Alright ModBlog readers, the weekend is almost here and I’m almost done work for the day.  Before I head out the door there is still this week’s news to cover.  Before we get to that, I just wanted to remind you that if you stumble across any news stories that you think should be included in the news of the week, just send me an e-mail.

Now then, lets get things started with a pretty incredible story from the UK.

Doctors have treated a young boy with a large birthmark on his face… by implanting horns in his forehead. George Ashman, 5, was born with a bright red blemish on his forehead and his mother Karen, 33, feared he would endure a lifetime of bullying. So when he was four he underwent a surgical procedure to stretch the ‘normal’ skin on his forehead so the birthmark could be removed and covered with the new unblemished tissue.

Doctors inserted two tissue expanders under the skin, which gradually inflated so they looked like two perfect devil’s horns. After four months the implants were removed and the blemish was cut out, allowing the new skin to be stitched together – leaving just a small Harry Potter-style scar on George’s forehead.

During the four months he had the horns, George was subjected to cruel taunts from passers-by. Karen – who is separated from George’s father Lee, a printer, said: ‘School kids hanging around on street corners were laughing and pointing. ‘Once, a teenage lad came right up to us to have a good look. He uttered a cry of disgust. ‘I was tearful and emotional. I had no problem loving my son but others’ reactions were hard to deal with. I felt like everyone was against us.’ George went under the knife in April this year to remove the birthmark and have his ‘new’ skin stretched across in its place. He has only a small scar where the blemish used to be and has now started school with his friends.

Karen said: ‘What I’m most proud of is that through all this I’ve seen strength in George that I never had as a child. He’s different, but he’s himself – and he has never let it hold him back. ‘My little devil’s got guts – and with or without his birthmark and his horns I’ll always love him to bits for that.’

Even with his head being kid sized, those are probably some of the largest forehead implants I’ve seen.  And to think they got that big after only 4 months.

More news to come including a treatment for amputees, and a new type of prosthetic limb.

While this only falls loosely into the body modification category, it’s still pretty interesting.  Basically doctors have performed a rare surgery that replaced an amputated thumb with a toe.

In the days immediately following the accident, Ramey didn’t care that his thumb was missing; he was alive. But as time passed, he thought about an option UAB Surgeon James Long, M.D., had mentioned in the hospital — he could get a new thumb by transplanting one of his toes.  “Before this happened, if someone had told me, ‘If you ever lose your thumb, we can use one of your toes to replace it,’ I probably would have said I’d never have that surgery,” Ramey says. “Most people don’t want a toe on their hand. After it happens, though, everything changes.”  After several consultations with Long and much deliberation, Ramey decided to have the rare surgery. Long, associate professor of plastic and reconstructive surgery, transplanted the second toe from Ramey’s right foot into the thumb position on his left hand in a 13-hour surgery Aug. 24 — two years and nine days after Ramey had lain in the wreckage of his Subaru Baja.

Long says UAB is one of the few hospitals in the country — and the only one in Alabama — to perform toe-to-thumb transplants. Ramey is the second UAB patient to have the surgery in the past two years.  The majority of publicized toe-to-thumb transplants around the country involve the surgeon relocating the big toe to the hand. But the new thumb isn’t proportioned like a regular thumb, and the lack of a big toe can affect balance significantly, Long says.  Though aesthetics play a role in the transplant decision, Long prefers that not be the primary reason for surgery.  “I always emphasize to patients that function comes before appearance,” Long says. “However, when it’s feasible for us to achieve both goals, we always aim for that.”  For Ramey — a young man with an active lifestyle — removing his big toe was not an option. He favored the transplant only if it could be done using his second toe.  “Cary’s goal was to return to the things he was doing before he got hurt,” Long says. “He never would have been able to do them if his big toe had been used to replace his thumb.”  “I was thinking more about functionality than what it would look like,” Ramey says.

Like I said, it doesn’t fall into any of the traditional body modification categories, but it was something that he chose to have done.  He could have lived his entire life missing his thumb, but instead opted for an elective surgery that modified both his hand and foot.

While on the subject of amputations, a prosthetic company has introduced a new line of prosthetics which can be customized to every little detail, including freckles, hairs, and tattoos.

