Odd that this topic has resurfaced at this time in my life.

I recently was hit by a bus on my bike, and was sort of fucked up, as one might imagine. I am not seriously disfigured nor will I have any permanant injuries, but now I want a tattoo. Well, I have always wanted a tattoo but cold never justify it because "it's just too permanent" so i got many many piercings instead. But now, with scars on my body that will always be there, that I have no control over,nd athat will remind me of a time in my life I never want to remember- in addition to the realization of the fact that you never know when your life might end- I have decided that even if I regret it, it will be something permanent that I had full control over. And hell, life is too short to worry about regrets.

The best tattoo idea i've heard is from our bass player, Jim.

At some point he will get a tattoo of a tentacle coming out of his ass rapped around lando calrisians leg.

I'm normally not a fan of fantast artwork, but this will be worthwhile.

Tattoo's: not crap.
almost all tattoos I've ever seen: Crap.

Tom wrote:At some point he will get a tattoo of a tentacle coming out of his ass rapped around lando calrisians leg.

Tell him to do it now.

I am not currently a sailor or a whore, but I've had my moments.

I have a small tattoo on my upper left arm. I got it sat on a climbing frame when I was eleven, with a needle and ink from a snapped biro, by a twelve year old. Tattoos are a means of self expression. My eleven year old mind did some lateral thinking on this, and expressed my eleven year old self thus:

JoHN

(That's my name).

I've had that there now for over two thirds of my life. It's kind of embarrassing to show people for the first time, but it's got a beautifully naive thing to it, and reminds me that at that age I was closer to my previous life as a zen monk.

I've spent most of the time since with one idea or another of what I should maybe cover it with, although most of the girlfriends I've had have wanted me to keep it. For the last year I've had a design that is a photograph of a splayed out raven, photoshopped into a mirror image so it's symmetrical. This for me would represent the following:

1. The rooks that I would sit and watch fly around the trees in the churchyard opposite my psychotherapist's house for the twenty minutes or so before our sessions, which went on for a year and a half.

2. The relationship that led me there; my girlfriend had a phobia of birds. So acknowledgement of my being the bird. And to ward her off should our paths cross again.

3. The character 'John Uskglass' in Suzanna Clark's 'Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell', the lost king of northern England who represents it's lost magic, and thus the lost spirit of ourselves. The Raven King.

4. The carrier of the soul in ancient cultures worldwide.

5. I've always had a thing about crows, rooks and ravens. I don't know why.

So I think that's my tattoo.

I nearly had '70% Water' tattooed on my arm when I was younger and more idiotic.

I'm satisfied that this would have been a bad idea.

I think the only circumstance where I'd get inked would have to be if I were in the military, since tattoos are useful for identification purposes if, say, you body gets totally mangled in combat.

Other than that, no thanks.

Champion Rabbit wrote:I nearly had '70% Water' tattooed on my arm when I was younger and more idiotic.

I'm satisfied that this would have been a bad idea.

Would be a bad idea if you got '70% Walter' tattooed on your arm now?

Certain things on certain people are ok. I could never get one because nothing really means enough to me to have it drawn on my skin for the rest of my life.
I also don't know of an artist who's work I like enough to wear for the rest of my life.

A friend of mine loves it and always says, "oh but what if everyone was stripped bare, what would you show on your body that would define who you are, you wouldn't have any identity if you didn't have your cloths on."
To that I just what the fuck? I am who I am, whether that is drawn on my body in what WILL end up as faded blue blurred ink does not matter. Besides I would probably stand out as one of the only people without a fucking tatoo!

i'd rather have a pair of awesome sunglasses than a tattoo.

which is good, cuz that's exactly what i've got: awesome sunglasses and no tattoos.

The girl i am currently seeing has absolutely no tattoos.

This fact pleases me to no end.