Excellence

This is the type of tattoo that the person wearing it proudly displays. The detail, style and artistry of its creator can be well appreciated.

Girly sleeves, why not?

In our society there is a group of people with a lack of knowledge about the Tattooed Community and they simply can't picture in their minds anything related to tattoos and have a misconception (perhaps they're just intimidated by the aggressiveness) of tattoo enthusiasts and still in 2010 I believe those kind of people have a limited brain when it comes to anything outside the environment they're used to or they simply want people to live.

I've heard people say tattoo don't look good on girls or girls with sleeves don't look feminine at all. It really make me ask myself "what the hell they're thinking?". That proves how full of shit those people are and how ignorant certain group of people can be. I believe they should do some research before they open their mouth and if they don't feel like digging into it to learn one thing or two then they should close their trap. 

This were some examples of ladies with sleeves and yes they do look sexy. What make them different from the typical, boring, ass showing ladies is the art in their bodies which also allow people to be more creative at the time of the photo shoot. This ladies here show Ink and skin, the others just show ass OR simply promote what they sell. If anyone think this girly tattoos looks manly then let's see a man wearing the same tattoo in their bodies.

Kevin's Gravitational Tattoo

I love word tattoos so I couldn't help but stop Kevin at Barnes & Noble earlier this month. He had this tattoo inked on his inner right forearm:

He explained that he enrolled in school not knowing for sure what he wanted to do. He was on a path for a career in finance, but also has a keen interest in art and graphic design.

He says that the tattoo is a reminder that, although gravity is all around us, and pulling us toward the status quo, he should stay true to himself and never give up his interest in art.

He had this done by Betty Rose at Red Rocket Tattoo in Manhattan. Work from Red Rocket has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Thanks to Kevin for sharing his Gravity with us here on Tattoosday!

The Christie Administration's $400,000,000 Clerical Error; "It's Obama's Fault!"

As a practicing Roman Catholic, I was taught that the Pope, in matters of faith, is considered to be infallible....that is, the judgment of the Pontiff is always correct regarding matters of theology.

And as a New Jersey resident, I should feel doubly blessed....for we hath One Among Us, also a Catholic, who in his own mind claims infalliblity as well. He can be found in Trenton, the city that "makes and the world takes"....I knew about pork roll, but I didn't know so much baloney came from Trenton as well.

Harry Truman had a sign on his desk that exclaimed The Buck Stops Here! It's something Republican Governor Chris Christie should have remembered before he started finger pointing, shifting blame, or looking for an underling to throw under the boss when a clerical error by his administration cost New Jersey public schools $400,000,000 in grant money. This is happening at a time when state aid to municipalities has been slashed, several thousands of teachers are being laid off, and classroom and sports programs are discontinued. The State of New Jersey and it's schoolchildren needed that money.

And the Christie Administration let them down.

You've probably heard the story already. The Christie Administration applied for funds under the Race To the Top initiative; New Jersey hoped to get $400 million to aid its ailing schools. On Tuesday the announcement was made that nine states and the District of Columbia would be awarded Race To The Top money. New Jersey came in eleventh, and lost out on the cash.

The application for the grant was specific; it required budgetary data from the years 2008 and 2009. The application delivered to Washington had data for 2010 and 2011. The error in the application cost points in the application, dropping New Jersey to the #11 spot. and no money.

And, in the words of the Star-Ledger Editorial Board, the administration of Christopher James Christie, called by some "the future of the Republican Party" did do the following.....

"It (the error) may have been the most expensive clerical error in the history of mankind."

The full editorial of the Star-Ledger can be found here. And I agree with their statement. The mistake belonged to New Jersey; nine states and the District of Columbia got it right.... and we, the state of New Jersey, did not.

(Click for the August 25, 2010 front page of the Star-Ledger ).

Governor Christie then turned political, and needed to finger someone else. Forget about being a statesman and leader...a screwup like this tarnishes his political present and future.

So Christie needed to fix blame, and said the following.........

"When the president comes back to New Jersey, he's going to have to explain to the people of the state of New Jersey why he's depriving them of $400 million that this application earned because one of his bureaucrats in Washington couldn't pick up the phone and ask a question, couldn't go on the Internet and find information, or wouldn't accept the verbal representation" of the state's education commissioner during a follow-up interview,

What?

Christie's team messes up, and it's the President's fault?

Or let's try the rest of federal government. It seems to work for Boehner, Bachmann, Palin, Gingrich, and company. Here's more from Chris Christie.

""Does anybody in Washington, D.C. have a lick of common sense? Pick up the phone and ask us for the number."

Yes, it was a lot of paperwork, a ridiculous amount.... but the winners did it right. New Jersey didn't. And as the Star-Ledger mentioned in their editorial about Jim Furyk's disqualification from the Barclay's Golf Tournament because he arrived five minutes late.....those are the rules. If New Jersey got a mulligan for it's error, then every state that needed to do corrections to get millions of dollars would be doing so, and that would not only result in chaos, but it would be unfair.

So far Christie hasn't thrown anybody under the bus from his administration, but that could change. Here's an item from newjerseynewsroom.com.

"Gov. Chris Christie's Dog Days of August political nightmare continued Thursday as a new report surfaced that the $400 million federal education funding mistake apparently occurred when the governor nixed an agreement on support of aid application between his education commissioner and the NJEA, a statewide teachers' union."

That's right, they initially had the right figures, and had they submitted the original application, New Jersey could have gotten $400 million. Education Commissioner Bret Schundler worked out a deal with the NJEA and the state. But Governor Christie killed the deal. The application was redone, this time with the wrong information.....and it cost New Jersey $400 million.

There's more to come; the Democratic controlled New Jersey Assembly has said that an investigation is in order....and most New Jersey residents seem to agree.

