire life. It's simple, flowy, and in profile. With a decent bit of artistic cleanup, it would make a rather pretty black linework tattoo. The placement would be right between the two tiny scars from my hip surgery, which pretty much turned my life upside down.

I hate that for the rest of my life I'll have to explain why this butterfly-on-a-hip tattoo isn't stupid, though.

Re: sansho1's comment - yeah, I chose the former, and because of my tattoos, I am so bloody broke!

I've got six tattoos, two of which are half-sleeves. My favourite is my "Holy Trinity" tattoo: Jesus high-fiving the Flying Spaghetti Monster whilst riding the Invisible Pink Unicorn.

I will likely be poor for a long time, as I'm already planning pieces for my legs.

If anyone reads down this far...
I have a stylized "17" on my inner right forearm. My sister designed it for me, it's pointy and has the 1 spiking vertically over/through the 7.

I have "Make Yourself" curving (non symmetrically, no tribal bullshit) around my inner left forearm. Funny how something can start as your favorite album in high school, and end up tattooed on your arm to remind you to control what you can and leave the rest to circunstance...

if i were to get a tattoo, then it would be related to my dog. he's the only person, place or thing of which i am guaranteed to never tire.

having said that, it would have to be somewhere very private, because when he's gone (ugh), i would not be able to handle casual inquiries about the meaning of my tattoo and the status of my friend.

dr. awesome, i'm terribly sorry for your loss. i bet she was a sweetie and i wish that i could have met her.

I have five tattoos, all well hidden and all with meaning.
But I would never get my ideal tattoo.
I would love the Face Hugger from Alien wrapped around my left arm. Yes, that would be my ideal tatt.

What I do have is; 1. got drunk and got branded; 2. moved out of home; 3. the birth of my daughter, though you wouldn't know it by what it is); 4. a word tattooed to remind me of what I need to be reminded of.

i have my name. I was 16 :(
I had my ex's name that I recently
covered up w/ 2 black hearts. I would love
to get a cool scorpion in the tramp stamp spot!

On my back I have angel wings and a halo, with the Immaculate Heart right above it. Considering more, but not sure what. We'll see.

I have a full body tattoo of myself...only taller.

Close the EE.

ThirteenthMonkey, that was pure gold!

What a fun diversion, seeing as how I am finally getting my first this Sunday! My ink cherry will be slowly and painfully popped... mmm, graphic...

I'm getting a tree. Simple, vaguely tribal looking; I have just always felt a connection to trees. OK, stop laughing, I know it sounds strange. I'm getting it on my right hip. Wish me luck.

Tyburn, AWESOME on the woad!

Nique, serious respect for the Trek love, but YOU DIDN'T LIKE THE LAST ONE?!?

And figgy, did you scroll down to the bottom of the twilight ink page, where they showed "The Top Ten Worst"? Frankly it is hard to tell much of a difference, but I laughed out loud at the one with "stupid lamb" inked - at least it is an accurate label.

This thread only proves to me what I've suspected for many years. As I am untattooed, I am unhip. I started noticing at the Jersey Shore some 10-15 years ago that nearly everyone had tattoos but I wrote it off because it's the Jersey Shore. Everyone had chains and big ratted hair too. But when I started noticing the same in Georgia, California, Ohio, etc, etc. I realized that somehow I never got the memo.

More power to you all who love them, but my fantasy tattoo remains no tattoo at all. I'm not into piercings or any other body mutilations either. I just don't see the point. I'll fuck up my body from the inside out thank you, Now pass the Don Julio and I'll just continue to ogle those tats that draw my attention to your rack.

I have a black widow spider on my right breast which I hope scares the hell out of some coroner or mortician when I'm 75 (and dead) and dolphins on my left shoulder because that's what I wanted and since I'll never be one of the cool kids, I decided it didn't matter if anyone liked it but me.

I would never get a tattoo. They date you horribly. You can never lie about your age again. I like to be able to change my hairdo and makeup everyday, in order to stay up to date, as that makes you look younger.

