Alright, so the year is almost at an end and I was thinking to myself, I didn’t really do a year-end news post last year.  So this year I’m going to rectify that.  However, in order to do so, I’m going to need your help.  Take a look through the newsfeed archive for the past year, and then send me an e-mail with what you think are the top stories of the year.  It could be one, it could be more, that’s up to you.  Then, for the last news post of the year, I’ll do a re-cap of the stories that you thought were the most important ones.  Was it TLC’s failed attempt at a “Tattoo School” show?  Mike Tyson’s tattoo artist nearly preventing Hangover 2 from being released?  Rick Genest (Zombie Boy) becoming the muse to Lady Gaga’s stylist?  You tell me.  Of course, don’t forget to keep sending me those links to other stories that you think should be included in the weekly news.

Alright, let’s get things started with a bang this week.  The big story is out of Indonesia where police raided a punk concert in an effort to crack down on tattooed and pierced teenagers.

Police in Indonesia’s most conservative province raided a punk-rock concert and detained 65 fans, buzzing off their spiky mohawks and stripping away body piercings because of the perceived threat to Islamic values.  Dog-collar necklaces and chains also were taken from the youths before they were thrown in pools of water for “spiritual” cleansing, local police chief Iskandar Hasan said.  After replacing their “disgusting” clothes, he handed each a toothbrush and barked “use it.”  The crackdown marked the latest effort by authorities to promote strict moral values in Aceh, the only province in this secular but predominantly Muslim nation of 240 million to have imposed Islamic laws.

Though pierced and tattooed teens have complained for months about harassment, Saturday’s roundup at a concert attended by more than 100 people was by far the biggest and most dramatic bust yet.  Baton-wielding police scattered fans, many of whom had travelled from other parts of the sprawling archipelagic nation to attend the show.  Hasan said 59 young men and five women were loaded into vans and brought to a police detention centre 60 kilometres from the provincial capital, Banda Aceh.  They would spend 10 days getting rehabilitation, training in military-style discipline and religious classes, including Koran recitation, he said. Afterward, they’ll be sent home.

Hasan insisted he’d done nothing wrong.  “We’re not torturing anyone,” the police chief said. “We’re not violating human rights. We’re just trying to put them back on the right moral path.”  However, Nur Kholis, a national human commissioner, deplored the detentions, saying police have to explain what kinds of criminal laws have been broken.  “Otherwise, they violated people’s right of gathering and expression,” Kholis said, promising to investigate.

It should be noted that the province where this occurred is unique in Indonesia for being strict adherents to Sharia law.  The rest of the country, while predominantly Muslim, practice a moderate form of their faith.  I’m personally a little concerned as to what they may do to those kids who are tattooed.  It’s easy to shave someone’s head and rip out piercings, it’s something else entirely to remove a tattoo.  The linked article above has a few more photos of what happened.  Now I try not to be political when it comes to the news, however this is a prime example of why the church and state need to be completely separate. And it doesn’t matter what religion it is either.  The moment one group’s religious beliefs are imposed upon another, and backed by the government, is the the same moment that things like this become acceptable. The reason I’m mentioning this is because in North America there is a strong anti-Sharia law movement taking place, which is backed by people who want their own religion put in place as the state-sponsored religion, without realizing that they’re protesting against the very thing they want.  Leave the government to the crooks and liars, and let people determine their own religious (or non-religious) beliefs.

Ok, that’s enough moralizing from me.  There’s more news to come, so keep on reading.

So while we’re still on the subject of people imposing their beliefs on others, a woman in Vietnam has gone to the police after her employer tattooed centipedes on her face and chest.

A worker at a Vietnamese cafe said the owner forced her to get centipede tattoos on her face and bosom for a suspected affair with the owner’s husband.  Police in Vung Tau City were investigating Nguyen Thuy Ngoc’s claim that Nguyen Thi Anh, who owns the Mo Neo cafe, shaved Ngoc’s head and forced her to get a centipede tattooed on her face and two others on her chest because of a suspected affair between Ngoc and Ahn’s husband, Pham The Phong, Tuoi Tre News reported.

