Kat Von D got burned... I almost feel bad

They say that you should never get a tattoo of the name or face of your lover. It's bad luck, as the legend goes. It's also common sense (and pretty tacky). No matter how much you love that person right now those feelings could change the next day, but a tattoo lasts forever.

Kat Von D, the acclaimed tattoo artist based out of Los Angeles and star of the TLC show LA Ink, was dating neo-Nazi and all-around-douchebag Jesse James. Was being the operating word. Remember the guy who broke Sandra Bullock's heart by cheating on her with a myriad of porn stars? Yeah, that's the guy Kat went after.

Last night on LA Ink we saw Kat get a tattoo of Jesse's fifth grade yearbook photo on her torso, right under her armpit. What a terrible idea, but Jesse seemed very pleased. Even though the two are no longer together, but Kat will always have Jesse's bad grade school haircut to look upon when she's missing him.

I wonder if she'll get a cover-up? This isn't the first time Kat had a lover memorialized on her skin. She used to have the words: "I Love You" written in a scribbly font in red on her right shoulder, which she has since covered up with roses. Something tells me roses just won't cut it this time.

Check out this hilarious video of Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live! as he gives Kat an award for her ridiculous mistake:






As if we didn't see this one coming-- you really should have known better. Smooth move, Ferguson.





image source

Go ahead, call me an anti-Dentite...

I'm nervous. Tomorrow Sookie and I both have dental appointments-- hers is at the Cat Clinic, and mine is with Dr. Le downtown.


My wisdom teeth. I want to dip them in gold and make a necklace or earrings out of them.
Sookie has a bad tooth which needs pulling. There is a possibility that more teeth will need to be pulled. Not only am I sad about the tooth loss, I am worried for Sookie because she has never had surgery before, and they're going to be giving her anesthesia, which really freaks me out. Going under is a serious procedure and I really hope that she will be okay throughout the duration. I want her to be well, but I am afraid for her because she's my baby.

I also have a dental appointment tomorrow, for the first time in two (?) years. It's been a while, anyway. Going to the dentist was never a fearful adventure for me before until somewhat recently. Perhaps it was all those years sitting in the orthodontist's chair, rubber device holding my tongue back, glue on my teeth, saws in my mouth, smelling the smoke coming out of your mouth-- it's like something out of a horror film!

But honestly, even though going to the orthodontist was a test in patience, I didn't hate going nor was I scared. Bored would probably be the word, uncomfortable too. The real fear started when I went, as an adult, to see my neighborhood dentist back in Philly-- Charlene Hurtz (name changed to protect the not so innocent) the lady I had rinsed and spat for since baby teeth.

Dr. Hurtz never shut up when she worked on my teeth. She'd ask questions and then expect me to answer her, with tools and spit in my mouth. She even once tried to explain something to me by comparing it to a pimple. As a pimply-faced fifteen year old I was not pleased, and didn't understand why she chose such an unfeeling metaphor. But that's not why I hate her.

Go ahead, call me an anti-Dentite. I dare you. I feel my fears are somewhat justified. I've been stabbed, jabbed, poked and prodded in the gums et al. more times by this dental professional than I can count. Too many years of torture, I say!

When you tell someone: "Please be careful in that spot, it's very sensitive. I think I have a cavity..." and then that person sticks a sharp, metal pointy thing into the spot in question, it's time to find a new dentist.

Growing up, my sister and I were stuck going to see Charlene because of our mom's health insurance plan. I'm so glad I had the luxury of my own health insurance when it came time to fill my cavities. I don't think I could have dealt with her, and I know it would have been painful. Her assistant is extremely sweet, though. If only she were the dentist!

Since I found a decent dentist in San Francisco I haven't been afraid to go, except for when it comes to paying the bill. It totally sucks not having insurance, and if you've never been without it then I hope you never have to. Completely footing the bill for exams, x-rays, cavity fillings, et cetera, which total in thousands of dollars, is no picnic.

Keep Sookie in your thoughts tomorrow! And my wallet!

