Jack Kerouac Back

This is an orphan post, what I refer to as a photo with no real story attached to it, as the individual who let me take the photo, never e-mailed me with any further details.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ghacjS3XB-jjz64AMMZ-N8a4RMF9OAKG0ixUbCi2Ij3WRYBx1MBP_4Ugc-_PgTXZpD1EgC1MjWl8FaTSJSW8z_vqpUw1QkAOTAxZLiEAPxLPM0KxNeG8Ou_U0BRbWfX7OEerNuM0/s1600/kerouac+back.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ghacjS3XB-jjz64AMMZ-N8a4RMF9OAKG0ixUbCi2Ij3WRYBx1MBP_4Ugc-_PgTXZpD1EgC1MjWl8FaTSJSW8z_vqpUw1QkAOTAxZLiEAPxLPM0KxNeG8Ou_U0BRbWfX7OEerNuM0/s400/kerouac+back.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />I shot the picture at the end of the Brooklyn Cyclones-Staten Island Yankees game at <a href="http://www.brooklyncyclones.com/">MCU Park</a> in Coney Island.<br /><br />The crowd was filing out, so a protracted conversation was not an option.<br /><br />The woman who belongs to this tattoo, however, did allow me to take the photo and said it was a quote from Jack Kerouac's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Road-Penguin-Classics-Jack-Kerouac/dp/0142437255?ie=UTF8&tag=bill03-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">On the Road.</a><br /><br />It's a slightly modified version of this phenomenal passage:<br /><blockquote><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /><h1 style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">“The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes "Awww!”</span></h1></blockquote><br /><br />If you're reading this, Dear Contributor, please accept my thanks for allowing us to enjoy your tattoo here on Tattoosday, but contact me, please, to tell us more.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=bill03-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0142437255" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /></div><br /><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=bill03-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0140283293&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>

Jack Kerouac Back

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

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Sarah Channels Emma Goldman

I recently had the intense displeasure of discovering that <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2008/07/hello-polaroid-goodbye-kodak.html">my camera</a> had broken. For someone whose spare time is spent taking pictures of other people's tattoos, this was a harrowing experience, especially since my BlackBerry's camera is flash-less and takes good pictures under only specific lighting conditions.<br /><br />So what's a poor inkspotter to do? Pass out his card and hope for the best.<br /><br />And despite dozens of cards distributed to many people with cool tattoos, the only one who has really come through for me is Sarah, who I met last Friday on the subway platform at West Fourth Street, as I waited for the D train to Brooklyn.<br /><br />Possessor of several tattoos, the one of Sarah's I spotted was on her inner left forearm. My photo was blurry and, as the D pulled into West Fourth, she handed me her card so I could follow-up with her. Thankfully, she is a woman of her word, and sent me this photo yesterday:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-lBf9k584gVPZ_9i8Dx2CBUvv8ZP-dqPLxu6Ya6qMvlZVMO4vy4Oa_nKMCN3ms4-f7zkBAcIHGFy7Cf4SG0tEIfHOIwubdy-WYPzNyEIMoWrba12JdUwM4Ojxy8ZENeQJ_YWf5I6j/s1600/tattoobook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-lBf9k584gVPZ_9i8Dx2CBUvv8ZP-dqPLxu6Ya6qMvlZVMO4vy4Oa_nKMCN3ms4-f7zkBAcIHGFy7Cf4SG0tEIfHOIwubdy-WYPzNyEIMoWrba12JdUwM4Ojxy8ZENeQJ_YWf5I6j/s400/tattoobook.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Since Sarah is a writer and journalist, I'll let her do the talking. You can check out her work at  her website <a href="http://ohyouprettythings.net/" target="_blank">ohyouprettythings.net</a> and/or read her blog at <a href="http://champagnecandy.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">champagnecandy.tumblr.com</a>. Sarah explains:<br /><br /><blockquote><i>It says "It's not my revolution if I can't dance to it"</i><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8c1ReO6tvPtIs-Qg5G7zYFBb_b49f2OzTDMvZyASXFlk30P6x79G7w-umwZzAYCEQaq7DpUK5fWmXxt40FxNXAznGW4WSiODXKjFQxZKLeOQK8WEyIpgUjVaJyApCNy88uRBN-PEi/s1600/tattoobook+detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8c1ReO6tvPtIs-Qg5G7zYFBb_b49f2OzTDMvZyASXFlk30P6x79G7w-umwZzAYCEQaq7DpUK5fWmXxt40FxNXAznGW4WSiODXKjFQxZKLeOQK8WEyIpgUjVaJyApCNy88uRBN-PEi/s320/tattoobook+detail.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><i>The tattoo is my most recent, and it's a paraphrase of a possibly-apocryphal <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_Goldman">Emma Goldman</a></i> <i>quotation. It's a line that spoke to me the first time I heard it. I'm a political journalist and a feminist activist, and Goldman's always been someone I looked up to. Also, I became a political person through music, and dancing and music have a particular significance for me.</i><br /><i><br /></i><br /><i>It was done by <a href="http://brooklyntattoo.com/RYOKO.html">Ryoko</a> at <a href="http://www.brooklyntattoo.com/WELCOME_2.html">Brooklyn Tattoo</a> [who we most recently saw inked Julie Powell's tattoo <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2010/06/julies-crazy-tattoo.html">here</a>] and she's super-awesome...</i></blockquote>As a lover of type tattoos, I had inquired about the font used and Sarah did not disappoint: "the font is <a href="http://www.fontspace.com/david-rakowski/garton">Garton</a> and the words revolution and dance are in <a href="http://www.dafont.com/miama.font">Miama</a>".<br /><br />Thanks to Sarah for sharing her tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Sarah Channels Emma Goldman

I recently had the intense displeasure of discovering that my camera had broken. For someone whose spare time is spent taking pictures of o...