Besides, I want to donate my body parts, and you can't if you have tattoos. I have doctor friends who've told me that they've found tattoo dye in organs because the dye migrates inside the body. That just doesn't sound healthy to me.

Man, I am so late to the party. Whatever, I wanna share. I have three tattoos currently, and ideas for three more. That whole thing about them being addictive? Totally true in my case.
Here's the rundown:
I have Celtic knot on the inside of my right ankle/leg area, (a graduation present from my mama), a Mexican style sun with a face on it on the outside of my left ankle/lower leg area, and a profile of a crescent moon with a face and a star where the moon is open on the opposite side as the sun.
My next planned tattoo is to get a trail of pawprints from my cat, whom I have had since she was born over ten years ago. I'm not sure of the placement, but I'm leaning toward up/down the right side of my back. After that I want to get a dragonfly somewhere or other. I want it to be styled as if it were pinned onto a specimen display board. I don't know how that would turn out though...I would probably have to get it much larger than I would want. Finally, I love the idea of a bouquet of flowers with orange tiger lilies (my favorite), jasmine (my mama's favorite) and gardenias (my Nana's favorite).

Patty O'Green, I've been thinking about getting a tattoo of a tree as well. It would be to remind me of something my dad told me before he passed away. But I haven't found the ideal design yet.

Good luck on sunday :)

I have a small crow surrounded by scrollwork on my wrist. They're clever birds, but also, they always fly back home to their original nest to visit at some point.

@ Manther the Panther - I have been debating back and forth between a raven and a crow. Crows are amazing. One of the reasons (the other is placement) I don't have it yet.

Also late...yay four day weekend!
A calla lily on my left foot.
A four leaf clover and my family's motto "buaidh no bas," "victory or death" on my right shoulder.
A symbol for woman with a blue crescent moon on my right thigh.
A very large Olive tree in the style of Van Gogh on my left shoulder/back. I get a lot of compliment on this one.
And lastly, yes oh yes a Celtic triskelle (trinity for you Christians) tramp stamp. (I was 20 and on spring break, so proud.)

i have the name 'david' tattooed on my right hip. i got it honor of my first love who died tragically. it also happens to be my dad's name, my brother's name, and will be the name of my son, if i ever have one. it's placed perfectly tho-even if i have a bikini on you can't see it, unless i show you. the only other tattoo i've considered was a cursive letter t on my arm for my best friend, tommy, who passed away.

"...Conrad is Skitz. They are one and the same. Two sides of the same coin."

Wait... What?!

I have a gecko on my shoulder and a celtic butterfly on my ankle, still working on something new in honor of my daughter.
When Alabama Pink passed someone posted this and ever since I've been trying to find a way to make it work as a tattoo.
"When you have come to the edge of all the light that you know and are about to drop off into the darkness of the unknown faith is knowing two things will happen;there will be something solid to stand on or you will be taught to fly"
Sorry I'm not sure who said it to credit them, but this is one of the most beautiful things I have ever read.

I also love Mucha. If I ever got a tattoo, I would love a small circle of the words "we live in a beautiful world" in a twig-ish font. Or a Mucha-esque one of just the art nouveau designs, no women. I know I'll never get a tattoo because I'm too indecisive and not 100% sure I want one. My twin sister has a logarithmic spiral on her wrist. I do believe she's the only one in my immediate family with a tattoo! Hah.

I rarely post but the timing is kind of funny--for a lot of us, it seems. I just got my first (possibly last, don't know yet) tattoo about a month ago. Two weeks before I turned 37. So yes, quite an informed decision; I'd been thinking about it since I graduated college. If I was going to do it, I wanted it to mean something, and I wanted it to be something that I could look at when I'm a grouchy old(er) lady and still take pride in. And I think I will. It's a woad-blue-shaded ankh on my outside left ankle. I love it and look at it often, and I really don't give a rat's ass what anyone else thinks of it. Is it cool? I don't know. I don't care. It simply is.