Alleyways of art-- Valencia Street and Clarion Alley [photo walk]

I love street art. This is nothing new.

I try to remember to never leave the house without my camera, just so I can capture all of the gorgeous and transient scenery that I come across.

I took these photos sometime last month, but because I've been pretty busy recently I haven't had the time to share them with you until now. Please enjoy!


What Would Po Do? West Windsor Police Department? Working Weight Pull Dog? What does WWPD stand for?

Now here's a great idea if you're an artist looking to get your art work out there, but you don't have the connections to get a gallery show. Zip-tie your pieces to a chain link fence on a street that gets a lot of traffic. I saw these painted planks on Valencia street while I was on my way to Ben's fashion show.







Not surprisingly, some disrespectful passerby decided to deface one of the pieces by tagging it. Why do people do this? It's a crappy tag, but I guess the perp just had to leave their mark.



Abandoned and boarded-up properties make great poster walls. More art on Valencia Street:





















There is a little alley in the Mission (well, there are a few, actually) full of beautiful and crazy-looking murals:

Online entrepreneurs, bloggers, freelancers, Gen-Yers, social media mavens-- tell me your story!

So, as I have mentioned before, I have been working as a Community Manager for Monster.com's new professional networking application, BeKnown.

Recently I was given the assignment of writing an article about an aspect of BeKnown, and I chose to research and discuss the topic of people in non-conventional professions-- such as those of us who work from home-- and how they use professional networking and social media to enable their careers.

Are you an online entrepreneur or stay-at-home freelancer? Do you use social media? I want you to tell me about it! I posed this question during a social media Twitter chat and got a lot of good responses, but I'm looking for more.

Because we don't work within the normal corporate environment, we may feel disconnected. We can't rely on the input of nearby coworkers and there is no manager just down the hall to call upon when assistance is needed. However, by taking advantage of the internet, social media, and sophisticated networking apps (like BeKnown) we are able to stay as connected as our cubicle-counterparts (or even more than them).

I want to know about your experience using social networking in your career. How has it helped? How did you utilize it? Do you feel like you were able to advance yourself via the internet in a way that you wouldn't be able to do otherwise? Please be honest and be specific.



Please leave me a comment about your experience, send me a tweet @theTsaritsa, or e-mail me at alexandra.naughton@gmail.com. Don't forget to add me as a connection on BeKnown.

Thank you so much for taking the time to help me with this. I really appreciate your feedback!

Saying goodbye to Shalimar...

My best friend, Shalimar, is leaving San Francisco this week to live in Australia for a year. This makes me sad, but hopefully I will get a chance to visit her over there (if I can save up enough, that is). Tuesday night we had a little going away party to celebrate her new adventure, starting with dinner at a Thai restaurant, followed by hot cocoa (and a cucumber soda for me-- it was very light and refreshing, but reminded me of soap) at a bondage-themed coffee bar, and drinks and dancing at Q Bar in the Castro. Q Bar definitely put us in party mode!

When we first got there it wasn't empty, but it wasn't crowded either. We chatted with the bag-check girl for a minute before heading to the bar. I ordered a mojito for myself and a gin and tonic for Shalimar. My mojito was regularly priced, but it was mighty, but because they had a drink special on well drinks I got two gin and tonics for the price of one, which I handed to another lady in our party. Good deal.

The music was fun, even if I didn't like every song choice, and I learned what differentiates "house" music from other forms of techno (the tempo, oddly enough). I danced and pretended to be an aerobics instructor, doing my little leg raises, jumping around, and clapping. And one and two and one and two. And raise those knees. Raise those knees. Whoo! Feel the burn!

We took a short break from dancing to get our photos taken in front of a backdrop by a professional photographer. I'm sure the pics are hilarious considering all the wacky poses we pulled. Wonder if there are photos of me on the internet now growling with a tiger claw extended? Probably.

