h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I have been considering getting a tattoo. I don´t know much about the prize range though. Someone on here mentioned the prize for her tattoo, and extrapolating that to the people you see in tattoo magazine you´d expect they´d spent 100.000 pound or something on theirs. So I just wanted to know a bit more about it. I am interested in paying what it´s worth, I don´t want a cheap and bad job done, but I would know if it is a possibility without putting mortgage in anything.

Why do you want a tatoo?
They might be rather expensive; but they are even more expensive to remove if that is what needs or wants to be done at a later stage.
Have you thought this through?
What would the tatoo be of, and where would it be?
and, arn't they ment to be really painful to have done?

Well, 2 Legs has already thrown a wet blanket over your latest wacky idea so I don't mind stompin on it a bit myself....

What are ya nuts! Your body is a temple! Don't scrawl graffiti on the temple! Sheeesh!

By the time you're old enough to thank me for this unkind but well meant advise I'll be long dead. It's a maturity issue. But believe me in the long run you don't want it. And you'll be glad you didn't. Trust me.

peace
~jwf~ (a really really old fart with no tattoos)

Exactly::
A few Friends had Tatoos wen I was younger, and as they do at that age, they tried to pursuede me that it was a "good idea" for me to have one too, not a chance,
and I never regretted not having one, but as I know of at least one of these friends who has had his removed, I guess he did regrette it.
Just use the money to buy a new bunch of CDs or something..

Considering what I know of Xanatic from other conversations, this plan to invite the infliction of pain and possible disease while disfiguring the body permanently, is to be discouraged by all means.
Spending the money elsewhere is a very good idea!
May I suggest, impulsively buying some flowers for a lady, or stand a round at your local. Take a train somewhere you've never been before. Buy yourself a moment to remember not regret.
jwf

Good suggestion, I brought some flowers on Saturday s "say it with flowers" but I like the idea of just going somwhere you have never been before, I might do that myself sometime when I get a break from all these H2G2 meet ups which is incidently a great place to go and buy a round of drinks for people

Hey Xanatic... being young and reckless I'll try and present my ideas on the subject.
I'm also thinking of getting one. By no means would I have one off the shop wall- design it yourself or get someone who can draw to do it, if you can't, and you'll have something unique. The design I want I decided upon 5 years ago, and have not changed my mind. Knowing myself (which I do, honest), I rarely change my opinions about something which is personal and important to me, so I'm reasonably sure that I won't end up hating this. I also don't go in for fads. I haven't got piercings because they happen to be alternative and popular, I have them out of personal preference. And I don't want any more, so I'm not in danger of being sucked in to some downward spiral.
So far some weak excuses have been presented: it hurts. Pain is subjective, and I was told navel piercings hurt. No they bloody don't.
It'll go septic- find a place with a good reputation and make sure everything is clean. Piercing places are required to show you the needle in sterile packaging- I would imagine it's as easy to tell if a tattoo parlour is something of a greasy spoon, too.
You won't get a job- I intend to be self-employed, as I am at the moment. People shouldn't be so shallow. That's not PC- I could have this for cultural reasons! And I can always cover it up, stupid.
They fade- keep it out of the sun and don't choose anything too elaborate which will look ghastly. The one I'm getting is not coloured. I don't care that it'll be wrinkly when I'm old. I don't care that I'll have to deal with the horrors of a protruding navel (and ring) during pregnancy, either. So?
They look horrible- subjective again! I've seen some pretty dreadful corsets in my time, too- your point is?
There seems to be a lot of trouble about tattoos/piercings etc. per se, rather than evaluating individual designs and saying 'that's not so bad'. I've seen some which look hideous. There are some which embarrass their owners because they're outdated- bands etc, which is simply bad planning. Personally, I like to be decorated, and I'm an experimentalist... individual taste. Importantly, I do not let anyone tell me what to do- either to do something, or not to. I'll form my own opinions, thank you very much.
But then you can't trust me... because I'm the sort of person who goes about encased in steel on a regular basis, compressing my lower ribs and internal organs.
Obviously lacking in common sense.

