Azvareth

Not really. They need to make money somehow. Granted, it takes quite a while to unlock all the classes without paying, but it is entirely possible to play the game as much as you want, unlock all the classes and perks, without paying a cent. And I mean, the Ranger class unlocks after just one match, and it is one of my most-played classes - so this idea some people have that the classes which cost a lot of tokens somehow are better is pretty false. Plus Hi-Rez have been extremely accomodating to player feedback (removing hitscan, fixing a ton of balance issues, and actually reducing the cost of all classes, etc etc.) so it's not like they just sit on their pile of money and twiddle their thumbs.

Tribes: Ascend is an upcoming free to play multiplayer-only first-person shooter part of the Tribes franchise. It is currently being developed by Hi-Rez Studios and was announced on March 11, 2011 at PAX East with an expected release early next year. It features jetpacks, skiing, vehicles, and fast-paced, competitive online play. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RjdB4_rkqU&feature=player_embedded For those who aren't familiar with the Tribes franchise, basically take a look at this gentleman's video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1HCnrU3FT8 It's a bit outdated, and as such the game has gone through quite a bit of changes since the video was posted (most notably, the skiing mechanics have been improved, you can reduce the weapon model sizes and thankfully hitscan's removed) but gives a good overall picture of what the game's all about. As a bit of a Tribes veteran I'm quite excited about this game. I've been part of the closed beta for almost a month, and I'm still playing, soo. It's a lot of fun. To get a beta key, all you need to do is like their Facebook page. So it's not really very closed. Download the client at https://account.hire...m/tribesascend/. So do that if you would like to play an FPS game that's actually challenging and not just point-at-enemy-and-click. Also feel free to add me to the friend's list thing, my nick's Hitch. For further information, basically check out TotalBiscuit's video above. Screenshots [hide] [/hide]

Friend got me Black Sabbath tickets yesterday. Really stoked.

This guy I sort of know (my friend's former music teacher) does these jazz songs that has quite dark humour. Not really pee-in-your-pants funny, but quite clever. I've seen him live a few times and he's so entertaining - one of the best guitarists I've seen. He reminds me of Kevin Spacey so much. Apparently he's recorded a song a day for the past 20 years so he has material for like 60 albums. He scat sings very well, too. Andy Fite I Wanna Die Andy Fite All of My Friends Are Starting to Get Impatient with Me Andy Fite My Visit to an Anarchist Collective Andy Fite Life's a [bleep] Andy Fite So Vote for Me

Oh have I mentioned how much I love Jeff Gogue's work yet? Some of the new stuff he's posted is incredible. [hide] [/hide] The colouring on that orange skull in the bottom is unreal.

Measure. I also like "andedräkt" - breath in Swedish.

Personally don't see the artistic merit in scarring, and it looks kinda gross. But then again I haven't seen a lot of them. If you're having it done though, see a professional. Infections are bad for you. Also do you mean this type of "scratch"? [hide] [/hide] Was very popular a few years ago. I'm personally not a fan as I think they mostly just come off gimmicky and silly. Even the ones that are well-made like the one above. Sounds like yours could be a bit more tasteful though. Got a sketch?

You should give Joe Bonamassa a listen. Opened for B.B. King when he was like 9 years old, and he's 30-something today. Saw him live 1,5 years ago, one of the best gigs ever.

Hm what do you mean exactly? Do you go to one parlour, get them to sketch it up for you, take said sketch, go to another parlour and have them tweak it? Sounds like that'd just become some sort of mish-mash of different styles. Not hatin', just don't understand the point of it. If you go to a good tattooist whose work you really like you shouldn't have to visit another tattooist with that sketch. If you're not a fan of the initial sketch, have the tattooist tweak it. I probably misunderstood though. Also Ondrash is amazing. If I had one extra arm I'd totally give him complete artistic freedom to do whatever he wants on it.

Found a lighter with a badass lion on it on the sidewalk yesterday. Didn't work.

