Uncle Jay's Year In Review

Cincinnati based radio personality Jay Gilbert has put his stamp on "the year in review" better than I ever could. Jay's been giving his satirical view of the news in an online weblog since 2007, but it had its origins going back to local broadcasts in the mid 1990's. Its a tongue in cheek sendup of a kiddie show that takes shots at both sides of the political spectrum, and at at the lunacy of our pop culture.

All you have to know about his take on things is his website's motto....

"Helping small minds understand big news".

Here's Jay!

Passages- People, Places and Things We Said Goodbye to in 2009 ( and Some Shout Outs)

Looking back at the past year; its time to say a fond farewell to some old friends and things that left us in 2009. and we look at some milestones in certain lives that we talked about as well.

From the pages of "UT&MR"; Last April we left County General and ER for the last time. Later in the month John Madden, the dean of NFL analysts and a Pro Football Hall of Famer, announced his retirement from broadcasting. And on the 22nd of April, I published REMEMBERING THE ACE, dedicated to the memory of by uncle, who passed away days before.

On May 11 of 2009 the ever pixie-ish Martha Quinn turned 50 (no, I don't believe it either). On the same day, Mort Sahl, the Godfather of Political Humor, celebrated his 82nd birthday. And "Yes Man" Rick Wakeman hit age 60 on May 18th, while the fantastic Joe Cocker turned 65 on May 20th.

On June 1st General Motors filed for bankruptcy.

And later in June we lost blues legend Koko Taylor and actor David Carradine. June 28th saw the loss of Billy Mays, the King of the Pitchmen.

But it was June 22, 2009 that could truly be called The Day The Icons Died; we lost Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson within hours of each other.

July 16th saw the 60th wedding anniversary of my parents.

Detroit Lions Hall of Famer Lou Creemur died on July 8th of this year. He's famous in my family for breaking my Dad's nose in football practice back in the 1940's.

July 1st gave us the announcement that Mississippi was The Fattest State of the Union.

July 2nd showed Jeff Goldblum on The Colbert Report, confirming his own death, which he first read about on TWITTER.

And on July 3rd Sarah Palin announced she would resign the governorship of Alaska. She has so many books to write and so little time.

July 22nd was the 203rd birthday of Cleveland, Ohio. July 23rd marked the end of my Too Old To Rock and Roll- Too Young To Die classic rock blog.

Gidget, the TACO BELL chihuahua, went to the Big Dog House In The Sky on July 24th. She was 15.

"The Most Trusted Man in America", Walter Cronkite, passed on on July 17th at age 92. Folk legend Pete Seeger celebrated his 90th birthday on August 2nd.

My former pastor and family friend Msgr. Michael J. Alliegro passed away at the relatively young age of 62 after a long fight against leukemia on August 18th. And legendary guitarist and inventor Les Paul died at age 94 on August 13th.

And on August 26th Ted Kennedy, "The Lion of the Senate", died from the brain cancer that he had been fighting for more than a year. He was 77 years old.

On September 9th a little known congressman from South Carolina named Joe Wilson disgraced himself and the House of Representatives when he yelled "You lie" to President Barack Obama as he addressed a joint session of Congress.

Soupy Sales died at age 83 on October 23rd, taking Pookie, White Fang, and Black Tooth with him. October 15th gave us Falcon Heene and the Balloon Boy fiasco.

Roger Goodell didn't think he'd be a suitable owner for the NFL. But the Miss America organization wasn't scared off by Rush Limbaugh- they announced he would be a pageant judge on October 21st.

On November 3rd Chris Christie was elected as New Jersey governor. The next day the New York Yankees beat the Philadelphia Phillies to win their 27th World Championship. The following day saw the tragedy at Fort Hood, Texas.

December gave us the announcement of FSU head coach Bobby Bowden's departure coaching. And on December 4th we said Goodbye to Mister Monk, our favorite obsessive- compulsive detective.

And Furthermore.... 2009 saw the presidency of Mr. Obama, our first African American chief executive. It also gave us new words to the American lexicon, like "birther" and "tea bagger". We had a foiled Christmas Day terror attack, and an expansion of the war in Afghanistan. We went gaga over Lady Gaga, and Taylor Swift became everybody's fave (except Kanye West's).

We saw old friend Queen Bea end her blog, and Miss Moss step up to fill the void.

And I was surprised to learn of the end of The Neil Rogers Show earlier this year in Miami. Neil was a fixture in Miami radio for more than 30 years, and I thought he was one of the funniest (and irreverent) people on the planet. He was one of the most influential radio personalities in the country, yet he never left the South Florida market and avoided syndication or going national on several occasions. He was a true original, a "thinking man's Howard Stern", and he'll be impossible to replace, but will be remembered with a smile.

Thanks to all who have visited this blog in the past year....we hope to give you more entertainment in 2010 and beyond.

Usher in the Year of the Tiger with a New Tattoo!

2010 Looks to be a great year and I am looking forward to ringing in the new decade on January 2nd by visiting a new tattoo shop of the Lower East Side called Thicker Than Water Tattoo Studios.

From Noon to 10:00 PM, artists in the shop, which just opened on December 1, 2009, will be inking Year of the Tiger tattoo specials for $50.00 apiece. It's first-come, first-served, folks, so don't show up too late.

In case you were wondering what kind of tattoo this deal will get you, we here at Tattoosday were thrilled to get a sneak peak of the flash from which customers can choose, and got the blessing from Shon Lindauer, designer, tattooer and shop manager, to share the designs with our readers:



So, come on down to Thicker Than Water and start the new decade with an appropriate Tiger tattoo to ring in the year!