Mandra (may I call you Mandra?) has pretty much summed up the case for personal-freedom-of-self-expression. And pretty comprehensively too!

Now all Xanatic has to do is choose between the wisdom of the elders (waves at 2 legs) and the enthusiastic words of a young woman bound in steel bonds, with a septic navel piercing, who wants to get pregnant.
Play your cards right Xan and ya might kill two birds with one stone here.

jwf

(The shortened version of the name is 'Mandrake', being what the plant is more commonly called. But 'Mandra' is quite nice.)
It's not septic! Honest... I just wanted a word for the gunk.
Pregnant? Not yet, sir. I wouldn't be able to go encased if I were. Besides, I'm not nearly grown-up enough yet.

? Like to see yer try!
If you elders did , you'd all start going 'Oooh, me back' etc...
sorry couldn't resist.
Xanatic- some nice friendly girls really go for tattoos, btw.

At the risk of being "away from the norm" i think you should go for it
Just be sure of the people who are doing the tattoo and be sure of what you want tattooed, it will be there for life.
As far as the pain goes, there is none, i have three tattoo's and don't regret any of them.
But i made sure i went to a place with a good reputation and i was sure of what i had chosen for my arm and back.
The people you were refering to in the magazines, would not have got there tattoo's all at once, they enjoy the experience and go back every week to have more added.
You can get a good, safe tattoo for less than $100, with out a great deal of pain
Like i said before i am more than happy with all my tattoo's and think you should go for it as long as you follow these basic steps,
Wayne

probably no help at all... but my sister's cost somewhere over a hundred ($170? I can't remember) for about... 10cm length, 7 width... this is, of course, Australian dollars.

No idea on the cost but make sure you look round any place first. If you want to ask questions, ask them. If you feel unsure about anything say so, if they can't give you a satisfactory explanation, go someplace else. Make sure you feel comfortable with the place and who'd doing the tattoo.
This of course comes from someone who has thought about it many times but never gone through with it!

Go for it Xanaitc,

As mentioned before, the colours of a tattoo will fade in the sun. Black fades the least, so consider a black line tatoo. But before you get it think about what you want and where you want it. You may also consider drawing the design of the tattoo in permanent marker so you can see what it will look like. You may not like it and will want to change the design, easier to do with a marker. Also think about what the design will look like in 50 years, a superman's S on your chest may look good when your young and workout all the time so you have a buff body but will look stupid when your in your 50s and have a pot belly or in your 80s walking around with a cane.

Talk with some people you know that have tattoos, young and old, and get thier thoughts on tattoos.

Good luck,

Mostly Harmless

I like the permanent marker idea. Since you'd be making a long term comittment to a tatoo, how about trying it out for a few months with markers? You can recolor them when they fade. And that'll allow you a better opinion as to whether it's something you really want to keep, or whether it's a temporary whim.

Dude.....
You are not ready for a tatoo....
First of all, get a tatoo, is not a question of prize.
you act like: more money i have, best car i can buy !
This is not a good philosophie to get a tatoo.....
A tatoo is something you think about for years, and since the first moment, you know exactelly what design you want.
Get a tatoo, is a way to express yourself, show your inside or get a mark from an event in your life.

People who get tatoos cause they want to do the same as a friend or just to send the message: <>.
Huuuuuuuum, bad philosophie, i can't imagine you at 80 years old with a large Dragon on your back.
If your first idea was : how much cost me a tatoo ? .huuuuummmmm i think, forget it....

Second thing i like to say : Tatoos are Art ! Something really beautiful to look at, it's a feeling...

I don't understand fake tatoos ?? Why ?? so, you just want to send the message like i told you ? << dude, look at me, i am cool ! >>....
Oh well, it's my idea of the thing.
A tatoo is more of the time hide, only close person, i mean friend or family can see it.
Get a tatoo to show it in the bars will show exactelly who are you. think about it.

Well, i hope you can get informations in my answer.
See you.