Right before I left, I made it my mission (with Shalimar's encouragement) to do a Miley Cyrus and dance on one of the poles situated right above a seating section and across from the DJ booth. I wasn't able to do anything fancy, because there were people everywhere at that point and the pole was too close to the wall to do a real spin, but I did some rump shaking Lil Jon would be proud of and hopped down. Enough exhibitionism for one night!

I'm going to see Shalimar again on Friday before she leaves San Francisco. I'm bummed about not having her in the Bay here with me, but I know I'll see her again soon. We met working at Whole Foods back in 2006 and we immediately hit it off. We used to go out after work every night and dance it up at our favorite club, Sal's. Even though we've lived far away from each other before we have always stayed close. My savings fund for Australia starts now.


Posing with our friendship teardrop tattoos (we've never been to prison-- though check out my accidental crip "c" I'm making in this photo-- but if we did I'd want Shalimar to be my celly) champagne toast style.

San Francisco Dyke March and unicorns yakking rainbows

My friend Shalimar invited me to join her and some friends at Dolores Park a few weekends ago for Gay Pride week here in San Francisco. We had a good time relaxing, listening to music, and people-watching at the park.

Everyone was dressed up in all different forms and fashions, from liquid latex to antique ball gowns. I didn't take any photos at the event, except for the one of the guy sleeping hanging out (I thought I caught a snap of the guy while he was napping in the shopping cart, but that was later on in the day) on top of a pile of beer cans, but I did take a bunch in the Mission when Ben came to meet me for dinner. I hope you like them!
























Uh, guys, "Cool" is misspelled here. It's "Kool Keith."

I'm ridiculous, yet a thug I'm not... inspiration for a new rap

Completely insane and at the same time surreally hilarious. I love Plastic Little-- they're Philly-based so of course I have mad love for them, but they truly are talented and rib-crackingly funny. I saw them open for Girl Talk in 2007 (?) and during the Girl Talk set I was dancing in the audience and P-Little's Kurt pulled me up on stage to dance next to the DJ. It was awesome. I've been bumping She's Mature a whole lot recently after overplaying and killing the album years ago.



"I just rap / make money off that / buy a yacht / put my house on top / find an island and buy that up too / and pirate the radio / tie that up / then I cook up some muddafuggin coke / and live like the Lord of The Flies til I'm old / I'm not a thug but I do know how to punch and run / I'm not a thug but I do know how to shoot a gun / I'm not a thug but I'll pull up in any f*cking place / I'm not a thug but I'll spit in your face..."

Now I'm killing "I'm Not a Thug," which isn't on my iTunes so I have to go on Youtube to play it repeatedly. The other night I played the song in my head as I was trying to drift into sleep and I started coming up with my own lines of how I am clearly the opposite of a thug. I've been inspired and I think I'll make my own song on the subject of how I'm more square than gangster, despite predominately listening to gangsta rap. I'm not a thug because I pay my library dues.

What lines would you add to the song? How are you not a thug? Tell me in the comments section!



In other news, I keep telling everyone I know to join Turntable.fm. You know how it is with obsessions, you just want to spread the good news to the rest of the world. And check it out, the site finally added black avatars! I'm the green kitty DJ, spinning some Kool Keith / Undertakerz. Join and come jam with me!

I hope you had a good weekend! I ended up going to the library, hanging out with a friend from out of town, and writing a blog about in-bound links and getting crazy amounts of traffic from other websites. Check it out if you haven't yet!

Wacky traffic-- are random page hits worth it?

Image by asalga via Flickr

There's a big difference between getting a large amount of traffic on your website and getting a large amount of meaningful traffic on your website.

If you're getting a bunch of page hits on your blog, more power to you, but you have to ask yourself if the people making all those hits are sticking around and actually consuming (and digesting) your content, or if they're clicking a link to your site and leaving without interacting.

Some time last month I left a comment on an article about the
"worldwide phenomenon" of planking, also known as the "lying down game." I, like many people, think the fad of taking a photo of yourself face-down in precarious locations is not only incredibly dangerous (a 20 year old man in Australia fell seven stories to his death in Australia when he tried planking on a balcony railing), but also remarkably stupid. Naturally, the opinion that I voiced on the Geekosystem post was not received well and an angry troll told me that I must be fat if I didn't like planking.