I'm led to wonder what, exactly, is wrong with being middle aged, or why one can't be "cool" when one is.

Oooh tattoos! Love 'em!

I have a small rose on the back of my left shoulder, a celtic cross on the back of my right shoulder, a small heart with vines on the front of my left shoulder (near my collarbone), the chinese symbol for the year of the rabbit (the year I was born in and plus I do love my house bunnies so very, very much) on my lower back and a tattoo of my cat Mollie right smack between my shoulder blades. She was with me for 19 years and the day after she died, I booked the tattoo with a very good "animal" tattoo artist. I had to wait six months but it was totally worth it.

My husband who was completely tat-less when he met me actually surprised the shit out of me by getting the exact same tattoo of Mollie on his left shoulder. He was definitely her favourite and although he hadn't known her as long he misses her as much as I do. Plus, while my tattoo of Mollie is good, his is breathtaking. It looks exactly like her; it truly is amazing.

Now he is completely addicted and is planning on at least another three. His next one will be a portrait of his children when they were babies.

My next one will be on my foot and it will be the Emily Bronte quote "Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same."

Somebody said something about being middle aged and not tattooing? Or something?
My Mama got her first tattoo for her fiftieth birthday. It is a portrait on her right shoulder blade of the cheetah raised. That's right, fuckers, I said raised. She plans on getting a portrait of the lion she raised on her left shoulder blade when she saves up and finds a good artist in Phoenix.

I'm contemplating getting the One Ring script on both of my wrists; the first half of the phrase on the left, and the second half on the right. Other than that, I want to get the "sky" kanji put on my back a la Akuma from Street Fighter. Yes, I'm a nerd.

I have a scroll work butterfly tramp stamp that I love. I got it as a graduation present for myself. I know butterflies near your ass is cliche, but whatever.

I also have 6 pair of paws on my left foot. Each pair is one of my pets that have passed. 2 sets are for my ferrets Buddy and Skully, and there is a small pair of dog prints for my pup Taffy.

Any further tattoos would probably be memorials for my animals. My friend has a rockin seascape on her leg that I love, but I'm not that hardcore.

No one who ever meets me would guess that I have tats. I don't look like the "type" (I've been told). I have a yin/yang sun with a mirror image Burning Man on my left shoulder and a blue feather (from the cover of the book "Illusions") on my front left hip.

I always liked getting mendhi on my hands at the local fairs, so I got a large paisley pattern in brown ink on my back. I love paisley and I love this tattoo. I'm ready to have it expanded, too.
No one sees it when I'm fully dressed, my back isn't going to change very much, and as I told my friend who dissaproves of tanning: "I'm not saving my skin for anything special. I don't need to look good when I'm dead!"

On my right side, Article I of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, best read when I'm supine:

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

MelBivDevoe, you are no dork. You are a goddess. I'd fly across the fricken' room to fist bump you if I saw that tattoo. I still want to get a Sienkiewicz Electra (top left image), but the damn Hollywood ruined that for me. But I abide. The time of forgetting shall come again!

a wolf, bear, and cougar standing on their hind legs, playing flying v guitars, wearing sunglasses shaped like pot leaves. above them in bank gothic, colored like tiger stripes, is the word "thrasher" behind them is dale earnhart on his deathbed, below them in declaration of independence scrip the words "goodnight sweet prince" an eagle sheds a single tear above earnhart. the entire thing appears as that sort of torn through effect like something clawed at bark. its layed out landscape-wise on my back.

My brother was a talented tattoo artist. I am amazed how much this industry has grown in the eleven years since his death.

I'm fascinated by tattoo stories, especially the history of Maori Ta moko. It sounds like most people here cherish their tattoos and good for them. I just can't get comfortable with the idea of committing to any image for life. Besides, tattoos represent just one more way to spend money I don't have, so they're not for me. But the rest of you, carry on.