g/e/n/design

Went to Gold Rush Tattoo in Costa Mesa last night. A friend was getting her spine tattooed with the quote "Live young and fast. Die a beautiful soul." I had met the tattoo artist, Bucky Crispin, once before, but I hadn't seen much of his work. I have to say that he is an amazing artist and I love his style. If I ever get a tattoo, which I'm too scared, but I would want Bucky to do it.

His best pieces are his traditional tattoos and art deco girls. If I had to get anything, it would be something art deco. Hands down.


From February 20th to the 22nd, all the artists at Gold Rush will be at Musink at the Costa Mesa Fairgrounds. One day tickets are only $25 and weekend passes are $65. You can go crazy and get the VIP pass for $100. You'll probably see me there at least one day. Tattoos are such a great way to get creative inspiration.

So I've pretty much become obsessed with Skins, a BBC teen drama that began January 2007 and is currently into it's third season. The thing that separates this teen drama from all the American ones, like 90210, OC, and Gossip Girl, is that it's actually good. The dialogue is so witty, which seems strange since the show's written by a father/son team. And with such thick British accents and slang, I've been able to find new jokes every time I watch the episodes again.


Another thing that makes this show unique is that each individual episode fixes itself on the life of one particular character. And somehow they are able to perfectly weave the other characters around that main character so that all the episodes and overall story flow continuously. Amazing. The show is set and taped in Bristol, which is where they actually cast as well. The whole thing is just about a group of teens in "college" (UK for high school), all their relationships with the people around them (including family), sex, drugs, and partying.

My favorite characters are Sid, the nerdy virgin, and Cassie, the insightful yet unstable slut with anorexia. Sid can be so completely oblivious, but he is the sweetest guy and the geek factor makes him even more likeable. Cassie, who by far has the weirdest, yet coolest fashion sense, sounds like an airhead, but really she notices the things no one else sees. She's so smart, a loyal friend and also very organized, which is funny, because everyone thinks she's crazy and she's in and out of institutions the whole time.

It makes me kind of sad that every two seasons, the creators of Skins have decided to change the characters completely. However there is some kind of tie between the different casts. Season three has Tony's little sister Effy as one of the new main characters.

I really havent watched the third season, as it has only just began (Jan. 22), but I am kind of skeptical. The first two seasons were just so well written and cast. But I will still watch, of course.

I bought Skins Season 1 from Amazon.com for only $29.99. Season 2 comes out April 14, 2009.