A prosthetic technology company has unveiled an ultra-realistic range of limbs with features such as freckles, hairs and even tattoos. Scottish company Touch Bionics have been hand-crafting upper limb prostheses for years but have recently introduced a new photographic system that is designed to make passive prostheses look as real as possible.

The products, which come in parts of fingers, whole fingers, hands or arms, are known as passive prostheses – although light joints can be built in so they can be manually bent into different shapes. Made from high definition silicone, they are part of the ‘Living Skin’ range and are designed with the help of a patent-pending imaging system called ‘Living Image’.

If a patient needs a single prosthetic such as a hand or finger, experts use the system to scan the skin tone, features and shape of their remaining limb. The system, which simulates natural light for the best colour match, sends the resulting image via the internet to the production facility in Scotland. The resulting prosthetic is hand-painted to exactly match skin tone and appearance.

Next up we have Montreal native Pat Vaillancourt who is in the process of getting 25,000 internet URLs tattooed on his body.

Yep, so Pat Vaillancourt has 10,012 URL’s tattooed on his back. His goal is to get to 25,000. Each URL must be unique and he is allowed to ink more than one URL into his skin during the same sitting, according to Record Setter (although could you imagine going back to a tattoo parlor 10,012 times for, like, ten minutes?) (sounds like a very special episode of L.A. Ink).

The Montreal-based body art fiend is raising money to help repair the destruction in Haiti by donating half the proceeds from sponsored URL placement to relief efforts, which is awesome.

You know, it’s a great idea, and the money is going to a good cause, but when I look at the photo all I can picture is the text blurring into big square blotches over time.

Today’s final story isn’t really news.  It’s an article examining body modification, gender, and self-empowerment.  It touches on a lot of things I’ve brought up in the past, like how the media portrays modified people, and the bias it places on modified women in general.

Recently I stumbled across this interview with Jacqui Moore, a rather well-known and visible member of the body modification community for her extensive black and grey full body suit. Bearing the rather exploitative tagline (which states “A respectable mother celebrated her divorce by asking her new boyfriend to cover her entire body – with a single TATTOO”), which makes her sound not only impulsive but pathological, what does this case reveal about contemporary body modification practices? What is the relationship between gender, patriarchy, and body modification? And what are the costs of using indigenous iconography and rituals in one’s body modification practices?

If you have time over the weekend, give it a read.

That’s it for this week’s news.  Have a great weekend everyone.

It’s time again for the weekly newsfeed roundup, and this week is a pretty good one.  We’ve got stories on medical advancements, religion and tattoos, and how one state is bringing members of the APP on board to help draft up piercing regulations.

To start off today, researchers have created a “tattoo-like” electronic film that can be used to monitor a person’s vital signs.

In a paper published in Friday’s edition of the journal Science, researchers explain that they embedded electronic sensors in a film thinner than the diameter of a human hair – and then placed it on a polyester backing like that used for kids’ temporary tattoos. The result? A sensor flexible that is enough to bend with human skin.

Instead of using an adhesive, the bandage-like device relies on a weak force called the van der Waals force, which causes molecules and surfaces to stick together without interfering with motion. Sound familiar? This is the force that allows geckos to climb smooth vertical surfaces. In tests, the device remained in place for up to 24 hours. Although normal shedding of skin cells would eventually cause the monitors to come off, Rogers said he thought they could remain in place as long as two weeks.

In addition to monitoring heart rate and temperature, the device could monitor brain waves, aid muscle movement, sense the larynx for speech, emit heat to help heal wounds and perhaps even be made touch sensitive and placed on artificial limbs, Rogers said. He declined to state how soon the electronic skin would be ready for market or what it would cost.

The device could help fill the need for equipment that has more reliable monitoring – and is more convenient and less stressful for patients, said Zhenqiang Ma, a University of Wisconsin engineering professor who was not part of the research team. The device can simply be stuck on or peeled off like an adhesive bandage, he said.

There’s a lot more news to come so grab a drink, put your feet up, and keep on reading.

I’ve posted a couple of amputation related stories in the past week or so, with a lot of discussion going on behind the motivations for self amputation.  However, this story isn’t about those who choose amputation, but about someone who didn’t have the choice, and is doing something for all amputees.