Meh, this whole mentality that a tattoo has to mean something or it's for some reason not A Good Tattoo is so silly, and shows like Miami Ink and its ilk probably strengthened this ridiculous mentality even more. I have 6 or so tattoos planned that mean absolutely nothing to me, except the fact that I like the aesthetics of them and/or they amuse me... or (gasp) I think they look cool. One thing that annoys me is when people cram a thousand different meanings into the same tattoo, as I have yet to seen one of those that actually look good and not like a poorly-planned mishmash of different styles and themes. They tend to decide that spending as little money on something that's permanently carved onto your body is a good idea as well. Both of those tribals you posted are done well. The one on the left follows the lines of the body and muscles really well and the lines are straight. I cringe when I see it because to me it's a huge waste of space - but it's a well made piece regardless. edit: Case in point, my friend's tattoo. Has zero meaning but definitely one of my favourite shoulder-pieces. [hide] [/hide]

As someone with a bunch of butterfly tattoos, I'd rather not hear such a condescending tone. Of course, they're quite wide spread as flash - but some are quite beautifully inked and designed. But hey, to each their own. There are impressive butterfly tattoos out there, just as there are impressive tribal tattoos. But most of them aren't. I've seen way more uninspired and boring-looking butterfly and tribal tattoos than I have, say, gypsy lady tattoos or anchors... hence why I used those as an example.

No offense or anything, but it really sounds as though you've only seen a bunch of drunken tattoos made in someone's kitchen, and not many actual good tattoos from people like Jeff Gogue, Thomas Hooper, Vincent Hocquet, Grime, etc. etc. Essentially tattooists who's studied the craft for decades, has a love for the work they do and actually Know What They're Doing. Good tattoos are art. But instead of hanging it on your wall you carve it onto your body where it'll stay for as long as you live. I think that's pretty beautiful. That might've come off more pretentious than intended, but understand that there's more to tattoos than wonky tribals and butterflies.

I probably did over 60 public presentations last year and I screwed up more times than I'd like to count. It's definitely something that takes practice if you're a somewhat reserved and shy person otherwise. The thing that helped me the most was being well-prepared, knowing my material forward and backward, while also having a note to glance at should I black out. And that it's perfectly acceptable to not rush through your material at lighting speed, rather it's better that you take it slow and speak clearly; take small 3-second breaks, etc. - this also makes it a lot more interesting for the people listening to you. It also helped the moment I realised that the audience don't want you to make a fool of yourself, they genuinely want you to do well. Also the fact that breathing slow, deep breaths makes a bigger difference than you'd think.

A general tip: if you can't draw yourself and don't know anyone who can, just bring your ideas to the tattooist; doing stuff like this is a big part of their job (plus they take into account the general anatomy of the body, things like how your muscles move, etc.). Just make sure have a good and clear idea of what you want beforehand, and bring as many reference images as you can: in your case pics of the type of circuits you'd like to have, etc. Also make sure you go to someone who's good at realistic motifs, biomech stuff in particular. But since it sounds like you can draw... I guess since it's a big tattoo, I'd do a sketch-up of how I'd like the tattoo to "flow" on my body since that'd be the hardest thing to explain in words. I'd use one of these for that: [hide] [/hide] And draw it up in Photoshop or MS Paint or whatever. Doesn't have to look pretty or professional in any way, just enough to give him/her an idea. And once again, bring a bunch of reference pics of circuits you'd like in your tattoo. Could look pretty sweet with a nice background! Honestly, there are millions of phoenix tattoos out there, so I'd just google image search for colour inspiration.

Is it yours? And more importantly, is it finished? That's my arm, yes, it's not 'finished' as it's just a practice Sharpee job, but I wanted to see if I could fit the design on my arm. The real thing would look a little more...professional, but generally that's what I'd get, I feel color would be too distracting I was about to ask if it was done with a sharpee, because I've never seen a tattooo with lines like that. I can make out the bird, but what's the plant-y looking thing at the bottom? I would suggest filling it in with something, because just leaving it with the contours like that... it'll be impossible for people to see what it's supposed to be (your tattooist will say the same thing). Cross, chain and dogtag tattoos are generic and I'm not a big fan of them. The concept is definitely cool though and it'd make a kickin' rad traditional/old school-type sleeve. Just an FYI.

