Only In A...

Man, oh man, oh man...
I want one of these.

Please?

Dear Santa...

Ya Think?

It seems they are now making oral hygiene products specifically for people like me...

A Sunday Ink Link

This past Saturday I was perusing the the blogs I am want to read on a regular basis and I saw something familiar... Too familiar... "Saturday Ink" over at the esteemed Blog d'Elisson.

"Saturday Ink", I thought to myself, "Surely I'm seeing things."

In fact I was not seeing things, at least not things that weren't actually there. No, the intrepid Elisson himself captured a photo of some really beautiful skin art whilst on safari in another state (of the union, can't speak for his state of mind).

Elisson started his blog a year before I started mine, and he was the influence that started me down the path to the 100 word stories. The fact that I was in any way responsible for this makes me very happy.

I've been meaning to ask him if SWMBO was nearby when he decided to snap this shot... Hmmmm...

Sunday Ink #43

Sorry for the delay... Work has been insane and I've not been paying attention to my Sunday Ink studies... That being said, meet "K" a little blonde slip of a thing, I saw a glimps of her tattoo in the space between her oh so short cutoffs and her t-shirt. I asked her if she wanted to be a Sunday Ink girl and she said yes without missing a beat... Welcome to the show, babe.

Sunday Ink #42

This is "M"... She's an absolute cutie and a sweetheart of a waitress at one of the Irish pubs on 6th street here in Austin. This is a fresh pic... In fact I was late posting today because I only took this picture last night around 10 pm. I really like the combination of the triquetra and the shamrock and the shading is really nice. Sometimes the smallest ones can be the most beautiful.

When In Rome, A 100 Word Story

It’s 2009 by the Julian calendar and the Roman Empire is complete. Well maintained roads circle all the known earth and pax romana is kept by the legions.
We were settling in to watch the weekly gladiator bouts on our telescreens when there was a news announcement. Caeser and Emperor Agustus Arelius had died of a massive coronary and left no heir.
Luckily the corporation Pomum had created a database of the greatest emperors' words and thoughts over the last twenty centuries.
With a new user friendly touch screen interface they have introduced the latest in world rule…
The iClaudius.

Four On The Floor

Four years I've been doing this. I've thought about quitting a few times. That's probably not going to happen. I'd do this even if I had no readers... Which in and of itself is questionable these days.
All I have to say is, "If you're still here, Thank you... You've been a wonderful audience."

Sunday Ink # 41

I was sitting at the Key Bar on 6th street on a hot Sunday afternoon, quaffing Guinness in copious amounts, this young lady, "L", came in and sat very near me. A beautiful girl with a few other beautiful girls, she had both arms all sewn up. I knew I had to make her a Sunday Ink girl. Then the woman sitting next to me said, "You have to get her legs." Holy Mother of God. What a set of stems, and the artwork is outstanding.

So... Top picture is great art. May be a story, I don't know.

Middle picture (The long shapely leg...), tells a story. The woman has stolen the pearl of life from the dragon king and in the end kills heself and hides it within her own body to protect it from him to save the world.

Bottom picture (her back) is sanscrit for all a woman is... Top to bottom Mother, daughter, sister, lover, goddess.

The more I saw, the more I wanted to see... And this is just a fraction.

Beautiful women. Beautiful Ink. Beautiful day.

Off Putting

Top 10 reasons I procrastinate:

1.

Indian Burn, A 100 Word Infomercial

Up in the Dakotas there is a fine culinary school. Rivaling any cordon bleu school in the world, it focuses on Native American cooking. Using only native plants and animals, they will teach you to prepare mouth watering dishes varying from braised bison with black walnut dusting to flank of bighorn sheep with field mint.
These trusted techniques are ancient and unusual, using tools of bone and antler to prepare and cooking directly over an open fire pit. It’s a hard course… But it’s the only place on the planet where you can become a true to life Sioux chef.

Sunday Ink #40

Let's have a warm welcome for "J"... She's one of the beautiful bar babes from one of the outside deck bars on west 6th Street in beautiful downtown ATX. I find it extremely amusing that although her art is a dichotomy on each side of her stunning body, when put together its spells out what most beautiful women are... Pure Evil.

Dog Tired

Jack in a very unnatural state... Asleep after 36
straight hours of playing and running around.