Ngoc, 20, said Anh, 33, had asked her why she had an affair with her husband and beat her Nov. 26 and Nov. 27 at the cafe.  Ngoc said she came to Vung Tau in April 2008 to work for Anh at her cellphone shop but Anh later opened a cafe and forced her to work there.  Ngoc returned to her home in Nghe An province’s Nghi Loc district Nov. 28 and told her mother, Tran Thi Hoa, of her treatment. The mother reported it to police in Nghe An and Vung Tau.  Vung Tau police questioned Anh and Phong and the couple told police they had hired Ngoc at the cafe but she quit over conflicts between her and Anh.

Here’s what I don’t get.  It says she was beat at work on the 26th and 27th.  You’d think she wouldn’t want to go into work the next day after that happened.  This is the reason Jen and I live in different cities, I know that if we lived closer together she’d try to beat me up as often as she could.

Now it’s one thing to have your boss tattoo you, it’s another to have your boss tell you what kind of tattoos you can and can’t get.  Now if your boss is the Major League Baseball Association, that’s exactly what they just did.

The Associated Press reports the new labor deal will result in a four-day All-Star break by 2013, with the game being played on a Wednesday instead of a Tuesday, and it will allow teams in the same division to meet in the playoffs before the league championship series.

Among other new stipulations:

• Teams must provide individual rooms during spring training for all players on the 40-man roster, instead of having some of them room together.
• Players who want to change uniform number while on the same team will be required to give eight-months’ notification.
• Players will not be allowed to display tattoos with corporate logos.

According to the new CBA, a copy of which was obtained by AP, “no player may have any visible markings or logos tattooed on his body” as part of the uniform regulations.  “Just trying to head something off at the pass,” said Rob Manfred, baseball’s executive vice president for labor relations.

I guess this means we won’t be seeing any Golden Palace tattoos on anyone’s forehead next summer.

It’s time now for this week’s common sense awards.  First up is a young woman who was rushed to hospital after swallowing some magnets.  The catch, the magnets are being marketed as “fake piercings“.

One of Cameron Miller’s friends recently gave her magnetic jewelry. The super magnets are often marketed to teens because they’re meant to look like piercings.  “Everybody has them at school. Everybody brings them every day and they wear them until the teacher says take them out,” Miller said.  But the 13-year-old accidently swallowed the seemingly harmless tiny pieces of metal.  “I had one on my lip and I took a drink. I forgot I had them in. I swallowed them,” she said.

Miller, a softball player, went on to play in a game later that day and didn’t give the magnets much more thought until she started to feel sick a couple days later.  Perry Miller said blood work showed her daughter developed a blood infection. Then an x-ray revealed four magnets in a row stuck together inside the teen’s intestines.  She was rushed to Cook Children’s Medical Center for surgery after two of the magnets tore a hole in her colon.

Now I remember an article a while back about kids using bucky balls to achieve the same look, and the same thing happened.  Of course instead of realizing this was pretty horrible, someone had the bright idea to start selling them as jewelry.

Our other winner this week is a man who was able to write his own headline after tattooing “No Regrets” on a 14-year-old girl.

A COURT heard yesterday a man regretted tattooing “No regrets” on a 14-year-old girl’s shoulder.  Allan Fenton had no licence to give tattoos but ran a word-of-mouth business from his home in Dundee.  The 24-year-old’s Bebo page features dozens of tattoos he has done.  Fenton, who charged the girl £25, was caught when police and council licensing bosses swooped on his home.  They found surgical tape and gloves, rolls of cling film, five tattooing machines, a tattooing table and arm rests in his bedroom.

Alan Lyle, defending, said: “The tattoo was only two inches long, but he regrets this.”

So congratulations to both the tattoo artist and the company making these magnets for piercings.  Thanks to their lack of common sense, I had two stories to include this week.

So there’s been a lot of doom and gloom this week, and I’ve got one more, but after that things take a brighter turn.