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Kat's Mucha Tattoo, With a Twist of Lemony Snicket

At 31st Street and 7th Avenue, I stopped Kat to ask about her ink.<br /><br />She was happy to see me and had been wondering, having previously read Tattoosday and knowing she worked in the same area as I did, if our paths would ever cross.<br /><br />She has seven tattoos (and a cool blog <a href="http://www.katofalltrades.com/">here</a>), but we focused on the large tattoo on her upper right arm:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6rBmqS-MP_mPkyKPkmVMsTW-S2FIhdd9T0ZXQXjYDQzXy8UZASNZGwxqBBzIF4-bwy-hVgbeHM6_vjFiaS7h0pl68yRAt2A8ktnUJDe7cg5C71zZcEO85hV9CUR78IxUyCFsBLPxQ/s1600/Kat+Sleeve+c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6rBmqS-MP_mPkyKPkmVMsTW-S2FIhdd9T0ZXQXjYDQzXy8UZASNZGwxqBBzIF4-bwy-hVgbeHM6_vjFiaS7h0pl68yRAt2A8ktnUJDe7cg5C71zZcEO85hV9CUR78IxUyCFsBLPxQ/s640/Kat+Sleeve+c.jpg" width="288" /></a></div><br /> Or, looking at it as a whole:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinOFepXJN3ldzGPi67O9XIWeRrUgjclXe-7fqsX3pxjrPS2PyqeKBKvAkkmKDev4LgBBxJ7hg9EjHH9EjrWTEFctLqX2_oMVuwXHNOXtdYUdx6txoGMfgVZKCccMYdMC4824-t-KdA/s1600/Mucha+collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="397" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinOFepXJN3ldzGPi67O9XIWeRrUgjclXe-7fqsX3pxjrPS2PyqeKBKvAkkmKDev4LgBBxJ7hg9EjHH9EjrWTEFctLqX2_oMVuwXHNOXtdYUdx6txoGMfgVZKCccMYdMC4824-t-KdA/s400/Mucha+collage.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />The art is based on the work of <a href="http://www.muchafoundation.org/MHome.aspx">Alphonse Mucha</a>, who has inspired a couple of other tattoos appearing previously on Tattoosday <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2009/06/sarah-shoulders-her-slavic-heritage.html">here</a> and <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2009/09/delissa-reveals-little-bit-of-monaco-on.html">here</a>.<br /><br />If that second link looks familiar, it is because both Kat's tattoo and Delissa's are inspired by the same work, "Monaco".<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtE8zE0mgK-NhNUVrHBCvzokqLNvTUpPIaz18ZDj09V5XrqAPeRfwET3XH2C8vDyNDcSOb8OvyAYWGYya0HtqgeSBJjDCnW3bGlm66ufVxoCPvfG9mvJ6VyOwMSITqmvxCILQ2fG1H/s1600/Mucha_Monaco_Monte_Carlo_1897.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtE8zE0mgK-NhNUVrHBCvzokqLNvTUpPIaz18ZDj09V5XrqAPeRfwET3XH2C8vDyNDcSOb8OvyAYWGYya0HtqgeSBJjDCnW3bGlm66ufVxoCPvfG9mvJ6VyOwMSITqmvxCILQ2fG1H/s400/Mucha_Monaco_Monte_Carlo_1897.jpg" width="296" /></a></div><br />Kat's tattoo is interpreted a little differently, translated with brighter colors, which, in Kat's words, were "amped up to be on my arm".<br /><br />The plan is eventually for this tattoo to expand to be a half-sleeve.<br /><br />The phrase "the world is quiet here" is a nod to a motto for a secret organization known as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V.F.D.">V.F.D.</a> in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Wreck-Unfortunate-Events-Books/dp/0061119067?ie=UTF8&tag=bill03-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank"></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Wreck-Unfortunate-Events-Books/dp/0061119067?ie=UTF8&tag=bill03-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">A Series of Unfortunate Events</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=bill03-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0061119067" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=bill03-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0061119067" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" />by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemony_Snicket">Lemony Snicket</a>. These books are favorites among Kat's list of much-loved titles.<br /><br />Her work was created by the artist <a href="http://www.google.com/profiles/the.milkmaid#buzz">Joy Rumore</a> at <a href="http://www.1228tattoo.com/">Twelve 28 Tattoo</a> in Brooklyn.<br /><br />Kind thanks to Kat for sharing her work with us here on Tattoosday!

Kat's Mucha Tattoo, With a Twist of Lemony Snicket

At 31st Street and 7th Avenue, I stopped Kat to ask about her ink. She was happy to see me and had been wondering, having previously read Ta...

Read more »