Welcome Back! (After A Slight-But Appropriate- Delay)

Here's hoping any and all had a very merry Christmas, and that Santa was good to you. My Christmas was kind of an emotional rollercoaster that started high, sank low, and ended up high again. As most of the regulars here know my parents are both getting up there in years....and after all the Christmas shopping was done, and all of the presents were wrapped, and the preparations for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were in place, my Mom came down with a cold that had her bedridden for most of Christmas Eve and almost all of Christmas Day. Naturally it made my Dad depressed- and me for that matter- and both of us were more than a little concerned when she slept for most of those two days.

I take that back....we weren't concerned; we were scared.

Though her illness wasn't life threatening or anything that required hospitalization , it did put a damper on the proceedings. We did scale things back considerably, and at one point I actually considered delaying everything until the 26th or 27th, or until she would be able to participate. Mom did make it downstairs in time for Christmas dinner, though she had to gut it out and was less than 100%.
We didn't open presents until the evening, which was a first for us.

And on Christmas morning, in the midst of all that had happened, I had my "Martin Sheen as President Jed Bartlett moment"- I looked up at the sky and told God how mad I was at him.

"Damn it! Couldn't you give us just ONE MORE?". That's right....I called out the Big Guy because I wanted one more Christmas with my parents- I don't know how many are left. And I acted with my usual maturity- I didn't go to church on Christmas morning, using the excuse that I had work to do for the day's festivities- but in reality I was too upset to sit there in a pew acting happy when I wasn't.

All I wanted was for my Mom to have that day to enjoy, and for my Dad to have that to share with her. All I was saying to God was that my folks deserved a better deal than the one they were dealt that day....and I wasn't going to be apologetic.

I guess sometimes when your honest about your feelings you get action- even from God. True, Mom was able to join us for Christmas dinner...and she was feeling better on the 26th.

But it all started to get better by dinner time on the 26th. We got a phone call from my brother and sister in law from Ohio- only they weren't in Ohio, they were halfway through Pennsylvania on the way to New Jersey for a surprise weekend visit. That's when it dawned on me- there were no gifts or cards from them this year. This was planned out by them all along.

They arrived late Saturday, and we spent the day with them yesterday, and a good part of today as well. They're both longtime Philly Eagle fans, so we watched them put away the Broncos yesterday to set up next week's showdown with the Cowboys for the NFC East title. We feasted on linguine and sausage, with some meatballs thrown in, tossed salad, and Sicilian chicken noodle soup.

But the best part of the time spent with them was the laughs....the greatest gift of all. The grab-your-sides because-it-hurts-laughs, laughing about family foibles and the colorful members of our clan who've passed on years ago. Its one thing we don't do enough of collectively as a society- to sit down at a table, share a meal, swap some stories, and laugh until you're drained. People need to reconnect with loved ones, and enjoy them, and appreciate them. Share and treasure the moments while you can, and then pass it on to the next generation- its a key to survival.

They'll be over for breakfast in the AM before heading home to Ohio.

They are two wonderful people who's act of finding some time to share saved Christmas for their brother- but most of all, did so for their parents.

And I cannot thank them enough.

(Promise you won't tell them I can be so sentimental...its SO un-Jersey!)

All I Want for Christmas is a Tattoo with Teeth

On Christmas Eve afternoon, I was passing through Penn Station, I spotted Lindsay, a woman with what appeared to be a sleeve that had a water-inspired design.

It wasn't until after I approached her and asked if she wanted to contribute to Tattoosday that I saw, as she rolled up her sleeve, what awesome work she had done on her left arm:


Lindsay said that, like all of her 14 or 15 tattoos, none of them have "deep meaning". She just goes with whatever she describes as an "intense urge" at the time she's getting the tattoo.

The sleeve above started with her taking photos with stylings to the artist, saying she wanted a bloody shark. This was the first part of the tattoo:


She then expanded it with this segment of shark


which is certainly reminiscient of the movie poster for Jaws.


This piece was created in four sittings lasting 3-4 hours each, by John Reardon at Saved Tattoo (which was the shop responsible for yesterday's post, too).

Work from John Reardon has appeared here on Tattoosday previously. Work from Saved appearing on the site can be seen here. Reardon is also the author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting a Tattoo.

Thanks to Lindsay for taking the time to share her incredible shark sleeve with us here on Tattoosday!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!

Max's Spin on a Traditional Gypsy Tattoo

I was passing through Penn Station late yesterday when I spotted Max, who offered up this fascinating tattoo:


At first glance it looks like the traditional gypsy piece, but if you look closely at the back of the gypsy's head, you can see Max added an element that extended the design up and around his right arm:



That is a deer skull that the gypsy woman is wearing, complete with a set of antlers.

When I asked Max about this he acknowledged that the tattoo, in concept, had started as just the old-style gypsy profile but, growing up in Maryland, he said that there were deer everywhere around his home, and that this was a nod to his former home state.

Perhaps reading too much into it, I asked him if he was taking a symbol of home and tying it to the nomadic image of the gypsy to illustrate a dichotomy between the two contrasting lifestyles. He nodded and said he hadn't thought of it in those terms before, but it seemed to make a little sense if you looked at it like that.

This is one of nine tattoos Max has. The piece in question was designed by Paul Bosch at Saved Tattoo in Brooklyn. Max came to Paul with the concept and left it to the artist to design the tattoo. Work from Saved has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Thanks to Max for sharing this fascinating spin on the traditional gypsy tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

A Merry Christmas To All!

I'm just taking a minute to wish all readers and visitors to this blog a very Merry Christmas.

Just one more thing.....why are you wasting your time on the internet reading this stuff while you should be with your family and friends this time of the year? Just TURN IT OFF!!!! Blackberries, cell phones, computers....hit the off button and put it down. RIGHT NOW!!!!!

Good. That's much better. I knew you'd be reasonable.........