Naturally it depends on a lot of different factors: how much detail there is in the piece, if it's colour or b&g, how big your arms are, which artist you go to etc. I sat 16 hours with my half-sleeve, but it's quite detailed and my tattooist wasn't perhaps the fastest. You mean the healing-phase? Short answer: a lot. That is, if you want your tattoo to look as good as it possibly can. Actually getting the tattoo done at the studio is only half the job; you can royally [bleep] up a great looking tattoo if you don't take care of it, since it is literally an open wound so you need to treat it accordingly. If anybody's interested, I can post a guide from Doug Hardy (second generation tattooist, son of Ed Hardy) on how to care for it. It is literally The Best Guide. But the healing phase only lasts 6 weeks. After that you can basically do what you want without it affecting the tattoo much, except perhaps subjecting it to a belt sander. Full sleeve? Any reputable artist will charge between 100-150/hr and upwards, excluding tip.

Is it yours? And more importantly, is it finished?

Yeah, black ink holds up the best, but what do you mean by detailed linework? Because the more detailed and intricate the linework, the worse it ages. Also feel free to post your tats!

Except there's nothing sad about treating inmates like they're actual human beings rather than cattle. Could go on about why this works but that'd be derailing this thread. Got family in Oslo, so this thing has really left me in a state of numbness. "Luckily" the bomb went off during the middle of the summer vacation, so the streets are mostly desolate 28 Days Later-style as most people just [bleep] off abroad during that period.

Yeah, one year ago I couldn't imagine getting a colour tattoo. The one I have now was supposed to just be black and grey with leafy motifs. I'm very happy my tattooist talked me out of that and made me realise the superiority of colour tattoos (I kid). But seriously nowadays I think bigger black and grey tattoos just look unfinished somehow (ex. sleeves, back/chest pieces etc.), small ones are totally fine though. Definitely gonna do just colour tattoos from now on except some small b/g flash pieces. That is, unless the b/g sleeve is done with stark contrasts and kickass linework such as Who cares if it'll be a big grey smudge in 10 years, because damn.

So I figured I'd share some interesting tattoo tv series/documentaries, ones that aren't full of scripted drama and [cabbage]ty artists (i.e. the Miami Ink series and its spin-offs.) The first episode of The Gypsy Gentleman was released a few days ago, and it's amazing: http://gypsygentleman.com/ First episode features Virginia Elwood and Thomas Hooper (!!!). Also first part of Tattoo Age is up now as well: http://www.vbs.tv/en...oro-part-1-of-3 Enjoy! In other news my tattoo's done, finished it last week. I was gonna wait until my artist put it up on their blog, but since that's likely to take a while I'm posting some low-quality pics I took myself. [hide=PICS] [/hide] Now to start on my old school sleeve!

I guess you got an invitation from Will_H? Because it says you're already signed up!

I think they're getting the old deal atm though: listen to how much you want and get the occasional ad in between songs. I'll never understand people whining at the current situation though. Spotify is a company, not some sort of charity. They need to make money, and at 5eur a month it's a really generous deal considering what you get in return. 5eur. It's literally one beer. And not even a good brand. So... Invite sent to iamcoool11.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvYX_P_c__8 What is Spotify? Think of Spotify as your new music collection. Your library. Only this time your collection is vast: over 15 million tracks and counting. Spotify comes in all shapes and size, available for your PC, Mac, home audio system and cell phone. Wherever you go, your music follows you. And because the music plays live, there's no need to wait for downloads and no big dent in your hard drive. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-p_2GRt_eQ&feature=related Sharing music made easy Thanks to Spotify, it's now easier than ever to share music. You're free to share everything you listen to on Spotify with your friends - tracks, playlists, the lot. Connect Spotify to Facebook and you'll be sharing your favourites with friends in seconds. Just send them a link to a track or playlist and they can listen instantly. If you like, you can also collaborate on shared playlists. Social music made simple. [shamelessly stolen from their website] I've been using Spotify for close to three years now, and the premium service for the last two years. It really is one of, if not the best, music service out there. I really can't praise it enough. You will need to be invited though, so leave your email adress and I'll shoot you an invitation. Oh and here are some cool playlists/links: