TLC Tattoo School....my jaw is still on the ground.

 And my blood pressure is still simmering.  BEYOND unethical, unsafe and wrong.    

I really hoped this show would never see the light of day after the massive boycott of artists and collectors speaking out.   I couldn't help but be curious.  Now that I've seen it, I wish I could scrub my eyes and brain with steel wool and lysol to make the disturbing images go away.  Someone, please, make it stop.

Day-dreamy kids, and all others out there with a burning desire to do tattoos, don't fall for what you see and hear about being able to become a skilled professional tattooer in the span of 2 weeks -- or even a month.  Don't look at having a side job of scratching out of your basement or garage as being a proud, healthy, acceptable option -- for your customer as well as yourself.  Becoming an apprentice is the first crucial step towards the journey of being a responsible, rock-solid, professional tattoo artist.  And being RESPONSIBLE is always the major part of the equation.  YOU are responsible for the quality of art being etched into the person who just paid you for your abilities.  YOU are responsible for knowing needle depths and how not to work someone's skin into hamburger (especially if they are anxious or a first-timer or happen to have darker skintones).  YOU are responsible for being able to assess what images, colors, shading, etc. will work on the skin of your customer and having the ethics and honesty to work with your customer to create a piece that they'll be really satisfied with.  I'm still in shock over what I just saw in the first episode of that show.  Still wish a had that steel wool and some lysol.  I swear, I keep thinking that what I saw was like looking down at a toddler, as you stand watching a busy street of traffic, and you let go of their hand, ordering them to walk across the busy street on their own....with the absurd expectation that they'll, of course, be able to access some common sense and intuition as they face the gauntlet of cars.  And of course this toddler's pudgy little legs have only JUST gotten used to the terrain of their house and have never crossed ANY street in their young life.  Oh, yeah...Jiffy-Pop "Tattoo Schools" make so much sense.  I still think some of the folks helming these things have stock in tattoo removal tech or maybe even have a removal office tucked away somewhere on the side.  

ARRRRGh!!  Okay...here's a bit of right-on levity poking fun at this insanity.  I love the guy doing the camera.  The moment with the potato chip and the phone are especially funny.

It's that time of year again.....Manhattanhenge!!!!!!

Another thing I dearly miss about NYC.  This really is an awesome event.  For as much as we know and love NYC for the concrete canyons and frenetic pace....it's a beautiful, centering thing to stop and watch the skies for a while amidst all the honking taxis. 

**Check out this link on this year's event:

http://newyork.untappedcities.com/2012/05/28/2012-manhattanhenge-returns-this-week/

 **And here is one of my favorite astrophysicists and all-around brilliant megaminds -- Neil deGrasse Tyson:

 

So...if you're in town, pick up a bite from Katz's, or a nice cold egg cream...take a break and watch the skies for a while.

Once upon a time...in 1949....

Once upon a time...on May 28th, 1949...an incredible woman entered this sick, sad world.

Fierce.  Creative.  Brave.  Intelligent.  Beautiful.  Strong.

Wendy O. Williams followed her own drummer.  She didn't whore herself out to fads, fashion designers or cola commercials.  She had many troubles and dark times...but she also had many triumphs and light in her short life.  She dared to speak up about major labels and the bullshit cookie-cutter images women singers were often forced to shimmy into for the sake of hitting it big. 

I remember this Tom Snyder show like it was yesterday.  It was the first glimmer my mom had about the real boundaries  and artistic edges punk rock was pushing.  The infamous Quincy episode, not-so-much.  I still remember us both squinting at the screen and realizing that super cool car was a Nova.  She said, "Oh my god, Kam...that's a Nova, like our car! (ours was bright white).  What is she going to do to it???  I remember smiling and saying "just watch, mom...just watch."

   

***And don't forget the final big-bang with that rad Nova in Part2 of this interview! http://youtu.be/-Hha6TH2R7w

Happy Harvey Milk Day......

You gotta have hope. 

Never forget...we're ALL a part of the "US".  What are YOU doing on Harvey Milk Day? 

   

Couldn't resist posting this one, too....

Seriously, one of my absolute favorite Ramones songs.  Somewhere...in the great beyond of piles of old 80's photos at the bottom of some junk drawer, there's a pic of me and a couple friends standing next to Gem Spa on 2nd Ave and St. Mark's pointing upwards to the 2nd Ave sign with chicken vindaloo take-out in our happy hands.   Man....now I'm craving an egg cream.  Mmmmmm....egg creeeeeeam.
 

Happy B-day, Joey x0x0x0x

I remember watching this scene and sitting in the back of the theatre with my friend Angie and my first real boyfriend of my early teen years.  I still remember him getting up and pretending to be Joey while he sang this song to me in the aisle.  People thought we were nuts and kept "shushing" us all.  But it was so much fun. We went to see Rock and Roll High School over and over and over when it first came out.  Dee Dee was too adorable in the shower, but Joey took the cake for me.  He was a sweet soul.  We'll always want you around  x0x0x

Beautiful raven outside my window....

Woke up today and there she/he was.  Sitting peacefully right outside my window.  Feathers shining.  Eyes shining.  And then she/he spoke. 

Messages from loved ones in the beyond?
Wisdom for these troubled times?
Or maybe just calling out to friends nearby?

So beautiful.  
The raven really is my favorite bird.  My mom used to tell me it wasn't right that so many people regarded it as an evil creature or an unlucky sign.  She did say that sometimes they were tricksters...powerful spirits....Sometimes they had messages to pass on....And whenever you see one close by always take time to notice it and be mindful of what's happening in your life -- especially if you're missing a lost  loved one.

