Milo "Mr Lucky" Marcer

I'm so fucking bored, I am tired and bored, so damn bored, I can't stand to be near myself with this boredom. A young girl in a rugby jersey shouts at a tv in a restaurant, the incessant natter of two men talking about absolutely nothing but talking loud enough so we all hear their unimportant importance. A blog berating men for using safety razors over multi-blade, stupid pictures over overpriced possessions, holy shit... boredom in hyperbole, sometimes life is just monotonous and boring as hell... Or is it? Perhaps I need to get off my ass and start doing something getting creative draw, write, craft, something, so with that I am, but I am telling you I am watching, you boring little fuckers that come slipping into my life like elves on luges, I'm putting you on notice. One of my favorite sayings is, "Idle hands are the devils workshop" and in all things I find this to be true for me, I need stimulation and gratification, I need to work, create move thing...

I have been alarmed, bemused and a little caught a little off guard by the actions of some friends, I won't mention who, but it seems that a need to belong has taken up residence in their psyche, and though I know it's common, I don't get it. As a tattooer, I have spent a lot of my time convincing people to do things that are tailor made for them, individual, something unique, as unique as they themselves are. I do need to now say that just because you chose not to do so does not lessen you or your experience, I just felt that when the time came for something as exciting as getting tattooed, you might want to consider something all your own, something that spoke of your individuality as a person. This in time unfortunately, early on in my career been misinterpreted as me being exclusive and given rise to rumor that I'm a self entitled ass, and in now what is a very competitive industry, I can see how this is easily believed by those that have chosen not to do justice ...

I was talking to a client a few days ago, and we were just chatting on about perception and how skewed it can be when she blurted out, "I had heard that you were arrogant, but chatting with you, I see you aren't at all". This got me thinking, the first instinct was to retaliate and get really rude about what has been said about me, but I started entertaining the thought more and more and I found myself wondering who had said this and why? How could it be that the perception of me is nothing close to what is being said??? I then remembered my favourite saying "A wolf does not concern himself with the opinions of sheep" and that put paid to that bullshit then and there. The reason I brought this up is that we have a tendency to give a lot of our power away to people of no consequence, and that perception is nothing more than uninformed opinion, and we know how much opinion and an asshole have in common don't we. People use perception/opinion like they have...

So here we are once again, hell I guess it's that time again, and my saga continues in this constant struggle at merely coping. Today I left at 08H30 and off I went to Mordor (Canal Walk) the mall, had to get to a bank and sort out one account, then from there off to the workshop with the new parts for the Cafe racer, but as usual life's never that simple, I get to the bank, sit in a queue for 20minutes just to be told I need a proof of residence, for FICA, fuck I didn't bring it, so the young woman says to me "listen just go to your other bank and get a statement", badda bing, and I'm off. I get to my other bank and guess what the address on my account there is a P.O.Box, and the guy informs me this statement will not help with Fica....???? really, but it's ok for you guys, my love you long time bank???? my first thought is "I been with them 20 years, but then hang the hell on, I had to Fica 3 years ago when I moved" Ok the hell with this I...

As a tattooer, I find that our industry has become exactly that, Industry, and that the craft and it's roots and traditions is falling by the way side. As more artists market themselves well and reality shows aggrandise many, I feel that where we come from, and who we are? is easily forgotten. I was tattooing a paratrooper, here we call them "Parabats" and what I was tattooing to his chest was the "Bats" insignia, something they in their day were not allowed to do, something not new in many armed services. As I'm sitting tattooing, the fact that I'm carrying on a very long tradition in tattooing, and Sailor Jerry Collins came to mind. Tattooing in Hawaii through the 2nd World War, Sailor Jerry and those men and women in uniform that frequented his studio before leaving for the Pacific Sector, created such iconic images. Though unaware at the time, this is a body of work that has become such a large part of the strong tradition in western tattooing. I fe...

Ok so you haven't seen a blog for some time, and that's cause I haven't had anything to vent about, that just changed. I have this odd growth on my arm, thought it was a wart or something, so i tried freezing the thing off with nitrogen.... Nothing. So now I'm worried about this, and while chatting to a friend he says, dude get that seen to, I had something similar and it was malignant, so don't piss about. Damn I better get my shit together. Today I call Milnerton Mediclinic, and they give me the number for the practise in the clinic, 2 dermatologists, so I call them, and after waiting 8.32 minutes for the phone to be answered, I ask the receptionist if anyone can see me as I'm really concerned about this thing. She says "sorry, we can only see you next year." So my response is, but what if this shits malignant? She in a rude tone is " well I'm sorry, but we can't help you" so I say to her well ok, but can you perhaps refer me to s...

At the urging of a friend I am going to get my shit together and blog more often. I don't write about stuff if there really isn't much to talk about, it's always the empty vessels that make the most noise, just take a look around you. Things have been a little weird of late, and I find myself out of sorts, so much so that even the wind tonight has me anxious, and it's keeping both Little Laika awake. Actually just me, as she has fallen asleep on my foot. A couple of rude awakenings have taken place in my life recently, one being finding out I'm diabetic, rather a great shock, but not unexpected, as I have lived my life to excess and I guess there has to be some cost. The other has been the realisation that in 5 years of living in this city, I have made very few friends, as beautiful as this city is, it also breeds a type of arrogance and self serving that I haven't seen in many places before. People who professed to be your friends but in truth really were o...

I just spent 6 days working in Johannesburg, and had a blast, besides the odd niggle, and the pollution, a lot hasn't changed since I left 5 years ago. I arrived Tuesday, and after popping into Randburg Motorcycles, an experience that has left a bitter taste in my mouth, Rob and I went to his place and set up the studio, awesome place, in a beautiful garden, everything set up right, perfect and in the evening I did a cover/clean up of a piece. Wednesday saw us make a quick tour of some of the studios in the northern suburbs, and found one has moved into my old premises in Greenside.... rather funny, popped in to see Thys, and Jen at Fallen Hero's before Sek's arrival and we then started his forearm Then at 6 Pippa arrived for her session, but we stopped for a bite, the Veda and Deon arrived and My brother Sandy and his Girl and there daughter, so the house got crazy. My hostess Michelle whipped up a dinner for the ever increasing masses, and buy 9 I had to grab Pippa...

We spent a long night tattooing this new piece for Robs other sleeve, it started out as a mermaid, but they have been done a lot, and i wanted to do something a little different, and it was that I came up with the Mermaid, Geisha, Shiva cross, with an emphasis on a very destructive mans ruin, and if that needs explaining, you will never get it. We started at at 16H30 and finished up at 02H30, a few breaks here and there, but all in all quit a session. I'm pleased with the outcome, we do however still get the ocean background in, a deep blue oriental inspired ocean and blend it into the Aum symbol on the shoulder I did 10 years ago. Tomorrow we finish up the other sleeve I started, based on his Grandad's experience of being shot down as a gunner in a Manchester Bomber in WW2, by a Meschershmidt  ME109 , and thats the image that will complete it. We went for a shave and hair cut at Burnet Fair today, and guys if you haven't been yet, it's well worth it a Visit,...