On his right arm, this traditional nautical star has been embellished with several design elements that personalize the tattoo.

The banner “No Hope but Home” refers to lyrics from a song by a New Jersey band called Scream Hello.

The nautical star is accompanied by a knitting needle and a fountain pen. These two objects refer to his parents. The knitting needle speaks to his mother who is a homemaker and also knits as a hobby. The fountain pen alludes to his father, who is a writer professionally, and also
writes for pleasure.

The nautical star, traditionally worn by sailors to serve as a talisman to find a way home, serves a figurative purpose here, pointing toward, while also emphasizing the hopefulness of home, but also the importance of Matthew’s parents in his life.

This cool tattoo was inked by John Reardon at Saved Tattoo, in Brooklyn. Work from Saved has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Thanks to Matthew for sharing this amazing tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

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I would like to get a message to my long lost friend Margaret Marcucci Olson. Plz let her know I am trying to reach her. -diwellman

If anyone knows where Margaret is these days, or if Margaret herself happens to see this, please follow the above link to the message board in order to respond to diwellman.

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Tom was an early supporter of the blog, from its fledgling days as a once-a-week feature over on BillyBlog, and he watched us grow with a mixture of excitement and pride.

The camera I use was a birthday gift from Tom and his fiancee Sephora, and he was always first in line to see the pictures I took whenever I had new material for the blog.

A week or two before his death, Tom was hanging out at a friend’s house in New Jersey. He took pictures of his friend’s sleeve and e-mailed them to me. The photos are still in my mailbox, unposted. I still haven’t the heart to call his friend and talk tattoo with him.

There are times I am hesitant to approach people, for whatever reason, and I overcome whatever resistance I may feel, knowing that’s what Tom would have wanted me to do, and that somewhere, he is watching, urging me on, applauding my efforts, admiring the ink.

As a tribute to Tom, I am reposting his tattoo, which he shared with us here, back in 2007.

It’s not the best tattoo, but it’s Tom’s, and his spirit is infused here in Tattoosday. It’s the least I can do for the friend that supported us so much in the early days. Here’s to you, Tom!

Tattoos I Know: The Grim Reaper (originally posted September 11, 2007)

This is the sole tattoo of my friend and co-worker, Tom Wacker.

Tom designed and drew the art upon which this tattoo was based.

The Reaper is posed on Tom’s biceps/deltoid and has resided there since 1984, when its host was a young lad of eighteen.

This is Tom’s only tattoo and he has no plans to get more. He is proud of the fact that, because he designed it and because he then tore up the original design, it is a one-of-a-kind piece…

The tattoo was inked by Dean at Lola’s Tattoos, then in Cliffside Park, but now in Bogota, New Jersey. Tom got this tattoo “because it was cool,” although the tattooer tried to convince him not to get it because it was “too mean” for him. Twenty-three years later, Tom says he has no regrets about his ink.

Thanks, Tom!

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What’s the rage about tattoo designs of zodiac signs?

Why are they so popular?

Mankind has been mesmerized by the stars and constellations for thousands of years and the impact that those twinkling little dots up in the night sky have on each and every one of us as individuals.

You can’t pick up any daily or weekly publication without there being some reference to the stars, astrological readings.

And most people have set ideas about what your star sign says about you. If you are a Capricorn, you are determined, steady but can be stubborn. Pisceans tend to be sympathetic and kind. Those born under the sign of Aries can be gregarious and courageous but grumpy and quick tempered to boot!

Surprisingly, throughout the world there are many different types of the zodiac. But more or less, the basics remain the same. In astronomy, the zodiac is the ring of the constellations that line the ecliptic. This is the path the sun takes across the sky over the period of a year. The Moon and the planets also lie within this ecliptic, thus being within the constellations of the zodiac.

In astrology, the zodiac represents the signs which divide the ecliptic into twelve equal zones of longitude. In effect, the zodiac is a form of coordinates system taking the ecliptic as the origin of latitude and the sun, at vernal equinox as the origin of longitude.

The astrological charts that the majority of the western world follows are the based on the Latin/Greek zodiac. The Greek zadiakos kuklos which means circle of animals is motivated by the fact that most of the f the signs of the classical Greek zodiac are represented as animals (six out of twelve, plus two mythical birds).

So why have a zodiac or star sign as a tattoo? Why not? If you believe strongly in astrology it is another way of saying and showing through your body art, this is who I am; this is what my birth date makes me. Some say that it makes them feel that they are connecting with the universe - their zodiac tattoo is another coordinate to be joined up with.

Also if you are stuck for ideas as to what sort of tattoo design to go for, basing your decision on something that is personal to you isn’t such a bad way to go.

You can vary the art and the design by basing your tattoo on the symbols used in Western astrology or the actual zodiac signs allowing you to let the artist recreate something quite simple or ornate and intricate.

Comprehensive designs of zodiac tattoo designs can be found at GeminiTattoos4u.

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Today on Alphabet City: Jon Paul’s first time with a woman leaves him hooked.