Happy 100th Birthday, Studs x0x0x

Very few things make me truly proud to say I have Chicago roots.  Studs Terkel is at the top of the list.  I still have great memories of listening to him on Chicago's NPR station dispensing the wisdom our nation and ailing world still desperately need to hear -- and seeing him smile as we rode the buses near LSD (Lake Shore Drive).  If you're in Chicago in May and June, check out some of the planned events to celebrate Studs' 100th and remind yourself that each and every one of us is capable of making big ripples towards change in this world.  And if you get a chance, stop by Bughouse Square and do a shout for me.


**Click this link for info on the celebrations happening in May and June:
http://studsterkelcentenary.wordpress.com/

Studs and Mike Royko

At the mic

At Bughouse Square in 1989

That great red gingham shirt!

On the bus

Big Shoulders -- the Hancock and Sears Tower had nothing on him

President Obama steps up.....please, please, please let this not be a campaign move.

I woke up today from a lucid dream about one of my dear friends who lost his life to AIDS in the early years of the epidemic.  In the years where people were still terrified of breathing the air near a victim let alone dare kiss them on the cheek or lips.  In the years where many people proudly proclaimed that the AIDS plague was "God's way" of getting rid of gays. I still remember a day when I went to visit my friend Marco and one of the nurses looked at me like I was crazy when I kissed his cheeks and shared strawberry ice cream with him.  She later pulled me aside and sternly said, "you shouldn't do that, y'know -- you can't be too careful".  I remember looking dead into her eyes and said, "try and stop me."  I had no respect for her whatsoever because of the language I overheard her use as she groused with her co-workers, saying "I'm sick of looking at these damn fags."  I reported her, but nothing ever came of it.  That was 1986.  I'd like to think that it would be a very different story today. Some things change...and some things stay the same.


One thing that has remained a bitter constant over all of these years is the way my LGBTQIA friends' partners and spouses have been treated in many hospital settings, especially when visiting their very ill partners and spouses.  So many shut out with no rights and treated horribly...by the staff AND the other family members.  I still think of Marco's boyfriend and the hell he went through trying to be near him in the hospital.  And the chaotic insanity that ensued after his death was beyond heartbreaking. They had been together for 15 years.  Through good times and bad...health and sickness...low wages and improving incomes...stumbles and successes -- just like any married couple. I've been struck with so many emotions since watching the president's statements about supporting same sex marriage.  I want to dance in the streets and scream from the rooftops about this advanced step towards true equality and civil rights for ALL...finally being said by an American president.  But it makes me nauseous to even have a hint of questioning motives and timing running through my mind.  And then there's his troubling distance about this being a "states rights issue" rather than an issue worthy of being boldly defined by the federal government?  Please, let this not be a wedge issue being used for gleaning LGBTQIA voters in the impending campaign pandemonium with Romney.  Please, let this truly be a sincere, monumental push towards absolute equality and civil rights.  I want to believe that this is more than just a campaign move.  I really, really do.  I've been thinking of Marco so much over the past couple days.  I keep hearing his voice in my head and one of his favorite, ringing phrases he probably would be tossing out if he was still alive today -- "Honey-luv...I'll believe it when I see it."

Click below for a segment on Democracy Now touching on President Obama's bold words this week:

Playwright Tony Kushner Hails Obama's Support for Same-Sex Marriage: "I Felt the Earth Move"

SuuuuperMOOOOOON!!!!!!

It's been such a screwy week.  I need to put it all behind me.  There's a nice cool breeze blowing in my windows....I turned off all of the lights and I'm ready to rest on my bed and watch the south-eastern night sky above my apartment.  There's a beautiful, bright glow hidden behind one of the high apartments nearby.  The minutes tick by and I'm hoping the fog won't roll in and block it from emerging into view. 

One of the major reasons I took this apartment was for the southern view in my windows.  I love the sun on my face in the morning...and watching the moon at night.  The moon was so beautiful last night, the moonlight filled my room. And tomorrow is a full moon.  I wonder how large this moon will really look tonight if we're lucky to see it out here in San Francisco.   Have you seen it yet where you are??  The Supermoon????   Let's all take a much-needed break from our computers, gadgets and stress.  Let's watch the skies for a while.   

A little more Reggie....

 So brilliant.  Here's to insanity for insanity's sake....

 

Here's a bit of funny to ease through Hump Day....

Reggie Watts is continually evolving into one of the great comedians/artists/musicians of these times.  I see shades of Lenny Bruce, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Captain Beefheart, Frank Zappa, Bill Hicks, George Carlin, Charlie Hill, Richard Pryor and other great minds shaken well with heaping helpings of noise/no-wave and hip-hop.  This is such a funny ode to relationships and the beloved island of New York I love and miss so well (Well....except for the taxi cab drivers who pass me up)

You know how it feels????

So glad the evening is here...and we're one step away from Hump Day.  I've been feeling so off,  it's hard to find the words for how I feel. And then I remembered a brilliant phrase one of my old clients said to me today......

"Kami...my cheese fell off my cracker and I'm too tired to look for it."

We both laughed so hard.  It was so good to see you today, chica. Keep hanging tough and good luck with school.  There's an amazing road ahead for you :o) x0x0x 



And how is YOUR week going???

(Happy May Day, BTW!)