The Canadian government is searching for ways to keep up with the body modification community.  While inspectors are trying to get to every shop, they have no idea on how to handle surgical modifications, which is resulting in a lot of conflicting information.  The result is the government is contemplating following in Winnipeg’s steps and outlawing anything that isn’t piercing or tattoos.

Public health authorities across Canada are struggling to address the growing popularity of body modifications such as splitting one’s tongue like a snake’s and surgically altering ears to make them elf-like and pointy, fearing the spread of infection in an unregulated industry.  Last Wednesday, Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health’s board of health received a report warning that one can suffer a “serious or possibly life-threatening consequence” while undergoing one of these surgical-like procedures in a “non-clinical” environment where there’s a higher threat of contracting HIV or hepatitis B and C. Scarification, which is effectively carving or branding an image into your skin, and suspension, which involves being hung from the ceiling on hooks lodged into your back, are among the more common forms of extreme body modification happening in tattoo and piercing shops across the country who often yield to squeamish health inspectors who judge before they do their work, body modifiers say.

Since the new budget came down, they’ve been able to inspect 175 of the 230 personal service settings, which include anything from body modification to acupuncture, she said — a 136% increase in inspections, which were far rarer with a smaller staff.  But even so, it’s tough to find those performing body modifications because these artists freelance or do their branding and tongue splitting after hours or at home, Ms. Kearns said. Personal service settings don’t require a license and so many inspectors depend on new establishments to tell them about any body modification they’d be doing. But that’s not required by law.  “We’d inspected a premise we’re aware of that’s low risk and then suddenly they bring in an artist who is doing more procedures and elevating the risk,” she said. “It’s very difficult, from our perspective.”

Winnipeg is one of the only places in Canada to outright ban body modification beyond tattoos and piercings. As of June 2008, the city outlawed scarification and implants after people from the industry voiced concerns about body modifiers that were alleged to have spread disease through their practices, said Pat Masterton, public health inspection coordinator for Winnipeg.  “I think the people who wanted to be reputable operators and run proper businesses carrying on sanitary processes wanted to make sure the whole industry was not going to be labelled because someone out there was doing something that was going to be causing infection,” she said.

This is an important story to read for all Canadians, not just those who get implants, scars, etc.  As you can see in the opening paragraph, they include suspension as one of the activities they’re investigating.  Without significant input from the community Canada may be facing legislation that could outlaw extreme modifications, as well as suspension.

Moving on, a study in Australia has revealed some interesting information when it comes to the tattooed population.

According to a study by La Trobe University’s Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society (ARCSHS) a greater proportion of women aged 20 to 29 are the most tattooed Australians, with almost one in three sporting a tattoo, whereas in the older age groups tattoos were more common among men.  Tattooing appears to have moved into mainstream society, with roughly one in seven Australian adults reporting having been tattooed. Despite the recent gentrification of tattooing, tattoos still appear to be associated with risk-taking behaviour in adults.

‘Having been tattooed also correlated with certain risk-taking behaviours, most notably smoking, cannabis use, and greater numbers of lifetime sexual partners. Associations between tattooing and risk-taking behaviour have also been reported in studies among adults and adolescents,’ says Professor Marian Pitts, Director of ARCSHS.  ‘Although the direction of the relationship between tattooing and risk-taking behaviour in adults is not currently known, it may be that in some groups tattooing still represents and is associated with resistance and rebellion towards more conservative parts of society.’

More recently however, in a 2007 review authors found the most common reasons mentioned in the literature related to embellishments of the body, art, fashion, and individuality.  Tattooing was popular among men who had not finished secondary school, tradesmen, and women who did not live with their partners, whereas men and women who had completed postsecondary education were less likely to have a tattoo. Similar findings relating to education attainment were also reported in the U.S. national study.  ‘Furthermore, tattooing does not appear to be confined to certain subpopulations, with men and women in every demographic reporting having tattoos,’ says Professor Pitts.

So basically it’s telling us what we already knew.  Tattoos aren’t just for sailors, bikers, and prostitutes any more.  Unless of course 1 in 3 Australian women between 20-29 are actually prostitutes.