Update!- Friday August 27 9:00am .....Last night news of a video from the US Department of Education broke. The video, in which representative from New Jersey led by NJ Education Commissioner Bret Schundler, presented the state's application for the Race To The Top grant. The video (from newjersey.com) clearly shows that New Jersey's delegation was asked by federal officials about the absence of the requested figures for 2008 and 2009, required on the application. The New Jersey representatives admitted that they did not have those figures available. The speaker from the US Department of Education asked if New Jersey could provide those figures....they were given a second chance.

On that second chance, New Jersey's delegation again was unable to provide the required data.

See the video below.

Excerpt of N.J.'s Race to the Top interview shows officials with no budget answer

More updated information may be found at nj.com.

As I type this at least two New York television stations, FOX 5 and PIX 11, have tried to contact Governor Christie for a comment on the video, which proves his claim that federal bureaucrats prevented New Jersey the chance to make corrections was totally false.

Christie's claim that the reviewers refused to accept corrections after the June 1 deadline was also not correct. New Jersey's delegation was given two chances to fix the problem, and was not able to do so.

Christie did respond to a question from a New Jersey radio station last night about the video and it's implications. He said he hadn't seen the video yet.

Update! Friday August 27 11:41AM NJ..... Education Commissioner Bret Schundler was fired this morning by Governor Chris Christie after Schundler refused to submit his resignation. Full story at nj.com.

Travis and Another Perspective of Ganesh

People who are familiar with being featured here on Tattoosday know that there is a process, in which I generally go chronologically, and it often can be several weeks before I post their work.

But there are always exceptions.

Take, for example, Travis, who I met on Monday near the corner of 32nd and 8th Avenue waiting for a bus.

Under normal circumstances, you'd have seen Travis's tattoo in September but, the next day, I got the following mysterious tweet: "@Tattoosday post pictures of that guys tattoos- you were talking to him yesterday outside MSG plzz! *stalker*".

What?

Well, a little bit of digging, and I discovered that the source of the message was Hannah, who appeared last month on Tattoosday here. And since I'm a sucker for my fans, I'll gladly oblige and share Travis's tattoo with us here today. Here it is:

Travis's tattoo depicts the Hindu deity Ganesh. However, unlike this Ganesh tattoo, this one has a twist.

Travis explained that one of the common beliefs is that Ganesh was born with a human head, but that he was beheaded as a boy, and his head was replaced with that of an elephant. He obtained a third eye so that he could make sure he was never betrayed again.

Travis says that he often feels "too aware" of others, to the point that it detracts from his enjoyment of life. Thus, his tattoo of Ganesh has him literally slicing off the third eye, wielding a sword with his trunk, which metaphorically translates to Travis "cooling out" and being less aware so that he can enjoy life more.

The "F.I.A." on the banner stand for "Fuck It All".

Travis has eight tattoos, which includes a full sleeve, all by artist Brad Stevens at Dare Devil Tattoo in New York City.

Thanks to Travis for sharing this interesting interpretation of Ganesh with us here on Tattoosday!

Remembering Ted Kennedy; One Year Later

I'd be remiss without mentioning that today is the one year anniversary of the passing of Edward M. Kennedy. Senator Kennedy passed on August 25, 2009.

This afternoon I received the following email from Peter Meade and Lee Fentress, representing the Edward M Kennedy Institute.

One year ago today, our country lost a dear friend, a true patriot, and an irreplaceable public servant. Today, more than ever, we miss Senator Ted Kennedy.

But, as we pause on this anniversary, let us reflect not on the tremendous loss but on the indomitable spirit that lives on -- a spirit that inspires all of us to fulfill his vision of an engaged electorate and legislative branch, with members of both parties working together to make America a more perfect union.

We are lifted up by the Senator's words that gave witness to his own life's experience and called on us to rise to the challenge in our own time: "We are all Americans. This is what we do. We reach the moon. We scale the heights. I know it. I've seen it. I've lived it. And we can do it again."

By his own example, Ted Kennedy showed us that men and women of good will can come together to solve our nation's most difficult problems. No challenge is too great. No problem is too hard. He taught us about extraordinary perseverance and the will to keep coming back -- no matter what.

He didn't question or demonize the motives of his colleagues because he knew they loved their country as much as he did. He reached out to them, created alliances and worked through differences, let others take credit -- just to move the issue forward.

He did this while not compromising on his principles. As President Obama said in his eulogy, "And that's how Ted Kennedy became the greatest legislator of our time. He did it by hewing to principle, but also by seeking compromise and common cause."

Senator Kennedy believed that we could and must learn from the past. He always looked to the future with optimism and unfailing perseverance in the pursuit of equal rights, civil rights, and justice for all.

On this anniversary day -- and in the days to come -- let us look to the future with optimism and unfailing perseverance. Let us learn from the Senator's example and once again, "scale the heights" and become engaged in solving the most difficult problems of today. As Senator Ted Kennedy said, "And we can do it again!"

As we recall the indomitable spirit that lives on, we also think of the Kennedy family and wish them peace and happiness on this day of remembrance.

Regards,

Lee Fentress
Chairman
Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate

Peter Meade
President and CEO
Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate

PS: Please take a moment to share your favorite memories of Senator Kennedy with the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate:

http://www.emkinstitute.org/oneyearmemories

From Useless Trivia and Mindless Rants

(Above, Ted Kennedy (l) with my father; Summer 1980).

Someone knows what the hell this is? Mistakes when getting a Tattoo

Unfortunately there are people who do not learn at all and this is an example of the consequences and the result of the flea market type tattoo or simply followed a recommendation from someone who don't know shit about what means to be an artist and just want to make a bit of money.

 

Maybe the person is so ugly and this is the identical thing or the person who wants to pass as an artist does not know what is doing.