Specifically, the troll told me: "I've noticed that fat people don't like planking. Are you fat?"

I replied: "I've noticed smart people don't leave inane comments. Are you stupid?" and left a link to one of my style posts inviting him to take a look at my fat ass.

This was a month ago and I'm still getting tons of traffic from that dumb comment I left.



It's not good traffic, because comments are not being left nor has there been any other kind of interaction-- just a bunch of lookie-loos expecting to see photos of a large bottom. I did a little experiment and went back to the comment that I left and edited it by replacing one style post link with a link to another one of my style posts. The new link has surpassed the first in the amount of traffic it drew.

It's remarkable to me because the article I left the link on is not even new anymore, and the subject of planking is hardly fresh according to internet time, where users move on from one trend to another with unbelievable quickness. Tiger Blood who?

It just goes to show you how powerful a little link dropping can be. Imagine if the comment I wrote was left on another influential website with articles more in-line with what I write about. Do you think those people would stick around? It's interesting to think about.

Ripping the covers off! Karaoke!

Image via Wikipedia- this photo has nothing to do with this blog post.

Ring of Death time is here again. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, then you must be new here. Please take my refresher course on all things KROD-related:

A few of us twenty-something bloggers got it into our heads to videotape ourselves singing and dancing along to one of our favorite songs within a particular theme. The theme changes every month, ranging from one-hit wonders to songs we've recorded or listened to on mixed tapes when we were in high-school, based upon suggestions and voted on by everyone. Sounds fun, right? Well, maybe not if you're the shy type, but being the ham that I am, I do this every month. Yes.

This month the theme is cover songs and rip-offs. Jas is a new blog friend of mine and I have to give her major props for posting this video, my very first round of the sacred Ring O' Death where I got a little drizzy. Please go check it out on her blog Smile Big And Pretty!

I had my girlfriends over the other night and while we were sitting around my kitchen table sipping mimosas and playing "Never Have I Ever" it was suggested that we make a music video. It was my friend Evy's idea, but it ended up working out perfectly for me. I warned the girls that what we were about to do was going to go on the internet and hit the "record" button. Take a look and leave a comment-- I hope you enjoy!

This month I'm hosting David, who writes The Fiction Factory. David is awesome because he's one of the few Ring-O-Deathers that is actually musically talented.

Hello friends!

First of all, I want to express how excited I am to be hosted by the always lovely Tsarista. For those of you who don't know, she's kind of a superstar among the 20sb crowd, so I consider it an honour to have my face on her blog.

Unfortunately, this particular video is pretty crappy, even by my standards. It was recorded in the evening, and I still don't have a decent camera, so I realize the quality is lacking. As always, please turn up your volume if you really want to hear my voice. For those of you who make it all the way through, you have my gratitude, and I hope you still like me.





Aww, David! Of course we still like you! Karaoke is all about putting yourself out there, so kudos :)

Also, don't forget to check out our ringleader Sara's blog, Sara Swears A Lot, for the master list!

Thieving Netflix and Kitty Spinnin Records

Did anyone else get a notice from Netflix in their inbox this week? Yesterday I got an email from the DVD mail-order service letting me know that they will be increasing the charges for subscriptions beginning in August. Disregard "Queen Alexandra" (I didn't want Netflix to know my last name because I've opened multiple subscriptions with them over the years where I got the first month free-- shhhh don't tell), here's the email:




I changed my plan to two discs a month as soon as I read the email, but I think I'm just going to unsubscribe completely. The discs I receive are usually scratched and quite often unplayable-- and mailing them back, waiting for them to arrive in the mail, only to get more scratched discs is a colossal waste of time.