In a nice and heart warming story, a Quebec couple has gotten matching tattoos.  That on its own wouldn’t be so special, however the tattoo is of an insulin pump, identical to the one their son has implanted in him.

Some parents get tattoos of their child’s name, but Philippe Aumond and Camille Boivin went one better.  In a show of solidarity, they each have an image of an insulin pump tattooed on their abdomens, declaring that they are “forever linked” to their son Jacob.  “It is a great thing for him, and we were thrilled just to see his smile when he saw those pumps. It made our day, that’s for sure,” said Boivin, 36, from the family’s home in La Sarre, Que.

A while back, Jacob, diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 3 ½, was excited by the idea of getting an insulin pump that would replace four to five injections a day, and he figured it would be like having his own little robot working for him.  When it was delivered, he was “just like a kid on Christmas Eve with his gift,” and even slept with it before it was plugged into him, said Boivin.  Jacob is now five and in kindergarten, and he wears it 24-7.  “He adapted pretty quick, but one time he told me that he felt different and he was wondering if he was alone in the world, you know, wearing a pump,” Boivin said.

She explained to him that every child is different — some wear glasses, others are in wheelchairs, some have blue eyes, others have brown eyes.  “So he got that, but still, you know, he is a kid. He was four at the time, so he wants to be like everybody else,” Boivin explained.  “Before we had the pump, I think the way he felt is that having shots was just a little part of his day and nobody had to know. But then now, he was wearing a pump, and people could see it and people were asking questions and I think that’s what bothered him a little bit. So he felt really alone.”  She and Aumond decided to get tattoos of the pump, “because no parents want to have their child feel left out or alone.”

See.  Heart-warming.  Now, is it dusty in here, because I have something in my eye.

Alright, today’s last story is either going to be cool or horrific.  It all depends on how you react to the following photo.

As a symbol of wealth and harmony, the goldfish is a popular tattoo. But in a craze sweeping China, goldfish are themselves being inked with patterns and characters intended to being their owners good fortune. The tattoos are said to be the result of an injection which takes half a year to form. Other methods use lasers. Tattooed fish first appeared on the market in 2005 and have become very popular in the past year or two. The technique is not without its critics, however, who claim it is not only cruel, but against the laws of nature.

Like I said.  To some people, having a goldfish with a specially designed symbol on them would be pretty cool.  To others, it’s animal cruelty.  It all depends on how you feel about tattooing fish.

Well, that’s it for this week’s news.  We’ll see you back here next week for a special holiday edition, and then it’ll only be one week to go before the BME NYE Party!  Hopefully I’ll see a lot of you there.  You can find out more about the event right here.  As well as the event page on IAM.

Oh, and don’t forget to e-mail me the stories you think were the best this year.

By now the weekend will have started for many of us on the east coast, while the west is not far behind.  Granted in Australia it’s already the future so they’ve already got a head start.  This week’s news is fairly concise, with a couple of updates on past stories, as well as a look into the facial tattoos of Burma’s Chin province.

First up is more on TLC’s “Tattoo School”.  Last night the program aired, and news agencies all over have started to notice the overwhelming negative feedback coming from the tattoo community.  What surprised me the most is that every story I read is falling on the side of the tattoo artists, and joining in the condemnation of this show.  This first article from the Jamestown, NY Post-Journal where they talk to artists in the area around the school, as well as former students of a tattoo school.

Ryan Gillikin has been in the tattoo industry for more than 20 years.  Tattooing is a tradition, he says, and the only proper way to learn the skill – and to learn to administer the body art safely – is to be under the guiding hand of a master tattooist in an apprenticeship.  ”My apprenticeship was a year,” said Gillikin, owner of Almighty Studios Tattoo and Body Piercing in Jamestown. ”And when I apprentice (others), it’s a two-year  process.”  Gillikin said there are several such high-profile tattoo schools around the nation, and that each has the same motive – to scam people out of money and to make them believe they are talented tattoo artists when they are not.