Last week I did it again with a female artist named Friday Jones.  The first time I did it with her was in New Orleans a few years ago.  Truthfully, I had been planning it for a long time, preparing by looking at special sites on the Internet.  My friend Susan encouraged me by explaining the process, and so I decided to do it during her birthday weekend getaway to the Big Easy.

On that first meeting in November 2007, Friday welcomed me into the small room she was using temporarily while in town.

“I like to move around.  I’ll probably go to Marrakech, next,” she volunteered.

Friday Jones after de-flowering virgin Jon Paul

I breathed a sigh of relief at the cleanliness of the tiny cubicle—much cleaner than many gay bathhouses I’d visited. (Alphabet City’s Episode 13: Babylon has a particularly funny story of a visit to a Bangkok sex palace)

My partner Juan Pablo accompanied me on that first visit.  I hoped he’d find it sexy.  But in the end, he couldn’t bear to look.

“It’s your body, do what you want,” he said.

Before I did the deed, he escaped to the bar next door calming his concerns with live jazz and strong beer.

I asked Friday what to expect.  She grinned.

“It feels like a sunburn or a cat scratch.  No pain, no gain.”

And with that, she fired up the needle.

Electric Ladyland Tattoo on Frenchman Street was my introduction to inking.

For my first tattoo, my overriding concern was how would I would respond to the inevitable question, “Why did you choose that?”

Tribal markings that appear sexy on other gay boys seemed impersonal on me.  A picture of my beloved Bichon Frise dog Frida struck me as super faggy.  Lucky for me, my initials are the same as my partner—so that could have been a quirky option, and useful in case of a break-up.  But ultimately I decided it was too self-indulgent.  Icons from my upbringing—cowboy boots, Lone Stars, Longhorns—were briefly considered and discarded for their irrelevance to my current life.

Embarrassingly, my inspiration came from reality TV.  My friend Becca tipped me off that an episode of Miami INK featured a compass tattoo.  Bingo!  A perfect reference to my love of travel and with just a touch of pirate sexiness.

I quickly discovered that telling people you’re getting a tattoo is akin to telling them you’re pregnant—whether you want it or not, everyone has a piece of advice or a story or a question.  Some frequent comments:

“Don’t end up with a shamrock like my drunk uncle!”

“Do you want to see my naughty tat?”

“You don’t seem like the kind of guy to have a tattoo!”

I’m never quite sure how to respond to that last comment.  Is that supposed to be a compliment?

Much to Juan Pablo’s chagrin, the tattoo experts were absolutely correct in telling me that I would get addicted.  In the course of one year, I added two more tattoos, including a symbol of the Green Lantern (in a naughty area, no less) and the vintage plane from Casablanca (on my chest practically screaming “I’m a guy with a tattoo!”).

Why did I become a tattoo exhibitionist at 40 rather than getting inked in my 20s?  Probably because for the first time in my life I am proud of my body.  I actually look in the mirror and think “that guy looks good.”  Most of my life I’ve struggled with weight issues and occasional eating disorders.  But in the last few years with the support and encouragement of Juan Pablo and the rest of my NY friends family, I’ve been able to lose weight and feel sexy.  And the tattoos are a symbol of that empowerment.

After my last visit to Friday Jones who set up shop in New York at Senses Salon, I’m well on my way to a sleeve—custom created artwork fanning out from my compass that includes symbols from my favorite cities: Sydney Opera House & Bridge, the Eiffel Tower, and a Lady Liberty-Chrysler Building combo.

Clearly, my taste in tattoos is not exactly the scary and aggressive dragons-and-demons.  And that’s why I’m glad I did it with a woman for the first time—Friday was gentle and non-judgmental and encouraging.  And she left me begging for more.

Friday and me after my first de-flowering

Friday and JP Oct 2009

Part of my sleeve with Sydney Opera House on view

Another angle with Eiffel Tower

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I love a good mystery, and when I saw that this particular mystery was getting great reviews, I decided I had to read it. Granted, the word “tattoo” in the title is what caught my attention in the first place, but the reference to body ink is actually very insignificant except that the girl it refers to is one of the main characters in the book, Lisbeth Salandar. But Lisbeth Salandar will be of particular interest to my readers because she’s “one of us” and she gets misjudged everywhere she goes. Therefore I wrote my review more on her character than on the story itself, which is excellent, while also making some recommendations that will help you to get the most out of the book if you decide to read it.

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He referred to himself as “Egghead,” I’m guessing due to his bald head. I first noticed the logo for the band Slayer on the back of his calf, along with several other interesting looking tattoos. He estimated he has about a dozen tattoos.

But, like the best Tattoosday stories, he shared this amazing tattoo on his right shoulder, hidden under a sweatshirt, which he pulled off so I could see it properly:

That’s a phenomenal piece, courtesy of his artist Ben Boston at The Tattoo Studio in Bristol, England.

The tattoo is a likeness of Eddie, mascot for the band Iron Maiden, one of the premiere metal bands that came out of England in the late 1970’s/early 1980’s. I won’t bore the reader with the catalog of my Iron Maiden fandom, but it certainly made the tattoo even that more wonderful for me.

I even had a nice chat with Egghead and his wife about concerts we had attended.

I thank Egghead for sharing this awesome tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

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