New cards and prints

Peruse and purchase at Red Bubble...

New tees

Big Fat Robot with victim

The Japanese writing is suppose to mean “Big Fat Robot”. However, my translation skills are extremely rusty, so for all those Nipponphiles out there, please tell me if my hanes and ten tens are where they should be.

Actually, I don’t mind if it’s horribly wrong, afterall there is a huge market in Japan for meaningless English phrases (go to http://www.engrish.com/ for many hilarious examples). So it should work the other way with equally amusing results. In fact, I remember seeing a GI type wandering around Roppongi with a tshirt written in Japanese kanji, it said “baka gaijin” (idiot foreigner). Not sure if it was an ironic statement on his behalf, or he just thought the letters looked pretty.

Print / card versions coming soon.

Betty Trooper

For us nerds with tatts.
Print/card versions coming soon.

See more here ... Red Bubble

New tee, print and cards

The vector mill has been busy of late - a new tee, greeting card and print are available from Red Bubble.

The following is based on Captain Kirk and his fleeting love for Vina, a green-tinged lady. It's the perfect gift for that special person and/or thing in your life.

Angsty poetry #5: The world is my oyster

For all those who have been jilted …

The world is my oyster

The world is my oyster, baby
But you ain’t no pearl
A rock maybe
A stone lady
Nothin’ like a diamond
Nothin’ like a pearl

The world is my smorgasbord, baby
But you ain’t no oyster
A sausage roll maybe
A party pie lady
Nothin’ like a oyster
Nothin’ like a pearl

The world is my art gallery, baby
But you ain’t no Leonardo da Vinci
A Leonardo Dicaprio maybe
A Ken Done lady
Nothin’ like Leonardo da Vinci
Nothin’ like a pearl

The world is my cigar-bar, baby
But you ain’t no thigh-rolled Havana
An Escort maybe
Winnie Blues lady,
Nothin’ like thigh-rolled Havanas
Nothin’ like a pearl

The world is my wine-bar, baby
But you ain’t no Dom Perignon
A West Coast Cooler maybe
A Passion Pop lady
Nothin’ like a Dom Pérignon
Nothin’ like a pearl

The world is boudoir, baby
But you ain’t no Cleopatra
A Mother Theresa maybe
A Boutros Boutros Ghali lady
Nothin’ like a Cleopatra
Nothin’ like a pearl

This poem could go on forever, feel free to add to it.

For the grammar Nazis – my apologies for the double negatives and contractions peppered throughout the poem.

Koi inking #2

Only 2 more inkings to go. Next up is the wave work. And, no I don't have saggy boobies - the material of my singlet just happened to bunch up that way.

The tshirt invasion continues

My submission for the Threadless tshirt competition. The brief was to capture awkward love in tshirty form.

What’s more awkward then meeting your green girlfriend’s parents for the first time?

Based on Captain Kirk, and his fleeting passion for Vina, a green-tinged lady.

Vote like crazy folks.

New Ts for your viewing and purchasing pleasure

A bunch o' ts available at my RedBubble chums.

Tiki Time in Robot Town

Betty Trooper

RGB - Red (#FF0000 is computery talk for red)

RGB - Green (#00FF00 is computery talk for green)

RGB - Blue (#0000FF is computery talk for blue)

Big Fat Robot with text

Big Fat Robot without text

Koi-nobori in May

My good friend Junko sent me this image after seeing my Koi tattoo blog.


It was taken in May during the Tangu no Sekku festival, or "Boys' Day". These koi-nobori, carp streamers, can be seen all over Japan and celebrate boyliness.

Koi tattoo: inking #01

Before - pastey white canvas, with just a hint of trucker's arm.

After - ouchy! Only 3 more inkings to go:(

My musings on Japan have mainly focused on some of the whackier and more annoying things that happened there. Consequently, readers assume that I’m not overly fond of the great country.

On the contrary, my confreres; I love Japan. So, to show my affinity, I have (after much research and reflection) decided to mark my body again for life with a quintessentially Japanese symbol. No, I’m not talking about a roaring Godzilla, a pimply Otaku, a giggly girl in a sailor’s uniform, nor a groping salaryman – I’m talking about a Koi.

The Koi is basically a good-looking carp. Sure, the Aussie versions are a pest and a pain in the Murray Darling Basin. But in Japan they are seen as a symbol of perseverance and success in life. These nuggety little characters are capable of swimming upstream against seemingly insurmountable currents in order to get to where they want.

According to Chinese mythology a carp which succeeds in swimming upstream and hurdling the upper rapids of the Yangtze River will be transformed into a dragon. I have no intention of evolving into a scaley fire-breather, but the koi is emblematic of my effort against particularly unrosey things that happened earlier in life. Memories of this time were submerged but raised their hideous head in my 30s. As a result, I was a bit blue for a while. However, I have long managed to burst out of that quagmire of gloom, to become a much shinier and happier me. And I want to celebrate this fact with the aforementioned tattoo.

You may have seen many koi tattoos with what appears to be a crown. These appear on the Tancho Koi; some of the rarest, and most expensive. The circle is believed to be representative of the symbol of the rising sun on the Japanese flag. For that reason, Tancho is the most coveted Koi in and out of Japan. Although, I’m intrigued by this element, I do think it reeks of elitism and materialism, so I chose not to have it included in my tattoo.

Many thanks and praise to Andy P, a master tattooist at the Tattoo Gallery, Rundle Street, Adelaide. Only 3 more inkings before my fishy friend is completed…

Red Bubble Comp

Just entered the Red Bubble tshirt comp, with my bubbly red bubble man. Red Bubble is a very cool online art gallery and a creative social network site based in Fitzroy. Many thumbs up to my chums at Red Bubble! ... plus everybody please vote for me here... (voting doesn't start till June 18th - I think).