A haircut from an untalented beautician will grow back, however. A tattoo from an untalented artist could land someone in the hospital with an infection or a disease, Gillikin said. And he fears that people who open shops based on what they learn in tattoo schools are coming out without knowing how to stop that from happening.  ”You can’t even learn the basics of sterile practices in two weeks,” Gillikin said. ”So when people take $5,000 from somebody and tell them they’re going to be professionals in two weeks, they’re just giving people a false idea that they know what they’re actually doing.”

Now over to The Examiner which takes a look at the what the community is doing to protest this show.

It’s completely impossible to be a professional tattooer in 14 days, at least not one who has been properly trained to produce quality work using safe sterile practices. Can an aspiring doctor become prepared for surgery in 2 weeks? Of course not.  Professional tattooers pride themselves in being knowledgeable about the prevention of disease transmission and giving their clients a clean tattoo in a clean environment. Photos on the Tattoo Learning Center’s website show students tattooing without using standard protocols such as wrapping their machines and clip cord with plastic wrap. This is an easy way for cross contamination of blood and body fluids to occur. A second photo shows a student tattooing someone on a wooden stool, material that can not be cleaned or disinfected properly. Definitely a health code violation.

Tattoo artists and enthusiasts are uniting online through Facebook pages, Artists and collectors against TLC’s “Tattoo School” and Boycott TLC’s Tattoo School Show. Both pages have a combined total of over 45,000 fans and the number is growing by the minute. The anger being shown regarding the upcoming show has nothing to with fear of new competition but everything to do with fear of one’s livelihood being disrupted. If the tattoo school fails to educate their students about safe tattooing; diseases and infections can be spread.

Finally, a group of protesters formed outside the San Diego branch of the “school”, where they learned some new information about how they run their business.

Local tattoo artists are protesting a new school in Pacific Beach that plans to teach people the art of tattooing in two weeks.  The group stood outside the Steady Flow Tattoo shop, also known as the Tattoo Learning Center, at Grand Avenue on Monday, protesting what they believe is an insult to their profession.  “These people are teaching people how to tattoo for a lump sum of $5000, and within two weeks, they are supposedly professional tattoo artists,” said Randy Janson, a tattoo artist. “It’s not really possible. It is more of a scam.”

One of the school’s students and two women interested in getting a tattoo at the shop watched the group with a bit of concern.   The student said he flew to San Diego from out of the country and was told when he arrived that his two-week class was canceled. The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, said the school told him to enjoy his free accommodations and that his tuition would be refunded. He said the shop owner told him to drive by the storefront to check it out and stumbled on the crowd growing outside the shop.

The student said he is already a tattoo artist in his home country, but he had hoped to come to the United States to become a licensed tattoo artist.  In San Diego, you only need to fill out an application and pay the appropriate fee to be able to practice tattooing within the county limits, according to the County of San Diego’s Department of Environmental Health’s website.

Two young women interested in getting tattooed were also standing outside the shop amidst the protesters. They said they spoke to someone at the shop earlier in the week and were told they don’t take appointments; rather, they should simply stop by. When the girls arrived, they found the shop closed.  After a second phone call to the shop, they learned Steady Flow would be closed for two weeks.

So not only does the school cancel classes at the last minute, it also doesn’t take appointments, which isn’t surprising as it seems to close on a whim when there aren’t students there to ruin someone’s skin.  Following the links above will get you information on how to contact TLC and let them know how dangerous this show is, as well as links to online petitions.  Some groups are encouraging people not to buy any products advertised on the show, as well as encouraging tattoo studios to contact suppliers and inform them that as long as their products are used on the show, they won’t be getting orders.  What this comes down to is money.  If TLC isn’t making any money off the show it will be cancelled.  Hopefully that happens sooner rather than later.

More news to come, so keep on reading.

This next story is from my hometown of Toronto, ON.  Two body piercing shops have been found not using proper infection controls, and Toronto Public Health is encouraging anyone who was pierced there to contact them.

The shops are NY NY Body Piercing, located at 1700 Wilson Ave., Unit 151, and New York New York (Accessories & Body Piercing), located at 423 Queen St. West.  Anyone who received a piercing from the stores between Nov. 6, 2010 and March 1, 2011 should visit a doctor and ask to be tested for hepatitis B and C and for HIV, the public health authority said.

