Alex Returns 2
Feb25
Tattoos! Let’s talk about ’em.
Started collecting on my 20th birthday. At the time, I realized that if I didn’t limit myself, I’d end up completely covered by the age of 40. My rules were: Only where a t-shirt and shorts can cover, and only one tattoo annually.
Then a couple years ago, I realized I was pushing 40, and still had PLENTY of skin left. So yeah, been getting them more frequently. Most of mine are symbolic of a major life event, but not all of them – I got a Comic Sans question mark on my chest, for instance, just for shits and giggles.
Still collecting cash for this year’s big one. Mel’s boot print on my ass, it’s gonna happen.
It should be a comic sans Interrobang….
Oh shit, Mossad stole the scroll-over text again!
Run, Grant, run!
LIES! The alt-text is right there! *whistles innocently*
Ink is always good. I have one, and it’s enough for me (for now :D). Knees to elbows, 300 hours. I always get a kick out of watching the little squeegee punks judge me as a mundane when I walk by with my biz attire…
Great artwork in this one, too. Panel 3 is lovely, nice perspectives.
Those must have made the plane ride home SO much fun for her…
She’s been in California for a few weeks, probably doing several episodes of her show in advance, and certainly long enough to get them and have them heal.
I’m not a fan of tattoos. My Evil Twin Brother has a couple, but they are not for me. There’s an element of exhibitionism in getting a tattoo, and I just lack that.
You have an evil twin brother? For real? His name isn’t Skippy, is it?
Yes, for real. His name is George. You can ask him and he’ll tell you — but you’d have to use my real name.
Just out of curiosity, how does your theory of exhibitionism account for tattoos not visible in street clothes? (I have a little ink, myself, but only one is readily displayed in street wear.)
Cos as far as I know, NOBODY gets a tattoo unless they expect SOMEBODY to see it.
Uh. I have several tattoos that I don’t expect people to see. They’re for me. Not for anyone else.
Heh. Did a career in the Nav. Not a drop of ink on me. Go figure. 😉
On the other hand, I saw a LOT of ink – Much of it bad, or badly-planned, a good bit of decent stuff, and some few really amazing works of art. The stuff done in the PI was at either end of the spectrum – Either complete crap, or OMG awesome – Very little in-between stuff. A lot of the ink I saw coming out of Norfolk and San-dog was pretty indifferent. Older sailors tended to have more, and better, ink, IME.
I suppose I might get inked at some point – I even have designs – But somehow, it’s just never become important to me.
I almost got my Dolphins tatted on me the day I got them. Then a week later I was let go from the Navy. Yeah, let go from Navy Submarine force for being “crazy” and writing a horror novel. I didn’t get a single tat while in. Then I got my first when I was in a band(Wooo ROCK STAAARRRR!!! sorta…). Didn’t pay for it. Enjoyed it. Got another one… Liked that too. Got the third one that went down my spine… DID NOT LIKE that one.
Brother!
I am also a Brother of the ‘Phin. Mine were tacked on so hard that no honest tattoo artist would’ve looked at me for a month. Of course, we were underway doing oceanographic research, so I had time to heal.
You’re *really* got to be pushing the outer limits to get bounced from boats for being ‘crazy.’ We are ALL crazy! 😀 The stories we could tell – That we DO tell. 😉 You must’ve hard a real dickhead in charge. :p
Tats close to the bone, from observation, are the ones who hurt the worst. Spine tats? Ow.
LOL I tell people that I got kicked off the boat for PASSING the psych eval. How sane can you be to VOLUNTEER to go on a ship DESIGNED to sink. And it was my brand new Div-O. A damn butter bar who came on the boat, and hadn’t even got his fish. My Captain was a good man. But his hands were tied. He had to send me back for a PsychEval. I actually passed. The head shrinker said, “You’re not crazy.” I said, “I know. I was writing a horror novel.” He asked me to let him read my notes, I handed them over. After spending a few hours reading all of the notes I scrawled in there(hey 3 months under water gave me plenty of writing time) he comes back and says, “Are any of these people based on people you know?”
And that was my mistake. I said yes.
I got my dolphins on the same day as my crow. It was going great until I hit the A-Gangers. Then the TM’s.
That was a raw deal. Fucking butter-bars. We had them under control, though… It was the senior officers we had problems with.
Though, to be honest, we had some pretty damn good JOs. Even the guy who was an Admiral’s son. Salute crossing the brow the first time? Hell no. You could see his arm twitching to pop that Academy salute, but we just looked at him. To his credit, he got a thoughtful look on his face, and went below. He turned out damned fine.
As for boats designed to sink – I NEVER want to sail on a boat or ship that *isn’t* designed to sink – ’cause they’re ALSO designed to surface. Surface ships (read: “Targets”) have a dive cycle of 1/2. 😛
LOL I know. I just like pointing out that it takes a special breed of person to say, “Sure put me on a boat that goes UNDER the water.” I was an FT on an old 637 class. Used stone tablets to figure course and speed LOL. I like to point out to people that the personalities of submariners(at least when I was in) is closer to “Down Periscope” than “Crimson Tide”
No scroll over text? What a gyp!
I have four tattoos myself. Only one of them I dislike and its because of how shitty it was done. I need to remember the old adage if its free its crap. At least when it comes to Tattoos.
As with many other things, the adage “you get what you pay for” applies here.
I have friends who have some amazing tattoos, but as for myself, I’ve never encountered anything that shouted at me “I want this on my body for the rest of my life.”
Same here. I’ve always been the “I want a tattoo because I want this design on my body” type, not the “I want this design on my body because I want a tattoo” type. Haven’t met a design I wanted that much yet.
I have a fair amount of ink, all of it meaningful and most of it really well done. I’m saving up for the rest of the back piece that will finally join my fully inked left arm to my (mostly) inked right leg.
Unrelated – Mick looks sexy as hell in that 3rd panel. Just…nice.
Can I say they’re both sexy? Both Mick and Alex, that is.
I’m scared to get a tattoo . so much has changed within my life that I fear whatever I get will no longer be relevant
I never got any ink. When I wanted one, I never could decide what I’d want.
Now I know what I’d like, but since I’m married I don’t think my wife would let me get on. I want one done old-school style, like you see on the backs of the labels of Sailor Jerry rum bottles. A nice saucy redhead pin-up girl on the inside of my right arm.
I also got talked out of getting a tattoo by a friend. He pointed out that tattoo are identifying marks on police blotters. Also, there’s the meat-tag. We both knew a guy who bragged about being an EOD in the military, and how he tattooed his SS# on his foot so his remains could be ID’d if anything went wrong. Inadvertantly one night, said ex-EOD guy took off his shoes. Next day, my friend had his police record. No meat-tags for myself.
My attention span is too short for a tattoo, nothing holds my interest in that way long enough for me to want it. I appreciate good work though. On the flip side, I’ve participated in some bad work. Too much alcohol, spare time, and a tattoo gun all in the same place.
Problem for me is that I do want a tattoo, but i want a REALLY NICE TATTOO. Not some stupid Tribal stuff or Kanji.
Also, you have to be willing to part with the money for something that is art. Hard for me to find value in art
Ass pirate. Runs screaming saying Ass Pirates of the Caribbean throughout the house. Yes, I am more than 6 months late and two dollars short.
I like my personality and I don’t think I can add to that with a tatoo. I think they look good on other people but not on me.