I'll be back in a couple of days, probably Saturday night or Sunday morning, with some new and improved stuff.

Make this Christmas the best one ever....and use a designated driver.

CTM cases on the OHIM website: can you help?

I've just been scouring the web page of the OHIM website which is devoted to "Judgments of Community Design Courts concerning Community Designs". Frankly, it's in need of an infusion of help and assistance from the design community. Problems are not limited to the following:

* only 12 countries are represented at all -- and several significant jurisdictions have no cases listed at all;

* you need to be a talented linguist, since each decision is only recorded in its national language. A one-line summary in the OHIM working languages would be a great improvement on this;

* Each case is listed by Member State, Date, Language(s) and a heading called 'Concerning' -- which doesn't refer to the legal issue (eg validity, infringement, informed user) but to the subject on which the design is found (eg Flacon de parfum, Iltahämy-/aamunruskosimulaattorit, Naptidi pochette).

What we have to do is to ensure that OHIM gets plenty of decisions to post on this page, that it is given more information which it in turn can pass on to users of the site, and that it be encouraged to understand that, while we are grateful for what is available so for, we hope that the page will aspire to greater heights of achievement.

12 Hours (I Mean 72 Hours) Later....RU Wins Bowl Game, "AD" Leaves For The NFL, The Big Dig Out, and Other Stuff

Rutgers celebrates its 45-24 victory in the ST. PETERSBURG BOWL (Star-Ledger Photo)

First my apologies for being away so long....you might have heard about a "slight issue" with the weather in the Northeast- a blizzard hit and dumped two feet of snow in much of the area, though we got about ten inches here, most of which fell Saturday into early Sunday. A good portion of Sunday involved digging out and waiting to be dug out, and Monday and Tuesday was dedicated to catching up with Christmas shopping that had to be scuttled because of the storm.

But I'm done....FINALLY. And some semblance of normalcy is returning to life.,,,and it feels good!

So, without further ado, lets talk about "some stuff".

(1). Five consecutive bowl games, four consecutive wins. Rutgers pounded Central Florida in the St. Petersburg Bowl 45-24. The win gave Rutgers a 9-4 record for the 2009 season, its best win total since going 11-2 in 2006. This was the the fifth consecutive winning season for Rutgers- you have to go back to the 1991-92 seasons for the last time they even had back to back winning seasons.

You can talk about some of the disappointments of the year if you wish, but I won't. Naysayers first said "when Ray Rice leaves they'll start losing again". Ray left, and RU went to another bowl game. The same cynics then said "when Mike Teel and Kenny Britt leave, RU will collapse". Mike and Kenny moved on to the NFL, and Rutgers won one more game than last year.

It was the young freshmen who shined brightest this year....not to take away from great old grizzled veterans like Ryan D’Imperio, Devin McCourty, and Tim Brown. But it was the emergence of new stars Tom Savage, Mohamed Sanu, and Steve Beauharnais that gave promise to the beginning of a new era where the success can continue. Head Coach Greg Schiano has said that you have to be consistent before you can be great. The Scarlet Knights seemed poised to take that next step- the building blocks and keys to success are there.

When Schiano came to Rutgers he had to build a program from the ground up. His way is a amalgamation of a little bit Joe Paterno, with heavy emphasis on academics, graduating his players, and getting the "right kind of players"- in Paterno-speak its called "we don't want any bigshots". An RU player has to love football, and he has to dedicate himself to the academic demands of the institution. Often Schiano asks the team leaders if a potential recruit is an "RU recruit". So far, Greg Schiano has delivered on all promises save one- a Big East Championship.

Another coach Schiano borrowed from was Howard Schnellenberger. When he took over as the head coach of the University of Miami in 1979, Schnellenberger declared South Florida to be "The State of Miami", and used that as his recruiting base. The beginning of "The U's" dynasty began with that philosophy, and Schiano incorporated it into his "State of Rutgers" campaign- it extends to all of New Jersey and to a three hour driving radius from New Jersey's borders. True, Schiano does recruit Florida and other some other states as well- but its about New Jersey first. Six or seven years ago you couldn't find Rutgers fans anywhere. Its nearly 2010, and walk around any parking lot in Central New Jersey and try to count the scarlet block R  's on the cars, or the jerseys, tee-shirts, and and caps on the people walking around.

So far....a job well done.

(2) Speaking of Schiano the disciplinarian...sometimes he'll let a thing or two slide. As the game was winding down of Saturday night, check Coach's reaction to linebacker senior Damaso Munoz's fielding of an on side kick, and taking it back for a touchdown. Munoz, who was razzed by his fellow linebackers for never having scored a touchdown finally did on what would be his last touch of the ball in his college career- he did a frontwards flip into the end zone and then spiked the ball. It resulted in a TD, but with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty as well.
In this video, Coach Schiano seems like he's trying not to laugh.



(3) Saying goodbye to "AD". In the worst football secret since Brian Kelly's latest coaching destination, Rutgers junior All-America lineman Anthony Davis has decided to forgo his senior season to enter the 2010 NFL draft. Davis is projected to be a first round pick. He follows Ray Rice and Kenny Britt, who also left early following the two previous seasons.

Thanks AD....and good luck.

(4) The Giants and Redskins. Was it possible for the Giants to play a better game, or the Redskins to play worse, in that 45-12 blowout on Monday Night football? I'll say it right now- the first 15 minutes of the game might have been the best opening quarter for a team that I have ever seen for any team at any level. The Giants opening drive lasted 9:13, was 16 plays , covered 80 yards, and resulted in a Giants touchdown. The ensuing possession for Washington was a three and out. Then the Giants got the ball back at the 4:21 mark in the first quarter the Giants got the ball back and went on a 5:00 minute, 67 yard, 11 play touchdown drive that lasted into the second quarter. This was the equal of a first round TKO. The Skins showed a little fight in the second half, scoring twice....but the Giants D came alive. and kept them contained, while the Giants offense scored at will. Eli Manning might be playing the best quarterback of his career.