It's been awhile since I've given you any kind of update on my life. I really don't have a lot to tell right now. Work too much. Drink more than I should. Eat out a lot. That's about it for me.

Jack, on the other hand has come such a long way. He's becoming a really good dog. We still have work to do, but what a vast improvement over the psycho dingo I brought home.

He's still a shadow dog. Always at my side. If I get out of bed for a glass of water, he does the same. I go to the bathroom, he lays in the doorway. That will never change. I suppose that's OK. I'm getting used to it, and I don't trip over him like I used to. I have a Jack radar that alerts me if he's standing right behind me.

He's grasped the concept that "sit" means sit and stay sitting rather than sit, bounce up. Down... Not so much. He "high five"s like a champ. (We don't do shake, too pedestrian). Roll over... Maybe if he gets hit by a big truck. Maybe.

We are having a stand off with fetch. He loves the game, but short drops the ball, trying to make me walk to it. Nuh-uh. We are both hard headed as Hell, so it's a battle of the wills now. He's losing, but slowly. Very slowly. A friend of mine gave me a kong frisbee that Jack loved and did well with. (He'll be a good frisbee dog some day) but I threw it in the lake for Jack to fetch... Kong frisbees don't float. Jack stayed mad the rest of the afternoon. I'll have to buy another one soon.

He rides in the Jeep untethered, and will stay put unless I open the back door for him. I can go in the grocery store for 30 mins or more and he's right there waiting when I come out.

We still walk and run 7.5 miles a few times a week, and he still sleddogs a little, but not like he used to.

At the end of a long day when I drag my weary body into my big king size bed, it's comforting that I'm not alone. I have 45lbs of blue unadulterated loyalty and love.

EPT Phone Home

So... There I was at the Dollar Tree... You know, one of those "everything's a buck" stores... Standing in the checkout line... Perusing the impulse items... Batteries, gum, chapstick, pregnancy test...

Pregnancy test????

If you are hinging your entire foreseeable future on a one dollar pregnancy test from the Dollar Tree, I hope to God it's negative, because you really don't need to be breeding.

The New Communist Par-Tay

I'm fed up and tired. I'm convinced that the people representing the conservatives in this country are a bunch of spineless, weak-willed bootlickers. I'm damn glad I'm independent and not a Republican... Bunch of two-faced backstabbers.

God damnit, this country fought not one, but TWO rebellions to be a free capitalist country. Granted the second one failed in 1865, but we made a strong point.

After that we fought in two GLOBAL conflicts, the second one only 65 years ago and it specifically against the evils that a socialist government can inflict.

We have sent troops around the world fighting communism and protecting democracy... Two Asian countries come to mind almost immediately.

And yet...

And yet...

Then it came to me... The systematic destruction of the American psyche...

The dumbing down of the American educational system... We're all familiar with it, so I won't go into it here, but Base curriculum like basic math skills and grammar (I won't mention spelling because I am so notoriously bad at it) have gone to Hell while promoting good feelings has gone to the front of the class.

You want to know what will make you feel good? Having the skills to earn a damn living after you get out of school.

It seems now most schools spend most of the year preparing the students to take standardized tests, the TAKS test being notorious here in Tejas.

I have friends who are educators and I have nothing but the deepest respect for them (Mr and Mrs Doc), and yet I meet teachers and college professors here in Austin that I wouldn't trust to proof read my 100 word stories or add up my tab at the local bar. What the Hell happened?

Then you have the labor unions. Maybe, and I do mean maybe they had their place in the past to protect unskilled laborers, but now they are nothing but money sucking promoters of poor work ethic. More money for less work. What happened to the way it should be. More money for more work. Work hard. Learn a skill. Do a good job. Get paid more. That too capitalist for you? That's how I came up the ladder. Do more, get more. Period.

You know why these unions fight so hard for more for the workers? It's so they can raise the union dues and get more for themselves.

It's no shock to me, nor should it be to any rational human being why non union foreign owned car manufacturers can make better products for less... and avoid being bailed out... and going bankrupt.

Side note... How many of you out there know that the US Government owns stock (unconstitutionally, I might add) in over 500 companies? Hmmm?

