Jill Walks On with Her Ink

I spotted Jill in the beginning of November sitting in the New Jersey Transit waiting area at Penn Station.



She has eight tattoos, five are symbols and three are word-based, including this one on her forearm:

The one she shared with us is based on the song lyrics of U2 and their song "Walk On".

The letter G and the date refer to her grandmother and the day she died, March 2, 2010.



The lyrics are "And I know it aches/And your heart it breaks/You can only take so much/Walk on".



Jill said that listening to music got her through a difficult time and this song, in particular, carried and sustained her through the mourning process.



Coincidentally, March 2 marked the anniversary of her meeting the band in 2009.



She chose an Edwardian script and the tattoo was inked by Mike at Fat Kat Tattoos in Keyport, New Jersey.



Work from Fat Kat has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.



Thanks to Jill for sharing this special tattoo with us here on the site!



A little extra treat, video of U2's "Walk On":

Jill Walks On with Her Ink

I spotted Jill in the beginning of November sitting in the New Jersey Transit waiting area at Penn Station.



She has eight tattoos, five are symbols and three are word-based, including this one on her forearm:

The one she shared with us is based on the song lyrics of U2 and their song "Walk On".

The letter G and the date refer to her grandmother and the day she died, March 2, 2010.



The lyrics are "And I know it aches/And your heart it breaks/You can only take so much/Walk on".



Jill said that listening to music got her through a difficult time and this song, in particular, carried and sustained her through the mourning process.



Coincidentally, March 2 marked the anniversary of her meeting the band in 2009.



She chose an Edwardian script and the tattoo was inked by Mike at Fat Kat Tattoos in Keyport, New Jersey.



Work from Fat Kat has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.



Thanks to Jill for sharing this special tattoo with us here on the site!



A little extra treat, video of U2's "Walk On":

A Rule 5 Restaurant? Can Such a Marvel Truly Be?

"These are the days of miracles and wonderments..." Art Garfunkel

After the arrival of the Vietnam Rolling Memorial Wall, the reception party from the American Legion and Operation Gratitude went to Buca de Beppo, a popular Italian restaurant on Ventura Boulevard in Encino CA.

At first the decor looks like typical Italian tchotchkes, if "typical" is defined as including a picture of John Belushi in drag peeling potatoes (I suspect I've just horribly offended someone's grandmother):

But then things took a turn for the wonderful.

It starts with the Papal Gazebo: literally, a circular alcove in the middle of the restaurant, its walls decorated with Vatican and Papal portraits and sculpture, with a bust of the current Pope Benedict XVI set on a sort of lazy-susan in the middle of the dining table, rotating to keep Rome's eye on the diners:

But then you turn around, I mean you literally just turn around, and

Buongiorno, Bella Sophia!

Yes, it's the official Sophia Loren Wall of Pulchritude, three feet from the Vatican West! This is why I think I'd like Italy. They know there's a huge gap between the sacred and profane, but somewhere deep in their excitable little hearts they just don't care.


Incidentally, the food was terrific and the portions were huge!

Sadly, I hear that even Italy may be succumbing to the EUrodulls. Maybe I should start saving up for that trip to Rome and the Amalfi Coast before they end up looking like fookin' Bruges...

Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall...

The convoy rolled in from Van Nuys Airport escorted by LAPD, motorcycles from the Legion Riders of the American Legion, and the Patriot Guard, along with a parade of classic cars led by KTLA's veteran reporter Stan Chambers:

The wall is an 80% scale replica, exact in every detail, of the

original Memorial in DC. This is the first time it has visited

California. \The names of our American dead are arranged

by year, from 1959 to our withdrawal.

Friday Night Rally

No fancy slogans for 9/11.