As a Giant fan....a tremendous game, and kudos to Big Blue.

(5) And finally....goodbye Melky Cabrera , and welcome back to New York Javier Vasquez. I followed Melky from his days with the Trenton Thunder, and I hate to see him leave. But when the Braves were willing to deal Vasquez back to New York it was a move you have to make. Vasquez will be a solid number four starter for the Yankees, while the Braves essentially receive Melky, who was usually the number nine hitter in the Yankee lineup. Cabrera still has a world of potential....maybe a change of leagues will help him take the next step.

That's all folks....I'll be back with some "pre-Christmas stuff" ina day or so.

Two More Tattoos from Josh

Well, more than six months have passed since I posted Josh's amazing Verrazano Bridge tattoo, and I almost forgot he sent me some additional shots, including the clock from the old Penn Station on his inner bicep, which is interconnected with the bridge piece:


This is a fairly accurate homage to this bygone historical monument seen at the top of the photo below:


Josh, being in the military, also has this back piece:


This tattoo consists of a pair of variations on the caduceus, surrounding the insignias of the 44th and 30th Medical Brigades - the two units he was assigned to in Iraq.















Thanks again to Josh for sending along these pictures and if you haven't seen the Verrazano tattoo linked at the top of the post, you must go check it out.

Quick Hits For December 18- Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow

(1). A massive snowstorm has hit the DC area and will be churning up the coast to blanket the Middle Atlantic States and New England, bringing a halt to travel and retail activity on the last weekend before Christmas.

The rumor is tomorrow (Saturday December 19th) Republican House leaders John Boehner and Eric Cantor will call a press conference to blame the Obama Administration for not knowing about the storm a week ago.

(2) Obviously I'm here, in soon to be buried New Jersey, instead in sunny St. Petersburg, Florida where 8,000+ of my fellow Rutgers fans traveled to watch our beloved Scarlet Knights take on the University of Central Florida in St. Petersburg Bowl. While going to five straight bowl games is an accomplishment and it shows vast improvement from the way things used to be- little fan support, losing seasons and year upon year of bad football, it is unfortunate with the scheduling of the game right in the middle of the the Christmas frenzy with less than two weeks notice. Its hard to drop everything and go when there have been prior commitments, and in the students case bowl week is right in the middle of finals.

And even worse....ESPN and the bowl organizers should know better than to violate Rules One and Two- "Thou Shalt Not Schedule a Sports Event Opposite an NFL Game" and "Thou Shalt Not EVER Schedule a Sports Event Opposite an NFL Game Featuring the Dallas Cowboys". Organizers of the bowl were crowing the other day about scheduling the game in the evening against no other college football bowl game competition on ESPN at 8:00PM Saturday- and that's a good thing.

Now the bad stuff- the St. Petersburg Bowl will be on opposite the undefeated New Orleans Saints vs the Dallas Cowboys on the NFL Network. True, many cable systems don't have the NFL Network as part of their basic package, and some don't carry them at all. But still, in a situation where there is one team with a national following and another trying to make history by going undefeated, the TV schedule makers did neither the fans of Rutgers or UCF, or for those nationally who love bowl games any favors. Moving the game from an afternoon start to opposite the Cowboys and Saints was a colossal blunder....and you can't spin it any possible way.

(3). The other day I wrote about the inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and touched on Genesis for a bit. I came upon this amazing video of the classic five piece GENESIS lineup from 1971, featuring charter members Peter Gabriel, Mike Rutherford, and Tony Banks and introducing the two new kids, Steve Hackett and Phil Collins. Hackett replace original guitarist Anthony Phillips and drummer Collins took over for John Mayhew (who replaced John Silver, who replaced Chris Stewart). This stabilized lineup recorded the band's third album Nursery Cryme, released in November, 1971. This lineup went on to record Foxtrot (1972), Selling England By The Pound (1973), and the ambitious double album The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway (1974), after which Peter Gabriel left to embark on his very successful solo career. The group then auditioned 400 singers to take over the lead vocalist chores....but Phil Collins came out from behind his drum kit, and sounded (according to several British critics) more "like Peter Gabriel than Gabriel did".

This early video, from a Belgian TV show, is the then new lineup of Genesis performing THE MUSICAL BOX, from Nursery Cryme. And check out the hair on the now very bald Phil Collins!



BE SURE TO TURN OF THE PLAYLIST IN THE LEFT HAND MARGIN BEFORE CLICKING ON THE VIDEO!

(4). This is another abbreviated version of QUICK HITS. In the past three days I must have driven 300 miles and never left a two county area of New Jersey, just Christmas shopping and getting stuff together for the holidays. To be blunt....I'm beat! Time for a beer or two, and then start counting the snow flakes, because they're a-comin'!

I'll be back with my final "12 Hours Later" segment about the 2009 Rutgers Football season on Sunday or Monday. Stay well, stay warm....just STAY! And avoid those treacherous and icy roads.

Community designs, now in French

MARQUES, the normally Anglophone organisation of trade mark owners and practitioners in Europe, is ambitiously organising a French-only seminar in Paris on Community designs on Tuesday 19 January 2010. The event is advertised as a "free evening seminar" so, if you have a free evening, this may appeal to you.

The Guide pratique du droit des dessins et modèles communautaires pour les titulaires de marques is being conducted at the offices of law firm Simmons & Simmons. The full programme may be viewed ici.

Stormtrooper helmets, sculptures and designs: appeal court rules

Lucasfilm Ltd, Star Wars Productions Ltd and Lucasfilm Entertainment Co Ltd v Ainsworth and Shepperton Design Studios Ltd [2009] EWCA Civ 1328, yesterday's lengthy decision of the Court of Appeal for England and Wales in the "Star Wars" stormtrooper helmet dispute, conceived by the claimants but made and sold without authorisation by the defendant, has now been handed down. A note on the full decision, together will further facts, appears on the IPKat weblog here.

Of specific interest to designers and their representatives is the court's treatment of sections 51 and 52 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Section 51 provides that "It is not an infringement of any copyright in a design document or model recording or embodying a design for anything other than an artistic work or a typeface to make an article to the design or to copy an article made to the design". The court said at paras 85 to 87:

"This [section] ... is directed to the production of a three dimensional object in accordance with a design which is itself the subject of copyright. Except where the design is one for an artistic work, the use of the design to make what is illustrated is not an infringement.

The judge held that the ... paintings and other drawings were design documents within the meaning of s.51 and were used by Mr Ainsworth to create the stormtrooper helmet and armour. On the basis of his finding that the helmet and armour were not sculpture or works of artistic craftsmanship, s.51 therefore provided a defence to a claim of infringement based on his use of those works.

The judge's decision that the ... paintings and drawings were design documents has not been challenged on this appeal. The application of s.51 was resisted only on the ground that the helmets and armour were sculpture. The judge was therefore right to find that it provides Mr Ainsworth with a defence to the UK copyright claim.".

Section 52(2) provides that

"After the end of the period of 25 years from the end of the calendar year in which .... articles [which are copied from an artistic work and which made by an industrial process] are first marketed, the work may be copied by making articles of any description, or doing anything for the purpose of making articles of any description, and anything may be done in relation to articles so made, without infringing copyright in the work".

Since the stormtrooper helmets were not 'sculptures' their industrial multiplication by Ainsworth was always going to be permitted. Even if they were protected works, since the alleged infringements were governed by the transitional provisions relating to copying done while the Copyright Act 1956 was still in force, the period after which it was safe to make copies was the shorter period of 15 years, which had long since passed.

Tattoorism: Aaron and Brandi Share Their Ink

We here at Tattoosday love our fans. However, sometimes when someone sends us a submission from abroad, we may be slow to post it. Brandi and Aaron's submissions are the extreme case in point.

Brandi e-mailed me back in April. Yes, as in that part of the calendar six months ago.

Oh, I had grand plan for the post, planning to unveil it to coincide with a cinematic release, or a DVD release, but I could never get the timing just right.

In the better late than never category, let me introduce you to a couple of tattoos that have been patiently waiting for their moment in the Tattoosday sun.

I'll start with Brandi's tattoo, which is on the front of her right shoulder:



Brandi explains:

"This tattoo is one I got on my 25th birthday but it had been 7 years in the making. I lived in Seattle, WA for 10 years (currently in Texas) and have always loved snowflakes so for my birthday I decided to get this tattoo in memory of my life in Seattle."

The second tattoo is from Aaron. Just to show you how long it has been, when they first sent the photo in April, Aaron was her boyfriend. In a follow-up e-mail a few weeks ago, Brandi called him her fiance, so congratulations are in order as well!

Here's Aaron's tattoo:



Yes, that is the crest of Gryffindor, the crest of one of the four "houses" at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy in the the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling.

Brandi explains:

This tattoo is the first installment of a sleeve project Aaron is in the process of that was started after I suggested to him he get it. He is a HUGE Harry Potter fan and I thought what better way to express his love for HP. The rest of the sleeve will be black and white illustrations from each book and I couldn't love him more for expressing his inner "dork."

I also am a fan of the series and have also share the qualities of dorkitude from time to time, so how could I not share this cool tattoo with our readers?

Both tattoos were inked at Epic Tattoos in Fort Worth, Texas. Nick Clark did Brandi's snowflake and Rudy Perez inked Aaron's Gryffindor piece.

Thanks to both Aaron and Brandi for sharing their work with us here on Tattoosday and for waiting so patiently for me to get around to posting their tattoos!

Quick Hits For December 16, 2009 -ABBA , The Hollies, and The Grinch From The Nutmeg State

(1). Don't even get me started on what has happened to the health care reform package. Its a travesty that I'll talk about extensively in the coming weeks. All I'll offer for now is....Joe Lieberman, you've proved one thing to me- the insurance companies of America own you. But in the spirit of the season I'll reserve any further judgement. Enjoy the coal in your stocking.

(2) The inductees for the 2010 class of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame were announced, and making it were Genesis, The Hollies, Jimmy Cliff, The Stooges....and ABBA. ABBA...who woulda thunk it? The Stooges were a precursor to punk rock, Jimmy Cliff was a reggae pioneer, Genesis began as prog- rockers but became a megastar arena rock band, and the Hollies were one of the most successful bands from the British Invasion. I know ABBA sold a ton of records, and were big worldwide (and held Godlike status in Australia)....but I never really saw them as a rock n' roll band. They were musically talented and the four members were obviously attractive- but I always saw them as like bubble gum for bigger kids. I will admit this; I liked Frida's Something's Going On, I thought it was a tremendous record....but Genesis' Phil Collins played and sang on it, and was its co producer (with Hugh Padgham)- and it had a Phil Collins feel to it more than an ABBA sound. And I was admittedly a big fan of Genesis and of Phil Collins.

I'm still wondering what KISS has to do to finally be inducted, as well as the most progressive of all the prog-rockers, YES (in all of their various incarnations)

(3). Many years ago I met The Hollies in a hotel I was working at in New Jersey. It was a reunion tour they were doing in the early 1980's, and they were scheduled to play Great Adventure in Jackson. Graham Nash hadn't arrived yet, but Tony Hicks, Bobby Elliot, and Allan Clarke showed up early, right after lunchtime. The problem was they were hungry and wanted something to eat, and our dining room closed until dinnertime, roughly three hours later. I was not even the front desk manager....I was something like the assistant front desk manger's apprentice or something even lower than that, but I took it on myself to keep the dining room open, and coerced the telephone operator to watch the front desk while I cooked up some food for The Hollies.

