A little latin at work.

So I've finally been able to save a few bucks and get some more of these names inked. I promised a whole lot of people I'd do it and I was feeling a little like I was punking out. Not so much now. Besides the money, there's another thing that's hard to come by for me. Time. Ya, time. Everybody is busy I know but with work as crazy as it is, family stuff and now living in the country (read: commute time), it really makes it tough to find a few hours to sit and get tattooed. Then, I had this idea. I'm sitting at my desk at work a lot. All. Day. Long. What better place to get inked than there? I asked my bosses if that was going to be ok. Now if you asked to be able to get a tattoo at work, most bosses would likely look at you as if you had three heads. Not mine. They're so extremely supportive of this whole project. They said they'd be disappointed if I didn't get inked at work. So there you have it. Yesterday was my birthday. And my gift to this film and everyone following it is follow-through on my promise.

I sat at my desk and worked away while my buddy Pete sat behind me permanently listing the birds I saw in 2011 on my back. I loved his idea for the location of the tattoo yesterday. When we are done, there'll be two long columns of names down my back. The ones on the left are flush right and the ones on the right will be flush left, leaving my spine as the gutter between the two columns of type. This won't be enough room for all the names but it'll be about 60 of them. Then we will just move on to another body part not already covered in ink.

A lot of people have been asking me question of various types regarding the ink, the big year, the choice between common and Latin names. Instead of answering these questions randomly and not having any record of them, I was thinking of having a video/text FAQ on this blog. So please, ask me anything. Anything at all and I'll answer you while I'm getting tattooed and post it here for everyone. Share this notion with everyone you know. I'm happy to answer any questions you guys might have. Send your questions to punkrockbigyear AT gmail DOT com.

Instagrams by Rob Sturch (my writer).

Note: For all you serious birders out there, I already know about the error. The way I see it, this project isn't just about names, it's about showing a younger/wider audience that birdwatching and birdwatchers aren't what they might have thought. Also, with 234 names, there's bound to be some errors.