Tattoorism 101: Emmie's Vonnegut Tattoo

This is the first installment of what I call Tattoorism 101.

Hello Bill, I wanted to start off by saying I love your blog. I really enjoy reading all the stories behind all the interesting tattoos you post. I'm sure you're swamped with submissions, but I wanted to add mine to your collection.

The quote "Everything is beautiful and nothing hurt" is from Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse-Five". It's my first tattoo, and it was done by Black Diamond Tattoo Studio in Abington, MA. I knew I wanted to get one for a while, and I knew I wanted it to be a quote of some sort, but nothing really struck me until I saw this. In the book, the quote is actually on a tombstone.
I think it struck me to think that if you can go through your entire life and put that on your tombstone, you must have lived a pretty good one. I know that it isn't entirely realistic, but I think of the quote as an ideal, and something to live up to. I wound up choosing the heart design just because I liked it and I didn't fancy putting a tombstone on my back.

Well, I hope that you are able to post this on your blog. Thanks for running such an awesome site!

Cheers, Emmie

This is actually a pretty popular tattoo quote and has appeared, in a different form, on Tattoosday here. I do like how Emmie shaped it into a heart. I think Kurt Vonnegut would have liked that too.

Thanks to Emmie for sharing this piece with us, and for all of you who have sent me photos previously. I will get to your submissions in the days and weeks to come.

No Skool Like The Old Skool

I love Dawnii's old school work - her ladies are always so distinctive and pretty! Here are some of my favourites.

And I'll leave you with that til the end of the month - Pin Up Tattoos is now on holiday til late October! WOOOOO hoo!

'If I win, you become my slave...'

Hackers-era Angelina Jolie, by Bob Tyrell. WOW!

It's All Part Of The Plan

Nikko Hurtado, in progress... (or at least, you can still see the stencil!)

I am an animal! Cold-Blooded!

Unknown

In the Hoot of The Moment

Josh Woods

tattoo do's and don'ts

Most of us can agree that tattoos seem to be the symbol of 'hipness' du jour. Old and young, Black and White are sporting tattoos of varying colours, styles and meanings. I have nothing against them personally, but I swear that some people just wake up and decide to get a tattoo without any proper thought of what they're permanently stamping on their bodies. Where they place these tattoos is another eyebrow raiser.



Anyhoo, I decided to come up with 10 do's and don'ts for sporting tattoos:







http://www.tattoosunlimited.com/

• Do keep it simple, stupid! Thinking big is usually an admirable quality, but not necessarily when you're getting a tattoo. How many times have you seen an oversized lower back tattoo (also known as the 'tramp stamp') peering out from under a lady's top and wonder what the heck she was thinking? Simple is always better.
  
  
  
  

http://www.tattoos-by-design.co.uk/

• Don't tattoo your breasts! There are hundreds of women walking around Barbados right now with all kinds of designs on their chests, and I wonder if they know that gravity ain't a female's friend. Besides, that can't be good for the breasts at all.
  
  

http://www.transname.com/

• Find out what tattoo symbols mean. That Sanskrit or Kanji symbol might look real cool on your shoulder blade or ankle, but I don't think you'd be too happy if you found out its meaning was 'moron'.
  
  
  
  

http://www.ybf.blogspot.com/

• Don't get multiple, multi-coloured tattoos. This picture says it all. She looks like she was mutilated.
  
  
  
  

http://www.theglamourouslife.com/

• Don't place multiple tattoos on one limb, especially on a leg. It looks like you have a skin disease.
  
  
  
  

http://www.customdesigntattoos.net/

• Women, please don't place tattoos on your upper arms, 'cause you look butch as wuh. Unless that's the look you're going for....
  
  
  
  

http://videoeta.com/

• Never tattoo your boyfriend's/girlfriend's name on your body. Partners come and go but tattoos remain, unless you can afford painful laser surgery. Even the Tattoo Queen herself, Angelina Jolie, learnt this the hard way, erasing her ex-husband Billy Bob's name from her arm after their divorce. Don't tattoo your own name on yourself either. Unless you're in the habit of forgetting it....
  
  
  
  8. Never tattoo curse words on your body. You'd think this was a given, but alas, no. Remember, you won't be a rebellious 20-something forever; at some point you might care what other people think of you.
  
  
  
  

http://www.bbc.co.uk/

• No offence, but don't bother with a tattoo if your skin tone is very dark. The tattoos are barely visible and coloured tattoos on dark skin tones look extra weird.
  
  
  
  

http://orangehoops.wordpress.com/

• Men, tattoos won't transform you instantly into a macho stud. There's nothing sadder than a guy with biceps like ping-pong balls with huge tats plastered on his arms. Try hitting the weight room instead.
  
  
  
  via-http://cheese-on-bread.blogspot.com/2007/08/ten-tattoo-dos-and-donts.html