Hugh Herr’s legs were amputated below his knees in 1982 after a climbing accident. From his knees down to the floor, he’s completely artificial.  “I’m titanium, carbon, silicon, a bunch of nuts and bolts,” he tells Fresh Air‘s Terry Gross. “My limbs that I wear have 12 computers, five sensors and muscle-like actuator systems that able me to move throughout my day.”  But Herr doesn’t just wear artificial legs. He designs them, too. As the director of the Biomechatronics Group at the MIT Media Lab, Herr and his team are responsible for creating prosthetic devices that feel and act like biological limbs.

“My biological body will degrade in time due to normal, age-related degeneration. But the artificial part of my body improves in time because I can upgrade. … So I predict that when I’m 80 years old, I’ll be able to walk with less energy than is required of a person who has biological legs, I’ll be more stable, and I’ll probably be able to run faster. … The artificial part of my body is, in some sense, immortal.”

“We want the bionic limb to have a humanlike shape but we don’t want the bionic leg to look human. We want it to look like a beautiful machine, to express machine beauty as opposed to human beauty — and the reason is, we want the user to pull a black sock over their bionic limb and have their limb appear to be fully biological and then the very next evening, go to a fancy party where they pull that sock off and they expose the fact that part of their body is bionic.”

It’s an interesting read about someone who has embraced his amputation, and sees his artificial limbs as an extension of his body.  By modifying his limbs, he sees it as modifying himself, as these limbs are now part of who he is.

This next story is one that is still years from becoming a reality, but it is one step closer to developing artificial organs that can be implanted into a person.

Researchers have created an artificial lung that uses air as a ventilating gas instead of pure oxygen – as is the case with current man-made lungs, which require heavy tanks of oxygen that limit their portability. The prototype device was built following the natural lung’s design and tiny dimensions and the researchers say it has reached efficiencies akin to the genuine organ. With a volume roughly the same as a human lung, the device could be implanted into a person and even be driven by the heart.

The artificial lung is filled with breathable silicone rubber versions of the blood vessels that branch down to a diameter less than one-fourth of human hair. It was created by first building a mould with miniature features and then layering on a liquid silicone rubber that solidified into artificial capillaries and alveoli. They air and blood channels were then separated with a gas diffusion membrane.

Potkay says the device is a major step towards an easily portable and implantable artificial lung and the team envisions patients using the technology while allowing their own diseased lungs to heal, or implanting one while awaiting a lung transplant.

Science.  It works, bitches.

In other news, the CDC is investigating a rare bacterium that has been linked to tattoos from a studio in Washington.

In the Emerging Infectious Diseases journal published by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), it has been reported that rare and difficult-to-treat bacterial infection even in healthy individuals can be linked to tattoos. The conclusion was based on researchers findings which identified skin infections caused by Mycobacterium haemophilum in two healthy adults who were tattooed at the same parlor.

Mycobacterium haemophilum belongs to the same family of bacteria which causes tuberculosis and leprosy, is unresponsive to treatment with antimicrobial drugs and usually affects adults with impaired immunity. The infection produces subcutaneous nodules, papules, pustules commonly painless at first but eventually progressing into deep ulcers that are potentially very painful.

Since no deviations from Washington State safety and sanitation standards were recognized at the tattoo parlor, water used in a rinse solution applied during and after tattooing and to dilute ink for shading is suspected to be the source of the bacteria.

The industry standards do not specifically require tattoo artists to use steam-distilled or sterile water when rinsing needles or diluting ink, and tap water is often used in the parlors. With water being a suspected reservoir for the bacterium Mycobacterium haemophilum, the CDC has advised against using tap water for tattoo procedures, although infections attributable to water appear very rare.

That’s some pretty scary stuff, and hopefully it prompts more artists to consider using some form of sterile water for rinsing.  Of course, this is VERY RARE, and isolated to one studio, so it could just be an overreaction on the part of the CDC.

Speaking of communicable diseases, a studio in Coleman, AB has been closed due to Alberta Heath Services discovering that piercings were taking place without proper sterilization techniques.  This closure applies to the Victor Proctor piercing operation that was running independently out of Tommy Gun Tattoo Shop.  Anyone who has had piercings done at this location is urged to get blood work done immediately.

While on the subject of transmittable diseases, CNN has done an interview with an HIV positive man, discussing what the biohazard symbol means to him.

Howard might not have come across as such a calm person in late 2005, when he found out he was HIV-positive. After his diagnosis, he felt “dirty” in his own skin, and feared infecting others if he so much as cut his hand. Getting the wrist tattoos helped him in his journey toward self-acceptance.  “It’s a branding of who I am, and it’s a branding of being comfortable with that, being comfortable with who I am,” said Howard, 37, who lives in Portland, Oregon.

Howard is one of many people living with HIV who have chosen to get tattoos to represent living with the disease. They say these tattoos help start conversations, reduce stigma and serve as reminders of how living with HIV has changed their lives.

The origins of HIV-related tattoos are murky, but the biohazard symbol is recognized in connection with HIV among many gay men, said David Dempsey, clinical director at the Alexian Brothers Bonaventure House in Chicago and The Harbor in Waukegan, Illinois, both transitional living facilities for HIV-positive individuals recovering from alcohol and substance dependence.  “It’s to let other men know that they’re HIV-positive so that they don’t have to come out and say it,” he said. In situations of anonymous sex, it can signal status to potential partners and, in that sense, may help with prevention, because unprotected sex with an HIV-infected individual can spread the disease, he said.  For those with HIV, seeing someone else with a biohazard symbol is a sign this is another person living with the disease who might provide support, Conley said, like a “secret identification code.”

It goes on to delve into the history behind the biohazard symbol, as well as how it has come to help many HIV positive people cope with the stigma of having the disease.

Speaking of stigmas, one particular stigma has followed people with tattoos for centuries.  According to some religions, getting tattooed goes against their teachings and can even go so far as to prevent them from having a funeral service in accordance with their faith.  This can pose a problem for young people who wish to honor their faith with a tattoo, as doing so could put them in a position later in life that they may not wish to be in.

From an historic perspective, the prohibition against tattooing and, by extension, branding and scarification, was intended to prevent ancient Israelites from following the religious practices of non-Jews in general, and Baal worshipers specifically. In biblical times the Tribe lived in close proximity to non-Jews who practiced ceremonial tattooing to honor their gods and their dead, a form of idol worship and something which absolutely must be forbidden for Jews as a way of insuring a strong, enduring, Jewish identity.

While it is true that tattoos have been considered completely forbidden, regardless of intent, for nearly 1,000 years, there were at least 2,000 years of Jewish life and culture that did not completely ban tattoos, as well as a fairly significant period of time between the two opposing viewpoints where the meaning and effect of Leviticus 19:28 was rigorously debated, an argument that continues to this day. It has even been suggested by a number of archaeologists that ancient Jews practiced tattooing themselves, within a Jewish framework and completely free of the taint of idolatry.

In our zealous eagerness to prohibit all tattoos, an attempt to insure the greatest level piety and conformation with the laws of the Torah, we may have lost sight of our original mitzvah, to simply not tattoo as idol worship in order to foster a strong, lasting Jewish identity. In the process of increasing our piety and stretching the possible meanings of the mitzvah, we may have prevented others from expressing their Jewish identities in a way that was acceptable for the majority of Jewish history, tattooing.

In today’s final story, piercers in Oregon have been asked to volunteer to be a part of the states new Board of Body Art Practitioners.

Jon Guac burned a design into his skin with a candle and fork to prove a point during a dinner debate about whether branding was an art form. As a teenager, he carved “Iron Maiden” into his arm “for experimentation.”  Stories like his, along with graphic photos of extreme body modifications, encouraged the 2011 Oregon Legislature to establish a new Board of Body Art Practitioners. But body piercers worry that Internet photos of untrained hacks slicing bloody skin with scalpels will distract the board from writing rules for what they say is a bigger problem: licenses for common piercings like ears and belly buttons. The board will oversee a hodge-podge of ‘body arts,’ from tattoos and ear piercings to laser hair removal and designs burned into the skin. The governor’s office is looking for seven members: two body piercers, two tattooists, one electrologist, one health care provider and one member of the general public.

Some legislators endorse the creation of specialty licenses for some body arts that verge on being a medical procedure and require advanced knowledge of anatomy. Others think high-risk procedures simply should be banned.   “If you regulate, that implies you will have clinical training,” Sen. Frank Morse, R-Albany, said in a hearing. “Where are you going to find clinical training to put double rings in the glans on a penis?”   Piercers say it’s a waste of resources to regulate the things that most frightened the Legislature. Very few people are interested in extreme body modifications and even fewer offer those services, often traveling the country to find enough clients. Regulations or bans would not slow the practices, just move them farther underground, they argue.

Most piercers want to focus energy on reforms for the more commonplace piercing industry. They suggest changes to improve customer safety, thin the crowd of under-qualified competitors and level the economic playing field for jewelry made from better materials.   Nearly 500 people are licensed body piercers in the state, a 30 percent increase from 2008. No specialized training is required to receive an Oregon piercing license. A person just has to be 18 years old with a high school diploma or equivalent and submit proof of training on blood born pathogens.

Blake Perlingieri, owner of Nomad Precision Body Adornment and Tribal Museum, thinks it’s about time Oregon caught up on body piercing regulation.   Perlingieri began his apprenticeship at the opening of the world’s second piercing studio in 1988, co-founded the Association of Professional Piercers in 1994 and helped petition the California Legislature for sanitation standards that have been adopted widely in the U.S.  As the piercing world ballooned from a pocket of urban subcultures into mainstream popularity, training didn’t keep up. Piercers of all experience levels opened shops to meet the growing demand, sharing their often-limited experience with new staff and endangering their customers with poor work more likely to become infected.   Perlingieri petitioned the Oregon Legislature in the 1990s to adopt training standards similar to a cosmetology license. He proposed issuing temporary licenses to apprentices until they have done thousands of piercings.

That’s it for this week’s news.  Have a fun and safe weekend and I’ll see you back here Monday.

Remember if you ever come across a story you think should be included in the news roundup, simply click here, or send me an e-mail: [email protected]

This week’s news round-up should be a bit interesting as I’m fighting off a fever and having 20 tabs open in my browser is starting to blur my vision.

Granted it appears I’m not the only person with a fever out there.  Take this California man who has an extreme case of Bieber fever.

Now with the recent announcement that the zodiac signs are all changing quite a number of people were scared their zodiac tattoos will need to be covered up or removed.  Well it turns out the good people at CNN have found out that your sign actually isn’t changing at all.  (Thanks to Chez for the link).

But before astrology fans scrape the ink from their arms because they think they’re now a Virgo instead of a Libra, they should consider this: If they adhered to the tropical zodiac – which, if they’re a Westerner, they probably did – absolutely nothing has changed for them.  That’s worth rephrasing: If you considered yourself a Cancer under the tropical zodiac last week, you’re still a Cancer under the same zodiac this week.

That’s because the tropical zodiac – which is fixed to seasons, and which Western astrology adheres to – differs from the sidereal zodiac – which is fixed to constellations and is followed more in the East, and is the type of zodiac to which the Star Tribune article ultimately refers.

Lots more news to come, including an old ModBlog regular making the jump into the limelight, and a publishing company offering free books to their fans.

Say you love a book so much you get a tattoo that is inspired by it.  This happens all the time.  Heck even I’m guilty of hiding a literary reference in my skin.  Well it turns out that if you’re a fan of the publications of Black Ocean, and you have a tattoo referencing one of their works, you’ll get a lifetime subscription for free!

Of course not everyone is as die hard a fan of poetry as others.  To some, loving their favorite football team is all the inspiration they need.

Not a sports fan?  That’s ok, you can show your dedication to something else you love.  Like your cell phone provider.  Wait, what?

The big question, of course, is why is he doing this? Carrion told IntoMobile that he’s “just a really, really big fan of Verizon Wireless,” and that the idea to put Big Red’s logo on his body (for life) came to him “while [he] was paying his monthly bill.” We gotta hand it to the guy for putting ideas into action so quickly.

When asked if he was looking to get publicity in some way or looking for any kind of compensation from Verizon by putting a the corporate logo tattoo on his hand and forehead, Carrion replied that “Verizon probably spends millions in advertising and marketing every year, I’m not doing this to get money, but sponsoring my tattoo would be a relatively cheap way to increase brand exposure, and I wouldn’t turn down any compensation.” He continued to explain that the forehead placement would ensure that “the logo will be in front of all my friends and anyone I run into on a daily basis.” It’s clear that this Big Red customer is seriously dedicated to the Verizon network.

Moving on, we’ve got news out of Atlanta about a tattoo artist who was arrested last week for not only tattooing underage children in his home, but also for creating a fake tattoo license.  While he is being charged for tattooing the minors, it seems the courts are pushing hard for a conviction on the forgery charges.

Heading north to Oshawa, ON, a number of people are being advised to contact the Durham region health department.  Basically anyone who visited a mobile tattoo and piercing studio may have been exposed to various diseases after the operation was found to be using non-sterilized equipment.

While the Oshawa health department is out inspecting studios, it seems that down in Wyoming a number of studios are pushing for state-wide regulations.

But in Wyoming, where Edwards now runs his business, customers aren’t likely to find that certificate of assurance saying the business has passed a public health inspection, or even met sterile practices considered paramount in the industry.  Wyoming’s lack of tattoo regulations places customers at risk, Edwards said, especially when they turn to so-called “scratch artists” working from their garages.  ”If there were regulations, those people would have to be certified,” Edwards said. “They would have to keep to the same standards as the artists who have worked their whole lives in the business.”  Edwards has an unlikely ally in Charles Jamieson, the Park County public health officer who’s pushing the state to regulate Wyoming’s tattoo industry.

The only problem I have with this article is the thought that a tattoo artist and a public health officer are unlikely allies.  I’m fairly certain the majority of clean studios are happy to meet regulations as they not only protect the clients, but also the artists.

Now, this next article is probably going to generate some discussion, and I went to multiple sites to confirm that this was a legitimate study before posting it.  According to researchers, stainless steel tongue studs are more likely to cause infections than any other type of jewelry, including plastic.

Physician Ines Kapferer of the Innsbruck Medical University in Austria and colleagues identified 68 women and 12 men, average age 23, who had tongue piercings with studs inserted. The researchers examined tooth and gum health in each volunteer and removed the studs. The volunteers were then randomly assigned to get a new stud made of stainless steel, titanium, polypropylene (a plastic polymer) or polytetrafluorethylene (Teflon). After two weeks, the scientists removed those studs and took swabs of the tongue, the piercing canal and each stud itself.

Tests for 80 bacteria linked to illness or infection showed that 67 of the 80 species had accumulated substantially more on the stainless steel studs than on the polymers, and 28 of the bacteria showed up more on titanium than on the polymers.

Now the problem I have with this study is that while in the limited scope of the testing the stainless steel posts accumulated more bacteria, they don’t mention sterility issues when the piercing actually occurs.  This of course could lead to a slew of shops being able to claim that acrylic jewelry is safer to piece with than sterilized stainless surgical steel.  Any thoughts from the piercers that read ModBlog on how this study could impact their business?

Moving on, there is some sad news to report this week.  Jack Dracula, former Coney Island tattoo artist and circus performer passed away at the age of 75.

His name was Jack Dracula or Jack Martin or Barcelona Jack, the Marked Man but he was born on Christmas day, 1935 as Jack Baker. After a short stint in the Navy, Jack got his start tattooing after he entered a shop on Coney Island owned by Brooklyn Blackie, when he was tossed a gun and told to do it himself. Jack did a piece on his thigh and never stopped. Over time he did work and received work in various shops, tattooing his his face, cheeks, chin. forehead and all around his eyes. Most prominent were the images of Bella Lugosi/Dracula and Boris Karloff/Frankenstein on his stomach. All in total the Marked Man had over 400 tattoos.

Jack spent the last of his days in West Philadelphia’s Park Pleasant Nursing Home his legs amputated from the knees down due to complications with diabetes developed in the 90′s.  At the age of 75, our beloved Jack Dracula died today at 5:30pm, after a meal of chocolate ice cream and a long, interesting life, reportedly due to a heart attack.

Rest in Peace Jack.

–Kevin Dalton

Down under things are still looking tough for the people affected by the massive flooding that has affected a large portion of the population.  For some Queensland tattoo studios, the flooding has washed away almost everything.

“I am covered for a sonic boom, can you believe that? But not a flood, a sonic boom,” said the 35-year-old business owner and mum to three boys.  She’s been knee-deep in mud in the clean-up of her flood-affected salon called Body Bare in the main street of Ipswich.  ”I was scouring my insurance policy’s PDS (product disclosure document) on Monday night and they won’t be paying anything out for a flood,” said Ms Hill, who has owned the business for five years.

Around the corner on Brisbane Street, Janelle Roberts, owner of the Ultimate Image Tattooing, wants to move out.  ”I can’t stay here. I want to get to a higher location but I have three years left on my lease,” she said.  ”Do I have to keep paying rent if my shop is ruined? We’ve easily lost $50,000 just in art work and equipment and will be shut for who know’s how long. My building’s just not safe right now. It’s old and the wiring is shot.”

On a much lighter note, the international press is buzzing due to the revelation that Germany’s first lady has a tattoo.  Not just any tattoo mind you, a decently sized tribal piece on her shoulder.

Ever since we heard that Germany’s First Lady Bettina Wulff has a tribal tattoo on her right shoulder, we’ve been waiting for her to wear a sleeveless gown and show off her ink. So far, no dice!  But last Friday night, she stepped out to the Semper Opera Ball in Dresden wearing a lacy, black dress and we can totally make out her tat. While we think it’s a pretty cool accessory, we can also see how it might be considered un-First-Ladylike.

I’m just waiting for the day the US has a president with full sleeves.  I can only imagine the poutrage at that.

Of course, the week wouldn’t be complete without a look at the people we all love to hate.

Jesse James and Kat Von D are still in the news this week with rumors floating about that they’re now engaged.  The article has a fantastic photo of what a happy couple may look like.

Now when rapper Gucci Mane was finally released from a mental institution recently, he did what any newly certified sane person would do:  get an ice cream cone tattooed on his face.

Rapper Gucci Mane has had a large tattoo of a triple-scoop ice cream cone inked onto his face just days after he was released from a mental health facility.  Mane, real name Radric Davis, appeared in court on January 3 claiming mental incompetence and saying he was unable to ‘intelligently participate in the probation revocation hearing’.  The 30-year-old was sent to a mental health facility to be evaluated.

It is unclear why he has since been released and how it affects his probation status.  When he was released he got the ice cream facial tattoo complete with the word, ‘Brrr’ on the cone and red lightning strikes coming out of it.

Now, I’m not posting this to mock his tattoo, because frankly, it’s his skin and he can choose to do whatever he wants to do with it.  However, when a person walks out of a mental institution, especially one with an entourage and handlers, you’d think it’d be a good idea to steer them clear of a tattoo studio, just in case their judgement is still impaired.  But given that he already has neck and facial tattoos, who’s to say he wasn’t planning it for a while.

A few months back I posted a story describing how Rooney Mara, the actress to take on the role of Lisbeth Salandar in the American adaptation of “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”, had undergone a pretty radical transformation, including multiple piercings.  This week the studio released a few photos of Rooney, and you can see that she really has given herself over to the role.

From what I can see the list of piercings include multiple ear piercings, a lip ring, a single nostril, and according to other news sources, both of her nipples.  Who knows, maybe the remake won’t be a complete waste of time.

In today’s final story, we’ve got someone who should look pretty familiar to ModBlog readers.  Zombie Boy, aka Rick Genest first popped up on ModBlog back in 2006.  Since then, this young man has appeared several times on ModBlog, as well as in other publications all around the world.  Well this week he’s been thrust into the media spotlight thanks to Nicola Formichetti, stylist to Lady Gaga and Thierry Mulger’s new creative director.

This week, Nicola Formichetti was in Montreal photographing a young man named Rick Genest, whom he found on Facebook and is known as Rico. Mr. Genest had his body tattooed to resemble a skeleton, with blackened eye sockets and ghoulishly large dentiture on his lips. “Rico is my muse,” Mr. Formichetti, who styles Lady Gaga, wrote in an e-mail.

Of course, with Mulger introducing a new clothing line, and Gaga about to release a new album, the time was right for Formichetti to unleash his muse upon the world via this video that Lady Gaga released yesterday.

So I guess all those people who said he’d never amount to anything with tattoos like that should be eating their words right now.

So that’s it for this week’s news.  If you come across a story that you think should be included in the round up, just send it in.