This Week’s Interesting Personal Achievement
Posted on April 30, 2019 Posted by John Scalzi 11 Comments
When I was in Budapest, one of the folks standing in line asked me to sign his arm so he could go get it tattooed. Well, okay; I used a blue sharpie to do it. A day later I got a picture of the above tattoo, in black. And there you have it — I’m now an author whose signature has been permanently inked into someone else’s body. Which is an interesting group to be in! Thanks, István, for putting me in this particular club.
Somewhat related, I understand there was a thing where someone — Netflix? Blur studios? Someone — was subsidizing “Love Death & Robots”-related tattoos, so now there is at least one human being out there with a tattoo of K-VRC, i.e., the little orange robot from the “Three Robots” episode of the series. I predicted this would happen (K-VRC is cute as a button), but it’s still cool to see that.
So, yeah, it’s been a tattoorific last few days for me.
Speaking of K-VRC, I did not get a tattoo, personally, but I did get these:
Custom K-VRC Vans! Turns out that Vans will make custom shoes, if you provide the art. So I did, and here we are. And before you ask, no, you can’t have a pair, too — these are one of a kind. You want “Three Robot”-based shoes of your own, please take it up with Netflix’s merchandising arm. In the meantime, however, you can be jealous of my personal shoe style.
Did you sign it in Klingon? I don’t recognize letters there. I thought my signature was bad.
Hey, that’s pretty cool! Congrats on your first autograph tat! And the Vans are sweet. I haven’t yet had a chance to watch K-VRC, though; still have a few episodes left of The Tick to finish.
As it happened: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=362130644647044&set=p.362130644647044&type=3&theater
Have you ever refused to sign something?
I still have the copy of Joe Haldeman’s Forever War that you signed (The one you did the forward for), now signed by the actual author as well.
https://temp.karlsoap.com/2019-04-30%2018.31.34.jpg
I’m now having John B. McLemore flashbacks…. In a good way of course. 🙂
Back in my day… At the beginning of the surge/fashion for tattoos, I gave a young man my copy of “bad boys and tough tattoos” by a tattoo artist, with several “tats” himself, who didn’t believe in getting them. The book has not a single picture of a tattoo. As it happened, the lad got a tattoo anyhow. But at least I tried, and he made an informed choice.
The book, if you want to get it, tells good art from bad. From the book I knew something a lady at work getting a new tattoo did not: It has to be kept dry when new. If a tattoo artist does give such basic information as how to care for a new tattoo, then I would not use that artist.
“Custom K-VRC Vans!”
Wow. I’ve always wanted to be able to buy shoes with a smaller Left, but your feet must be far more different than mine! :-)
@Sean: I’m pretty sure you missed an important “not” in that last sentence.
Those shoes look cool. Sounds like something my daughter would be interesting in doing, since she works at Vans.
Someone wanted you to sign them? Like you created them or something? And they made it permanent? Some people might find that a little creepy, but I don’t. Nosiree Bob. NOT AT ALL.
Derek, nice catch: I did indeed forget to write ‘…does “not” give…’ The lady’s tattoo faded fast and she had to have it redone. Certain old carnival tattooists used to purposely not give information about new tattoos so that when they came around again people would pay to have their tattoo brightened.
@ Soprano63: Didn’t you read Redshirts? ARE YOU SURE? It could be that he created this all in a Scalziverse sort of way….