The last thing I'll mention today is the destruction of the competitive spirit in this country. We were a nation of fighters. Now we have youth leagues and teams who don't keep score. Classes where everyone gets a gold star. everyone is equal. There are no winners and there are no... Nope. I won't finish that sentence... Because if we keep this up, everyone loses. Everyone.

Overheard At The Key Bar

Me: ...I've got a tattoo of a celtic dog on my shoulder... (rolling up my sleeve) Here.

Pretty Blonde: (looking me up and down) You run don't you?

Me: (nodding self confidently) Yes... Yes I do.

Pretty Blonde: (pointing at my arm) Yeah, you have tan lines from wearing your iPod.

Sunday Ink # 39

Another dog park beauty, and yet another "M". I noticed ink on her lower back as she was picking up the ball for her dog. I couldn't get a picture of that due to the scale of the ink... It went a little low on her body and we were in public... What I did not see was this wonderful Vargas pin up girl on her thigh. Wow. Very nice.

Hey, Bou... Maybe Ringo would like this one. Wooo!

Tied To The (Whipping) Post

As I am out and about doing things (drinking, dog park), I keep my eye out for pretty girls with body art. Sometimes I use that approach just to meet pretty girls... Sometimes it's actually all about the ink. My Introduction usually starts the same way... "What's your ink?"

It's an innocent enough inquiry to put them off guard, and we can talk for a while before I try to get them to let me take a picture or two... Especially if said picture involves adjusting or removing clothing.

I've taken over 40 pictures so far, and only been turned down 2 maybe 3 times, so I feel like my approach is a good one.

I explain that I don't show faces. I don't use real names (Hell, I don't even use my real name, much less the name of an innocent). I'm pretty much ungooglable. Even if you happen to know my real full name, it's like I don't exist, so I try to keep my Sunday Ink Girls ungooglable as well.

Then I tell them "I have a web page, or a blog. I don't write on Sundays, so I use Tattoo pictures as filler."

It seems I don't write through the week anymore either. It's been a month and a half since I posted anything but pictures... and a short piece about the statistics of the pictures.

Some of you out there think the Ink pictures are creepy... Or that I'm creepy for approaching women that way.

Fine. I'm sorry you feel thus. I enjoy it, and I get to talk to a lot of pretty girls. I'm still gonna continue with it.

Some of you like them, even if it's a morbid type of curiosity (Bou) or a lusty man thing (walrilla).

A lot of the bloggers I know and read have taken a hiatus or sabbatical in the last year or two. Some never came back. Some actually announced their retirement.

I've been here for four years come July. Four long years. I may be just phoning it in right now, but damn it, I'm still here.

Lot of changes to my life in that time. I'm hardly the same human being anymore. I gained a lot of wonderful things... I had some of those things ripped away from me.

Just in the last year I lost 50lbs. That's half a human being. In that same year I very nearly lost my job. Not to mention bringing Jack (crazy blue dingo) into my home as a member of my family.

In the four years of writing I have been abandoned by my political party, and watched the country that I love dearly take the tenants that made it strong for 200 years and abandon them in less than 200 days.

You would think that all would be blog fodder, but I just feel overwhelmed and tired.

I have started a lot of posts only to delete them as inferior or rambling (like this one is).

My 100 word muse seems to be on vacation at the moment.

I set up the Sunday Ink pieces to autopost every Sunday, sometimes up to a month in advance. I told a few of my friends that if I die, most people won't realize for several weeks until the pictures stop coming.

So, to those people I say, "As of 12:30 June 13th, 2009... I'm not dead yet."

When the words come back to me, I'll forward them to you. Maybe this is the start of that.

If not, try to enjoy the pictures.

Sunday Ink #38

Beautiful women abound in this city... Beautiful women with tattoos especially. Another dog park find. Meet "S". She was down by the water with a cute boxer puppy . There was alot going on with this girl, and a lot going on in her ink. Every week I'm astounded at the quality of the art I find... The girls and the tattoos.

Sunday Ink #37

Check out "M". I thought this was just a painted on design until I took a closer look. I was hanging out at Shakespeare's Pub on 6th, talking to a petite blonde with some nice puppies (Shelties, 3 1/2 weeks old) when I spotted "M" (a babe in her own right) and had to get the shot. I think this may be the most unique colored tat I've seen yet.

A Word About Sunday Ink

With today's ink post, I've noticed a trend. I'm going to watch this and see where it goes. I've been noting the initials of the girls I photograph. Barring women with sudonyms like Panic and Sacrilitious and counting women like Red where I know her real name, here's how it Stacks up out of 35 women...

Names starting with:

J - 7

A - 6

L - 4

C & M - 3 apiece

H, T & R - 2 each

D, E & B - only 1

The 5 most common female names in the US are:

Mary. Of the 3 m's I got I don't think a single one was a Mary.

Patricia. Not a p in the whole lot, not counting Panic.

Linda. OK, I got a decent showing of l's, but I don't think any were Lindas.

Barbara. I got one b. Her name was Birdy.

and Elizabeth. The one e I got wasn't.

Now to be fair, Jennifer is the next name on the list, and a lot of my j's were Jens... But the very first A on the list is Angela. That seems a little disproportionate... Until...

You look at a breakdown of the most used first letters of first names...

A is number 1. In fact all of my girls names start with a letter in the top 14 most used letters. Those are: A M C L D J s E k B T R g H... (bold indicates the ones on my list) That means that all but two of my girls are in the top half of the most commonly used letters of the alphabet.

I'm pretty sure this means absolutely nothing, but I thought it was interesting.

Sunday Ink #36

After an afternoon at the dog park, Jack and I stopped at Li'l Woodrow's on 6th for a cold beer or 10. While sitting in the shade sipping suds I spotted a blonde with part of a flower tattoo peeking out of the back of her shirt. Seeing as we were in public, I couldn't talk "J" into shedding the garment so I could get a picture. Instead she offered up these. I'm not gonna tell you the meaning... I'm going to let you guess in comments. I'm sure one of you bright boys or girls will get it.

Sunday Ink #35

Another one from the dog park, and yet another "J". This girl was absolutely adorable in her blue sundress and little square glasses. (What is it about those little square frames that is so damn hot?) Anyway, I asked which was her favorite and it's the one of her cat, Lola. Yes, that says "Lola" in Manderin...

I was a little thrown at first by the cute little bird carrying a dagger until she showed me the other side with the bird and flower. A dichotomy... War and peace. I just doesn't get much better than that.

Sunday Ink #34

There is just no shortage of beautiful women in this town... And definately no shortage of beautiful women with ink. Jack and I were having brunch at Opal Divine's (As we do most Sundays) when brunch became Guinness... But I digress... "J" came in to have a bite and a cocktail. I saw the star on her leg and a little of a yellow flower peeking past the neck of her shirt. I did not expect her whole shoulder and part of her back to be inked, so what a pleasant surprise that was. Each flower has a different meaning. I don't remember all of them, but the yellow rose for TX, I believe the blue was for health and healing...
The star on her leg is for Austin. It's actually a map of the city. Rotate counter clockwise to orient north and you can see I35 and MOPAC running N-S and 183 and 290 running E-W if you use your imagination.

Sunday Ink #33

I was wandering through Kohl's department store looking for something I couldn't find anyway when I spotted this hot little mama down a side isle and had to stop to say hello. "R" has a handfull of tattoos here and there. The bear paw is a tribal symbol (American Indian blood). The lettering on her leg means "tranquility". The cherries are new and just healing.

Sunday Ink #32

All sewn up... "A" was with last week's girl ("T") in front of Casa Columbia on E 7th street. I was waiting, and these beautiful women were getting ready to go, so... Being the quiet, shy type I struck up a conversation. Of course I saw the (sadly unfinished) pistols (They're a little hard to miss) and the pin up girl, but I was a little surprised by the mom and dad tributes on her shapely calves and I was stunned by the taco on her hip... Yes, taco... On her hip... Yes, I asked... She just likes tacos.

Mission #2, A 100 Word Story

The landing party had just materialized on an uncharted alien planet when the captain grabbed his stomach. The all too familiar cramps wracked his body.
The captain looked to his first officer imploringly. After scanning the entire area with his tricorder, Spock looked up and shook his head in the negative.
“Isn’t… There anything… You can do, Bones?”
“Sorry Jim,” The doctor replied, “It’s just the way the transporter affects you”.
The captain nodded and rushed behind an outcropping of rocks, dropping trou as he ran.
Captain Kirk of the USS Enterprise… Boldly going where no man has gone before.

Sunday Ink #31

This is "T". I kid you not, she was hanging out with next week's Sunday Ink girl who's name is "A". If you don't know why that is funny, I can't help you. Anyway, "T" was sitting in front of a little Columbian rasturant very near my house. I was a little early and waiting for someone to meet me, so I struck up a conversation with these two absolutely stunning women. The top picture is her grandmother's name (Helen) in Arabic. The bottom picture of course is a shell and rainbow...

Side note, I think Rob, the late, great Acidman, Smith would have approved of the lovely red toenail polish.

Piracy...

I saw this coming... The new East Carolina mascot.

My buddy Steve T. sent me this yesterday. He's a Va Tech Hokie. I have to say I like the AK graphic. I also have to say I'm glad we don't play Navy this year. I assume the score would've been 3-0.

Postage Due

Your government at work.

Now, normally I'm not one to bitch about the US Postal Service. My father was a letter carrier. So what if stamps are 42c apiece? I dare you to hand a friend of yours an envelope and 42 cents and tell him to carry said envelope to the other end of the country... And try to have it there in 3-4 days. See how that works out for you.

That being said...

My eldest brother stopped at the post office on Broad River Rd in Columbia, SC to mail his taxes. The response? "We can't help you, we don't sell stamps."

Really?

Really?

They did try to help though. "If you go 2 miles down on the right, there's a dollar store. They sell stamps and you can mail it then."

So, big brother went to a post office in an adjoing town (He was going that way anyhow) Sure enough, they sold him stamps and mailed his letter.

So he called me. "I think someone's screwing with me."

Since I'm sitting in front of a computer I looked up the post office in question and called them (803) 798-3348...

"Do you mail letters there?"

"Absolutely"

"Do you sell stamps?"

"Oh... No. We can mail a letter if it has a stamp on it, but we don't sell stamps."

Really.

Sunday Ink #30

Happy Easter!

The dog park seems to be the place for incredibly attractive women with tattoos... This week's model being no exception. I was drawn first to the foreign script, which turns out to be Hebrew. This is the young lady in question's name. Her name in Hebrew is Libah (I'm counting on Elisson to tell me if I spelled that right or not) If you can translate that to get her real name, good for you.

Reel Lines (37)

Mr. Blonde: Are you gonna bark all day, little doggy, or are you gonna bite?

Mr. White: What was that? I'm sorry, I didn't catch it. Would you repeat it?

Mr. Blonde: Are you gonna bark all day, little doggy, or are you gonna bite?

The radio station I listen to at work is playing the "Super Sounds of the 70's" weekend... So, of course every time I hear Stuck in the Middle I see Michael Madsen dancing with that straight razor.

Then this morning they played Little Green Bag. The image I got?

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who gets stuff like this stuck in his head. There was a british comedy called Coupling that I'm a big fan of. It's sort of like friends only wittier and with lots more sexual refrences. One of my favorite scenes...

Faith In Dog

SYDNEY (AFP) – A pet dog that fell overboard in rough seas off Australia has been reunited with its owners after surviving alone on an island for four months, reports said...

I love stories like this. That is survival instinct to the fullest. Sophie the Blue Heeler swam fully 5 miles to an island and learned to survive on her own... And now she's back in the loving arms of her family.

One of Jack's distant cousins, no doubt.

I have a good friend who loves the Call of the Wild episode of Northern Exposure... Buck the dog running with his wolvish bretheren. I like to think that inside of me I have that same instinct.

How much can one take and still survive? That depends... How badly does one want to survive?

There have been only two times in my life that I thought about just giving up... The fight taken completely out of me.

The first time I didn't really recover from before the second time came around. I was just ready to give up and die. I forgot who I was... What I was...

Well, I remember who and what I am now, and I'll not let that creeping malaise take hold of me again. And if I do I'll just think about Sophie...

Sophie who refused to be swallowed up by the ocean. Who, once on her own, fought for survival beyond reason. Who because of her combination of intelligence and animal instinct lived to be with the ones she loves and the ones who love her in return.

Sunday Ink #29

Say hello to "M". She was at a small gathering I had at my house a few weeks ago. Such a pretty freckled face hiding a big personality. She also had a star on her shoulder, but the picture came out blurry.

Small Change

I made a few small changes on my sidebar... I removed a few things. If you can't figure out what they were, then it's all for the best.

I changed/added a few things.

Recurring posts and serials such as Naked Lunch Specials, 100 Word Stories, Sunday Ink and Reel Lines are more easily accessed from the sidebar.

Clicking on the icon takes you to the first 20 of that genre. If there happen to be more than 20, links below allow you to access each in groupings of 20.

As for the Lunch Specials, that will be revived this summer, starting from the beginning, redoing each club and also adding new ones. It's the only way to be fair. The old reviews will remain for reference.

I'm soon to be adding new links to other bloggers and maybe moving/removing some defunct ones... (Relax Walrilla, you're safe) so if you want to suggest some for me to check out and link feel free.

I have a load of new material that I will be posting soon, so there'll be something between the Sunday Inks.

Let me know if there are any problems with viewing...

Thanks,

-K-Nine

Hyde And Seek

Last week I went to Hyde Park Theater for the first time since I've been in Austin. A very lovely friend of mine suggested it and even went so far as to buy my ticket.I met her there just before showtime and got a glass of wine before making our way to our seats.

It's a tiny little theater seating only about 30 odd playgoers. Very intimate and cozy, it's easy to get sucked into the production. We had perfect seating, front row center.
The play itself was a dark comedy/drama based in the midwest about a somewhat estranged brother and sister coping with the death of a father who suffered from dimensia. It started by making the audience leave their seats and walk outside where we became a part of the play. Nothing like a little interactive theater. I won't bore you by going in depth into the play, but the interaction between the actors was wonderful, and dark and sad and funny... Sometimes all at once.

After the show, we walked over to Vino Vino (Also her idea). A lovely little wine bar there in the Hyde Park area and shared a bottle of cabernet franc domain de la noblaie les chien-chien.

Of course you know I would have to pick a bottle of wine whose name is dog related... But it was a really excellent 100% cab franc.

We also split a cheese plate, leaving up to our server the three cheeses and assortment of fruit.

Everything was so good, and it's nice to share some culture, some entertainment and some good conversation.

Sunday Ink #28

Got to love a hot girl holding an axe, right? This is "L". She came over to a little gathering at my house. At the end of the evening she picked up my guitar and played a few songs for me. She's pretty damn good. It's good to know my guitar can do something besides gather dust. She started with some Old Crow Medicine Show...

Headed down south to the land of the pine

And I'm thumbin' my way into North Caroline

Starin' up the road

Pray to God I see headlights

I made it down the coast in seventeen hours

Pickin' me a bouquet of dogwood flowers

And I'm a hopin' for Raleigh

I can see my baby tonight

So rock me mama like a wagon wheel

Rock me mama anyway you feel

Hey mama rock me

Rock me mama like the wind and the rain

Rock me mama like a south-bound train

Hey mama rock me

Sunday Ink #27

Another one from the dog park. A picture actually taken on a Sunday. A lovely young lady down there with her dog and (unfortunately) boyfriend. I don't normally approach women (counter-productive in my opinion) with men, but I just liked this one so much I had to.

The Gathering, A 100 Word Story

It’s good to see so many old familiar faces. I’m surprised at how many people showed up anyway. I suppose it’s hard to turn down an invitation to a gathering like this no matter who the guest of honor is. Still, there are a few who couldn’t make it, or wouldn’t come. I can’t say I’m not a little disappointed, but it’s entirely too late to worry about it now.
Everyone has come by to see me, and most have had a few kind words to say.
I suppose I can go now. Close the lid and take me away.

Pionta Guinness, le do thoil

Happy St. Patricks day to all. As per my usual, I will be headed down to BD Riley's Irish pub on 6th street to mingle with friends and quaff a pint or two.

No I will not be driving. I will be leaving work early and walking the 2.5 miles downtown and possibly cabbing or walking the same route back.

Have a great night and be safe.

Sunday Ink #26

Part 2 of the Rollergirls pictures. This is Panic. Last week was one of her partners Sacrilicious. I spotted them down at the dog park.

You know that I fell in love

with a Roller Derby Queen

Round and round, oh round and round

The meanest hunk o' woman

That anybody ever seen

Down in the arena

-Jim Croce