A few hours later, I got called into my general manager's office to explain "by what authority did I keep the dining room open?". My boss, "Mr. G", usually had a demeanor like an SS officer with a bad case of hemorrhoids- that was on his good days.

My only response to Mr. G was...."B-b-b-but- those guys are THE HOLLIES!!!"

Mr. G was not amused. My career at that hotel was doomed from that point on...

No big deal. The food sucked there anyway. And no health care...there we go again.

(4). This is a quick version of Quick Hits...mainly because I've spent hours Christmas shopping today, and have driven a lot of miles....and quite frankly, I'm more than a little out of gas. One more time, congrats to the Rock and Roll HOF inductees.

And Joe Lieberman....you are morphing into the Grinch.

Jack Shares His Love for Graphic Novels

I had somewhere to be and a few minutes before I had to be there.

At the intersection of Clark and Henry Streets in Brooklyn Heights, I saw a guy stride into a corner bodega. Something told me to peek in. I did. And there, on the back of his right arm was a cool-looking tattoo.

So when he exited the store I introduced myself and we walked twenty yards to a well-lit frame shop to talk about his work.

His name is Jack and he works as a framer but is also a painter and fine artist. Feel free to check out his website here. His work is quite good.

He shared two tattoos with us, the first being the one on the main section of his back upper arm:


Jack is a fan of graphic novels and this piece is based on a panel from the a Hellboy book (Volume 6: Strange Places) by Mike Mignola.


The words in the upper corner of the panel are "I will cast off my afflictions...". The tattoo was done by Erick Diaz at Asylum Tattoo in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

A Hellboy tattoo has appeared previously on the blog here. You may remember the name of Erick Diaz and Asylum Studios based on an appearance on Tattoosday previously from this amazing back piece.

Getting back to Jack, when he pulled up his sleeve, I saw this tattoo above the Hellboy design:


This art is based on the work from another graphic novelist, Anders Nilsen. The piece in question is from the award-winning Dogs and Water.


Jack credits this tattoo to an artist named Jasmine Morrell, aka Jazzy J, who he referred to as a "kitchen surgeon". In other words, this is an example of a home-inked piece, more commonly known as a kitchen table tattoo. Not to say that she is not a professional. In fact, Jack informs me that she is an artist at Atomic Tattoo in Austin, Texas.

Both pieces reflect Jack's love of graphic novels. He adds "I have 4 tattoos, all from comics, the earliest was a back piece from Winsor McKay's Little Nemo in Slumberland." Perhaps we'll see that here in the future!

Thanks to Jack for sharing his amazing tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Daniel's Machine Head Tattoo

I met Daniel in Penn Station yesterday, one of the few people with short sleeves, and certainly the only person with visible ink.

Visiting from Perth, in Western Australia, Daniel has seven tattoos, and he offered up the piece on his left calf:


Daniel is a huge fan of the band Machine Head, and fans of the group will surely recognize that the piece is based on the Machine Head crest:


The Roman numeral MCMXCII refers to 1992, when the band released its first album.

Daniel has seen the group perform seven times (as of this writing). When I asked if the band had ever seen his tattoo, he did tell me that he had met their tour manager at their airport in Brisbane and he had given him backstage passes to the show. Unfortunately, his plans fell through and he wasn't able to make it to the concert.

The tattoo was done by Jonny at Abandoned Art in the Wanneroo section of Perth.

Thanks to Daniel for sharing his tattoo with us here on Tattoosday.

As a postscript, the woman that was with Daniel indicated that his chest tattoo was also very cool, but Daniel understandably did not want to go topless in Penn Station. He indicated he might send a photo in at a a later date, so stay tuned......

Quick Hits For December 14, 2009 - "Tis The Season"

(1). Die Hard and Lethal Weapon....yeah, I know what time of the year the action takes place for both films. But they still aren't Christmas movies.

(2). I met the bravest woman this side of Mother Theresa last night. I was on the 6:14 leaving PENN STATION on New Jersey Transit from New York, which was loaded to the the gills with Giants fans getting off at Secaucus. Sitting to the left of me was a woman heading back to Trenton or across the river into Philly Country- and obviously an Eagles fan- who started telling anybody and everybody on the train that "the Giants are goin' down tonight". The only thing I said to her was it could be worse for her having to go back to Cheesesteakland...she could be from Boston," which got a laugh from the Giants fans on the train. I'll give her credit though...it took some gumption to be so in yer face to a bunch of Big Blue fans headed to Giants Stadium.

The result wasn't so good though....the Giants got smacked by the Eagles 45-31. Too many missed opportunities on offense, but it really was the defense (ie, shoddy tackling) that ultimately did them in).

(3) By the way, I didn't attend the Giants-Eagles game, but was coming back from a women's basketball doubleheader at Madison Square Garden yesterday. It was the annual MAGGIE DIXON CLASSIC, named for the late coach of Army women's basketball. To those who don't know her story, Maggie Dixon, sister of Pitt basketball coach Jamie Dixon, played at the University of San Diego and became an assistant coach under Doug Bruno at DePaul University from 2001-2005. Eleven days before the 2005-06 season began Dixon was hired to be the head coach of the Army Black Knights. As the video in yesterday's between games tribute showed, Army women's basketball was often played in an arena filled with thousands of empty seats. Coach Dixon would break into mess halls and try to get the cadets to come over to watch the games, because she had a good and motivated (albeit undersized and not so talented) team that was starting to win some games. And they kept on winning, and the crowds at Army women's basketball games started to grow as well. They shocked the basketball world by winning the Patriot League Championship and got the automatic berth in the 2006 NCAA Tournament. It was the first time Army women's basketball made the tournament in history.

