So my new favorite blog is starting to get some traction. It's by Jonathan Shaw - who could be called the "father" of modern tattooing. (Disclaimer, JS is one of my clients.) He's pretty much the guy who broke tattooing into the mainstream and tattooed a bunch of celebrities. He's also the inspiration/real character behind Captain Jack - from Pirates of the Caribbean.
Over the past 3 months, I've worked with Jonathan and his assistant Alessandra on all the standard things I do: branding and online marketing specifically for his upcoming book about his crack-whore girlfriend from Rio de Janeiro.
Now, anyone who knows me, knows that I have a passion for Brazil and the Brazilian life. I won't go into my several life changing experiences I had within her borders, but needless to say, she is probably my favorite country in the world. Brazil - she is full of possibilities.
Anyway, I digress - Jonathan is in Rio right now, with Narcisa - his girlfriend (whom the book is about) and he's writing about his day to day experiences. It's not just the day to day, but the pieces of enlightenment hidden between the cracks of the mundane. Take this for example:
I’m out on the street dropping her off later and I look around and see
the people running amok like it’s the goddamn Mardi Gras, my people,
ignorant little replicas of Narcisa with her tv eyes and childlike mind
and it hits me, it’s not just her, it’s the world, it’s Brazil, a whole
mind-warped brainwashed culture, a nation of whores and beggers and
petty thieves and crooked liars and pipe dreaming slaves, with or without
the crack habit, its all the same ratty fairy tale happy ending mind of
slavery to ego and self and the belief in eternal satisfaction at the
end of a magic consumer wand or a machine gun or a beer can or crack
pipe or a polititions promise or a whirlwind of romantic love boat
wedding chapel angel cake whiter than white flouride toothpaste smiles
and shit eating grins on skulls that will soon be rotting in the ground
no matter fucking what. Whatever whatever, so maybe Narcisa’s right to
just burn it at both ends like she does and do the best she can to live
as intensely and dangerously as possible and so what if she fucking
dies, at least she provided me the inspiration to write a fucking book
cuz she is that interesting and authentic and beautiful and that’s more
than I can say about 99.999999 percent of the fucking human race.
It's about authenticity. It's about being real. And sometimes that authenticity is too much for people - and goes against the grain of "good morals". But it reminds me of something I used to think about. And I was reminded of this when watching Bjork's video on Declare Independence. If the most authentic thing for you to do was to do drugs - then why should anyone stop you from it. If that is your most authentic self - then you should do that. And screw anyone who should "intervene".
And, although I have not met Narcisa, I like to dream that she is that person.
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