This change might be beneficial to those who mostly watch movies on their computers, or who have Instant Queues on their televisions, but I don't use either of those services. Thank you, Netflix, for reminding me that I could be saving that twenty dollars a month that I let you take from my pockets. The San Francisco Free Library has a decent selection of DVDs, anyway.

Youtube is free, too. Check out this kitty DJ!

Like Andy Cohen, I also list my obsessions

Do you ever watch Watch What Happens Live, the thirty-minute live Bravo show in which Real Housewives and other shows from the channel are recapped and discussed amongst sundry guests? Well, at some point in the show the host, Andy Cohen, takes a moment to tell his viewers about three things he's obsessed with at the moment. I'm obsessed with a few things right now, and I thought I would share them with you:

- Turntable.fm has become my new main resource for music. Have you been on the site yet? I kept seeing updates from my friends on Twitter about what songs they were playing in which room on Turntable.fm. I didn't think much of it at first, but after seeing a dozen or so updates about DJ parties happening on this website I caved into my curiosity and logged in. I ended up spending the rest of the day creating playlists and party-hopping from room to room with my little avatar, jamming out and spinning hip-hop with fellow Wu-Tang fiends. It's awesome. Come spin with me!



- I'm in the midst of writing an article about online professional networking and how it benefits people in our generation, particularly people with alternative careers such as entrepreneurs and work-at-home business people. If you feel like you have anything to say on this topic, please drop me a line!

- Writing raps. Wishing I had the skillz to produce my own beats. Maybe I'll start farting around on Garageband and see what transpires from that. The raps I have now are paired with instrumental beats (Dead Prez, Swizz Beats, et cetera), and I have a friend who said he could help me record them. I'm very excited about finally cutting some wax again, it's been a while.

- Bay area hip-hop, but not Kreayshawn. Although I agree with the overall message of her single "Gucci Gucci" that I keep hearing and see being discussed everywhere, I think she is a lousy rapper (but it's kind of growing on me). The dismissal of materialism is awesome (I've always felt like a sense of style meant more than being a slave to designer labels, and I love Kreayshawn's rejection of those "basic bitches") and the beat is siiiiick, but I'm not really a fan of Kreayshawn's rapping style. It's irritating. And rapping about selling Adderall? That's nothing to brag about, it's just really lame. I'd rather catch random cyphers while window-shopping or bump some LURKDAT.

- My steam mop. Ben got me a Eureka Enviro Steamer mop and I really love it. I asked for it for Christmas but he ordered it online and it didn't arrive until after the holiday. This is not the first time I asked "Santa" for cleaning equipment as a Christmas gift. My mom gave me my much-desired Swiffer Sweeper when I was 13. I loved that thing. Yes, I know I'm weird. I had the house to myself this weekend and what did I do? Had my friends over, drank mimosas, made a karaoke video, and cleaned. You could eat off my kitchen linoleum right now.



- BeKnown and developing a super-critical eye when it comes to web design and function. I wrote about my new job as Community Manager for Monster.com's new professional networking application, BeKnown a few weeks ago (please add the app and connect with me-- I'd love to hear your thoughts).

Since then I have spent a great amount of time scouring the internet for articles about the app and dissecting BeKnown itself to pick out which features should be added and what is working well and could be expanded upon. I've also taken this critical eye to every website I visit, including the first obsession on this list.

- Messing with my sidebar. I just added a Networked Blogs widget to my sidebar and I'll probably rearrange the placement of the widgets about six or seven times until I'm satisfied. OCD, anyone?

On my way to where the air is sweet, can you tell me how to get to Larkin Street? [photo walk]

I had some exciting news yesterday! If you missed it, you can read about it here. Here is the photo set I promised you. I tried to edit all the photos last night, but Ben and I took his brother out to a trance party and by the time I got back in front of my computer it was a quarter to two in the morning. I almost considered taping my eyelids open, but a girl's gotta blink every now and then, right? Keep those eyeballs moisturized. Enjoy the snappies!


















The skeleton produce master depicted on this truck in Japantown reminds me of Daniel Day Lewis' character from Gangs of New York.