The reward for winning the league and making the tournament was a 16 seed and a date with Pat Summitt's mighty Tennessee Lady Vols, who crushed Army 102-54.

On April 5, 2006 Maggie collapsed and subsequently died of cardiac arrhythmia. An autopsy revealed that she had an enlarged heart. She was about a month shy of her 29th birthday. Maggie was buried in the cemetery at West Point, a place where many of the nation's military heroes are laid to rest.

The first MAGGIE DIXON CLASSIC was held at West Point on November 12, 2006, featuring a women's game Army - Ohio State, and a men's game, Western Michigan- Pitt (coached by Maggie's brother Jamie). The following year the classic was moved to Madison Square Garden. This year's classic featured Boston College-Baylor and Tennessee-Rutgers.

The between games tribute was very well done, with a short speech by Jamie Dixon and presentation of awards, and of a check for fighting cardiac arrhythmia to the Cardiac Arrhythmias Research and Education Foundation (CARE) . Jamie Dixon told the crowd that Maggie always wanted to play in a game at MSG, and this was the way she could do so in spirit. Additionally, former Army women's basketball player and and Afghanistan War veteran Lt. Col Kim Kawamoto and Rutgers women's basketball coach C. Vivian Stringer were awarded the inaugural MAGGIE DIXON COURAGE AWARDS in the between games ceremony.


(4) As for the games of yesterday's Classic....to borrow a line from Jon Landau..."I have seen the future of women's basketball and her name is Brittney Griner". To call Griner a phenom is like calling Joe Louis a pretty good boxer. I've seen hundreds of women's basketball games in my life, both on TV and in person. I don't believe I've seen any player at this stage of her career (a true freshman) have such a presence on the court. She's 6'8" tall, can dunk, and has a wingspan unlike any I have ever seen on a female player. She is averaging 17 points a game with 8.2 rebounds. But the stat that tells the story- Griner has 50 blocked shots in nine games. That's a career for most players.

With that height she'll score big on anyone, but on the defensive side of the ball she changes the way you play the game against Baylor- she'll make you alter your shots by taking away the inside and daring you to win by shooting from the perimeter.

Yesterday in Baylor's 68-55 win over BC Griner had 25 points, and didn't seem to even break a sweat. I don't think I've ever been more impressed after seeing a player for the first time. We've been told in the past that Diana Taurasi or Candace Parker or "insert another name" would change women's basketball. They advanced it, but didn't alter it. Brittney Griner may do for women's basketball what George Mikan did for the men's game back in the day.

In the second game, Rutgers' Brittany Ray had 29 points to lead all scorers, but it wasn't enough as the Scarlet Knights fell to the Tennessee Lady Vols 68-54 . RU fell back early on to trail 21-7 but stormed back to make it 40-39 at the 13:17 mark of the second half. The crowd was into it, the Rutgers faithful were loud and screaming...and then the Vols held Rutgers scoreless for the next five minutes while they built a 45-39 lead they never relinquished.

Truth be told, this game was lost at the fouls line. Tennessee was 26 of 33 for 79%; Rutgers was 7-13 for only 54%. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that if you go to the line 20 more times than your opponent you should be able to win. Rutgers kept sending them to the line, the Vols made their shots...and in the few trips the Scarlet Knights made to the line they didn't capitalize.

Truth be told, Part 2....other than Brittany Ray's steady play and the emergence of sophomore Chelsey Lee as an inside presence, and the contributions freshman Monique Oliver coming off the bench, the other seven members of the 2009-10 Scarlet Knights have been consistent in their inconsistency. They have to get the ship righted, and ASAP....Coach Stringer has ways of motivating players which could be seen relatively soon, just in time for Christmas.

(5) I have to hand it to the fans of the Tennessee Lady Vols. There were several thousand of them in Madison Square Garden yesterday. Few teams have a fan base that travels as well as they do. And they really are easy to spot- a hoard of people dressed in orange walking around New York City at Christmas time.

And the bright orange regalia does make it easy for the cops to readily identify jaywalkers.

(6) AMEN!!! No jury duty! I checked out the website and I don't have to report. I didn't need that stress anyway. I'll create my own when I set up the Christmas tree tomorrow.

(7) No mas! I have nothing else to contribute.

And that's the truth....see you again on Wednesday.

Sandra's Angel Reflects Her Vocation

I was folding clothes at the laundromat yesterday afternoon, bemoaning the fact that it appeared as if another weekend would pass without a new tattoo photo, when I caught a glimpse of some ink on the back of the neck of a fellow laundry-doer.

When I asked Sandra if she would share her tattoo with us here on Tattoosday, she kindly obliged:


Sandra said that she originally saw a variation of this design online, but added the "S" for her name. She likes that this design looks, from a distance, like a caduceus, an ancient symbol that is often associated with the medical profession:

Sandra is a nurse in an Intensive Care Unit in a hospital ward that specilizes in treating patients with bone marrow and other forms of cancer. The letter S symbolizes her name and reflects her commitment to her profession.

This was tattooed by an artist named Mike, who works out of his home in Brooklyn.

Thanks to Sandra for sharing her tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Christmas Playlist; "Pour Me Another Glass of Good Cheer!"

Readers of this blog might be surprised to hear the "sounds of the seasons" on these pages during the holidays. I was thinking about doing something to spice the old bloggeroonie up....and then I heard Zooey Deschanel and Leon Redbone's version of BABY ITS COLD OUTSIDE, and it was a go. Besides, I never miss an opportunity to post a picture or two of beautiful women on this blog, and talk about their talents- it creates traffic here, and keeps me from going nuts talking about the lunacy of politics all of the time.

