Tattoo Stories #2

Since I'm bringing back all of my old favorite posts, here's the second installment - though I know you've had to wait awhile - of Tattoo Stories. Another of mine, but I have enough that I could keep this going for a year with just mine!

This piece is one of the first ones I ever got on my legs. As someone who loves music, it has always been a huge part of my life, and that includes in my tattoos.

Tiger Army has been one of my favorite bands for as far back as I can remember, and this tattoo, consisting of a black rose and banner with my favorite song's title, "Outlaw Heart", was exactly what I was picturing and exactly everything I wanted this tattoo to be. They have a lot of black roses in the imagery of their songs, and it just seemed very fitting.

Still, to this day, even with how many tattoos I have, this is still one of my favorites and will likely forever be, only because of the story behind it and how special this band still is to me.

Would you like me to feature your tattoo story? Please e-mail me at anepicliz@gmail.com and we can set something up!

Until then, though - here's one of my favorite Tiger Army jams, "Rose Of The Devil's Garden":

Hear ye, hear ye: my Etsy shop is finally full again!

All day, ABSOLUTELY ALL DAY, I have been posting each and every item in my handmade line on my Etsy shop. It has been painstaking to list all 115 items. I'd love if you guys wanted to check it out! You can either find it by clicking the 'Blackheart Knits' link above, or by going directly to Etsy here.

And if you find anything that strikes your fancy, use coupon code FACEBOOK for 10% off any order.

The Return of Book Club Monday #22: Doomed by Chuck Palahniuk

Let me start off by saying that I don't win things very often - if ever - and I was genuinely surprised by my luck in getting to be one of the first to read Chuck Palahniuk's newest novel (releasing on October 8), Doomed.

When I found the giveaway on Facebook, I applied, not thinking anything of it. A couple of weeks later, I got an e-mail with a UPS MyChoice shipping notification for something from Random House books. I didn't want to get too excited, but when I received the package I knew for sure that I had finally won something from an Internet giveaway - and a pretty cool something at that! A galley (AKA review) copy of Doomed. It's awesome to have something like this to add to my collection.

Onto the good stuff, the review. Let me just preface by saying that this is a companion to Palahniuk's previous work, Damned, and you're gonna want to read that prior to this. Damned was the first story of Madison Spencer, a dead thirteen year old girl and her descent into the afterlife via hell. It chronicled the people she met, things she saw, and you can't forget her confrontation with the devil himself.

Doomed is written in the form of blog posts from the afterlife, or, rather, purgatory. Madison still walks amongst those she left, and they can't see or hear her. In each chapter (or 'post', as it were), she encounters something new, from seeing her dead grandmother's ghost on a trip to her parents' apartment to guiding the reader through the worst summer of her life - and quite possibly the reason she wound up in hell in the first place.

Later, we find out that in no uncertain terms, death was her destiny. Her crazy-as-all-getout parents knew what would happen from the start, and didn't care one way or another what happened to their daughter.

As a reader, the blog post format is actually very easy to read, offering the story in easily digestible pieces. Every now and again another character will chime in with a post of their own, but about 95 percent comes from Madison's point of view.

As with his other novels, Palahniuk hooks the reader very early on with Doomed. I found myself wanting to read a single chapter before bed and before I knew it, it would be a hundred pages and an hour later! Chuck Palahniuk is really a champion amongst authors, and if you've read and enjoyed his other works (yes, even Pygmy), Doomed definitely will not let you down.

Doomed will be released on October 8, 2013 by Doubleday Books, but can be preordered on Amazon here.

Milwaukee was also one of the cities picked for Chuck Palahniuk's 'Adult Bedtime Stories' author tour, and I picked up a ticket not long after hearing about it. Never fear, I'm certain I'll be putting together a recap of that, also!

Happy birthday, Harley Davidson!

In case you didn't know, I live in Milwaukee, Wisconsin - home of Harley Davidson motorcycles. This weekend is the 110th anniversary of Harley Davidson, and there have been absolutely thousands upon thousands of motorcycles in town all weekend. Every five years, they have a giant anniversary party, and this year has been no exception. They put together a huge festival on our Summerfest grounds, and it has just been awesome to hear the potato rumble and see license plates from seriously everywhere around town.

Unfortunately, I didn't make it to any specific Harleyfest events, but I did go to a motorcycle firefighter brotherhood bash on Friday, and I decided that would be enough. As a driver in the city, it can be a bit of a pain, but honestly, in comparison to having all of these awesome events going on, it doesn't even matter.

If you want to check out some photos, check the #hd110 tag on Instagram! Happy birthday, Harley-Davidson, and I hope we get to have 110 more!

The return of Sunday Social! #65

The Sunday Social blog posts have been something I've always loved to do - and I am really excited to bring them back! So, enjoy!

1. What was your favorite trip/vacation/activity this summer?

I would say, without a doubt, my Dayton trip. I need to be a lot better at getting out and going on adventures (even if it's by myself), and it was exhilarating to be able to get out of town for even a few days. I got to see my best friend, eat great food, and go do something fun that was out of my comfort zone. It was a great adventure, and being able to pay respects at the Air Force Museum and see some great fireworks. And, like I said earlier, being able to try a Red Velvet shake at Steak N Shake for the first time ever (we don't have them here), almost made the whole dang trip worth it! 

2. What was your favorite outfit look/clothing item of the summer?

Honestly, I don't think I even bought new clothes this summer, besides a few pairs of jeans that were a smaller size than my previous pairs! :)

3. What is one thing you wish you’d gotten to do this summer?
It has really been a perfect summer full of ups and downs, and I can't say that I would ever change anything that happened. I wish I would have gotten to adventure more!

4. What was your favorite song of the summer?
This is a bad question, since I don't listen to music via the radio, really. Most of the music I listen to is contained in about four Pandora stations, those being about 3 90's stations and one that mixes Tool, the Deftones, and other artists like that. I like listening to a song in my office at work and having one of my guys walk in and just shake their heads. That's my favorite.

5. What was your favorite movie/tv show of the summer?
That new True Blood season wasn't horrible. I'd say that was the 'newest' show I watched over the summer. And as for movies, does Star Trek: Into Darkness count?!

Check back next Sunday for another great set of questions!