Dude.....
You are not ready for a tatoo....
First of all, get a tatoo, is not a question of prize.
you act like: more money i have, best car i can buy !
This is not a good philosophie to get a tatoo.....
A tatoo is something you think about for years, and since the first moment, you know exactelly what design you want.
Get a tatoo, is a way to express yourself, show your inside or get a mark from an event in your life.

People who get tatoos cause they want to do the same as a friend or just to send the message: <>.
Huuuuuuuum, bad philosophie, i can't imagine you at 80 years old with a large Dragon on your back.
If your first idea was : how much cost me a tatoo ? .huuuuummmmm i think, forget it....

Second thing i like to say : Tatoos are Art ! Something really beautiful to look at, it's a feeling...

I don't understand fake tatoos ?? Why ?? so, you just want to send the message like i told you ? << dude, look at me, i am cool ! >>....
Oh well, it's my idea of the thing.
A tatoo is more of the time hide, only close person, i mean friend or family can see it.
Get a tatoo to show it in the bars will show exactelly who are you. think about it.

Well, i hope you can get informations in my answer.
See you.

I see 2 possibilities for tatoos:

1. The kind that En Souvenir du Passe talks about. this Tatoo is a part of you and will probably stay on you for the rest of your life. Also, it will probably be followed by at least one more later in your life. This isn't the kind of tatoo you seem to be going to get.

2. An orniment, that is under your skin and permenent. It is OK for some people, that see it as something to wear without having to wear it , It seems like this is what youre going for.

I say, think it through, these kind of tatoos are verry often removed later in life, and it cost a hell of a whole lot more then 100 pounds to get it off, plus it hurts, plust it usually leave some mark behind.

Think it through! It's not that you shouldn't do it, just that you really have to decide you want one For real, and ForEVER.

3. I know I said 2, but there are gang tatoos and other kinds, also in other cultures... like ones that make a grown man or warrior... I guess these aren't the kind your aiming for


Dancer

Just to get back to the root of the Mandrake here for harf a mo...
is not like a yoga it's more like a Yoda.


It's not so much a question of martial arts exercises, or breathing techniques, as it is a question of mindset and soulsearching and mental energy. It's more mental/spiritual than physical.
"Zen is when" someone said (a long time ago), and that remains as fair a definition as I've ever heard.


Oooooh my aching back!
peace
~jwf~

Hmm, seems some people here think I am stupid enough to get it in a shop where rats are crawling around on the instruments. I feel a bit insulted by that.

As for the other things, it isn´t something I plan on rushing into. I am not simply going to go out and find the first the best place right after having read the thread. I expect it will be another year before I get it, and I have already been thinking about it for around that time. So I should have some time to change my mind.

As for pain, I know it hurts but I think I can handle it. If not there is always anesthesia. Though I do think that would take away a bit of the idea. I have tried being drilled at the dentist a few times without anaesthesia, which according to my dentist a lot of people can´t handle.

I also think tattoos is an artform. I also think Mona Lisa is art, but I would still be forced to look at the price before buying it. But I am not adjusting the motive to fit the prize.

Go for it Xanatic, you are not stupid, and you are not being stupid, either.

The only reason I don't have a tattoo is that I promised my ex that I wouldn't get one. Now he is my ex, that promise is void, but I am less passionate about getting one. (I am 'older' already, so I am into the 'how will it look phase'. Damn ex!)

And in some ways I regret *not* having it because if I already had it I wouldn't regret it...I am beginning to feel inspired about this...

I think that most tattoos look great, as do most piercings, and almost all scarification. It is easy for people to over-do them, though and then they look tacky. Also - with piercings in particular - it depends so much on how the person already looks. Bad piercings tend to look bad because the shape of the face is wrong for the place that has been pierced.

Unfortunately you *do* have to pay attention to what kind of place you hope to work in. Context is still important for human beings, and piercings, tatoos and scarification are less acceptable in a formal business or corporate environment than they are in other walks of life. And as a friend said to me about my dad "just what kind of clergyman is it who has a tatoo?"

You are thinking about it carefully, and you are unlikely to make a mistake.

***B