Christmas wouldn't be the same without the Beach Boys singing LITTLE ST. NICK. And being a Jersey Guy we have to include at least one Bruce and one Bon Jovi Christmas song. BB King and Aaron Neville are on the list because they are who they are....Brian Setzer and his Orchestra because they are soooooo cool. Sarah McLachlan and Joni Mitchell are listed because they're so talented, and Jack Johnson for being so inventive...its almost like hearing RUDOLPH THE RED NOSED REINDEER as interpreted by a man pretending to be Ella Fitzgerald.

Ray Stevens is on the list because his song touches my "Inner Grinch"....and of course, we have a "Message from the King"....thank you, thank you very much.

That's all for now....another icicle light blew out in front of the house. Wish me luck....crikey!!!! Its colder than a witch's (CENSORED!) out there!

(To start a free playlist on your blog or website, go to Playlist.com and search for some tunes.)

Late Addition!!! I almost forgot- tonight begins the first night of Hannkkah. So sing it, Adam Sandler!

A Mindful Rant; Brian Kelly To Notre Dame- And It Ain't Right

I'll get this part done with before the reader moves on- I'm no Notre Dame fan. I don't like the special handling they get from the public, the media, and the college football establishment. In my eyes, in the 21st century they're similar to Old World aristocracy living off of the glory of those who came before them, won in battles- in some cases- generations ago.

The bottom line is excepting their history they are no better nor worse than most of the college football programs in America. And that includes the way they hired their new head football coach, Brian Kelly, who until less than 24 hours ago, was the head man at the University of Cincinnati.

It was the worst kept secret this side of Sarah Palin's political aspirations for 2012- Charlie Weis needed to win at least nine or ten games at Notre Dame this year and get to a desirable (read BCS) bowl game or he was out at Notre Dame. And the man most in the free world thought would be his targeted replacement was Brian Kelly. Kelly won Big East Coach of the Year in each of his three seasons at UC, compiling a 34-6 record and back to back Big East championships. This year the Cincinnati Bearcats are 12-0, ranked #4 in the AP and #2 in the BCS- and think about this; as Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic brought up in their ESPN show this morning- if at the end of the Big Twelve Championship Game the one second was not restored to give Texas a chance to kick a game winning field goal against Nebraska, then Cincinnati would be playing Alabama for a National Championship- and Brian Kelly may not be Notre Dame's coach as we speak.

But instead, UC will meet the Florida Gators in the Sugar Bowl with offensive co-ordinator Jeff Quinn coaching Kelly's former team.

Even as late as last night, when Kelly won the HOME DEPOT NATIONAL COACH OF THE YEAR award, Kelly remained mum on the situation. See his interview below with ESPN's Chris Fowler.



Kelly's departure prior to the biggest game in UC's history is the way college football coaching hirers are done. Its the nature of the business, and it is the business they have chosen. Its the way Rich Rodriguez left West Virginia for the Michigan job two years ago, weeks before WVU's BCS bowl game. Other coaches have done it that way- you do it in order to keep recruiting in tact and hit the floor running. Its The System.

And The System stinks. And it needs to be overhauled.


Loyalty....honor...."we are family". Keep preaching it. But its all so very hollow. Brian Kelly insisted to his players at Cincinnati that its all rumors, and indicated to them he would be at UC for the immediate future, even while he was meeting with Notre Dame officials about taking over that program.

Kelly waited until the conclusion of the Cincinnati awards banquet to tell his players he was leaving. Understandably, his players at UC were hurt and upset.

Wide receiver Mardy Gilyard......

"He went for the money.I'm fairly disgusted with the situation, that they let it last this long."

Tight end Ben Guidugli.....

"We already knew what he was going to say. We weren't giving him a round of applause or anything. It's like somebody turned their back on us. We brought this whole thing this far. We've come this far. To have someone walk out now is disappointing."

Quarterback Tony Pike....

"The Tuesday when we were practicing for Pittsburgh, he said he loves it here and he loves this team and loves coaching here and his family loves it here.

Yeah, three cheers for the Fighting Irish. But what about the Cincinnati players who fought so hard to take a program that nobody cared about and give it national attention? What about the fans who filled tiny Nippert Stadium and made the emotional investment with the team in this dream season, and who bought out their allotment of Sugar Bowl tickets? What about the dreams those fans had about the possibility of doing at Cincinnati what had been done at Miami, Florida State, and Virginia Tech, all at one time under the radar programs who with the right coach and circumstances became special?

The UC players and fans have a right to be angry....I'm not one of them, but I can sense the feelings of betrayal they must have.

Honesty and integrity are demanded by all football coaches on the college level- except when it has to be reciprocated back to the players in situations like this. And as stated before, its not just Brian Kelly who was less than forthcoming with his players. Its the way business is conducted in the NCAA involving the student athletes and the men who are charged with them. If anything, the young players at the University of Cincinnati have learned a very harsh life lesson- its not very fair. And the bottom line is, the only people you should be depending on for any kind of long term loyalty should be your immediate family....or barring that, buy a dog.

There should be a rule change in NCAA hirings- a coach may not be contacted unless the team he is currently coaching has completed its season. It may not be a perfect solution, but at least it would be a way to coerce college coaches practice the honesty and integrity they demand of their players, but sometimes do not practice themselves.

(In writing this entry I used ESPN.com and The Star-Ledger as my primary sources).

Postscript- @ 3:30PM Friday December 11- I just listened to portions of Brian Kelly's introduction as Notre Dame's new head coach on the radio. Now I can approximate what Arthur of the Britons probably said when he pulled Excalibur from the stone.