New York, New York has four shops in Toronto. Only the two listed above were part of the Toronto Public Health investigation.  Piercing and tattoo equipment should be sterile and sterilizers should be tested every two weeks to ensure they are working properly, the public health authority said.  Toronto Public Health recommended piercing and tattoo clients always check to ensure employees wash their hands, change gloves, use an antiseptic on the skin, and open sterilized packages of equipment for every client.

In somewhat disturbing news, I was informed that the queen street location is still open for business.  Previously when a shop has been flagged by Public Health, they were forced to remain closed for the duration of the investigation.  As such I’d encourage anyone in the city to avoid these studios until they’re cleared by the health board.

While on the subject of possible infections, scares like this have caused a German football club to ban players from getting tattooed.

Werder’s decision to scratch their players from getting anymore tattoos is a result of the infection that forced Hamburg SV’s Eljero Elia into a lengthy and painful injury break in March 2010.  “It is a risk that we need to rule out,” the German club’s sports director Klaus Allofs told the Hamburger Abendblatt newspaper. Several Werder players are fans of tattoos with Austrian Marko Arnautovic sporting several.

Moving away from tattoos for a moment, the Tel Aviv suscon was featured on China Daily.  Not necessarily the first place I’d look for suspension news from Israel, but with local suspensions starting to take place in China we may be hearing more news from them in the coming months.

A man is suspended on hooks pierced through his skin at a suspension convention in Tel Aviv July 9, 2011. Some 30 people attended the convention, which offered the chance to be suspended or just watch. Captain Howdy, who organised the event, said the origin of the practice comes from Native American cultures that used to perform body suspensions as a rite of passage. He said the practice has been revived by people prepared to test the limits of mind over matter.

Heading back into tattoo news, according to AOL’s finance section, tattoos seem to be a recession proof industry.

New’s experience is not unusual. According to Time magazine, roughly 16% of people with tattoos eventually elect to have them removed. And that number is growing. Which isn’t necessarily surprising. Sometimes, the love of our life, whose name we permanently inked across our bicep, turns out to be a fling. Or that image of the Tasmanian Devil that looked so cool after a night of drinking is a little less appealing in the sober light of day.

Additionally, in today’s challenging economy, when unemployment continues to hover near 9%, people are also choosing to remove tattoos to appeal to potential employers. At least, that’s half of the story. At the same time, others see the recession as an opportune moment to get inked, arguing that it’s not only a relatively cheap splurge, but that the unemployed no longer have to conform to an employer’s standards.

In either case, the end result is the same: The tattoo industry continues to thrive, seemingly recession-proof. To better understand this strange dynamic, I visited Tattoo Lou’s, a family-owned chain of Long Island tattoo parlors that also offers laser tattoo removal.

Well, it seems that one studio is doing well, can the same be said for the ones in your area?  Let us know in the comments below.

Now if you remember back to last year, there was a story about an Australian man who paid an acquaintance to tattoo him shortly after having a fight with him.  What was supposed to be a yin-yang turned out to be something quite different.

AN IPSWICH man is enduring a series of painful sessions to cover up a lewd image tattooed on his back by a backyard operator.  Matthew Francis Brady, 22, has admitted tattooing a 40cm-long image of a penis and a crude slogan on his former mate’s back.  The victim had wanted a Yin and Yang design with some dragons but was horrified with the end result.

Upon hearing about the case, Ipswich business Ultimate Image Tattoo offered to do the cover-up work for free.  The 26-year-old victim this week had his third appointment in a long series of visits to hide the offensive tattoo.  Brady pleading guilty in Ipswich Magistrates Court last month to assault occasioning bodily harm while armed and assault occasioning bodily harm.  He will be sentenced later this year.

After several more sessions the man will be able to proudly display a much more professional tattoo of a sword with a dragon wrapped around it.  The sessions last for up to an hour – or however long the man can stand the pain.  Tattoo artist Matty Tredgold said the final work would include a range of colours from blue, green, yellow and red and was inspired by one of the client’s favourite T-shirts.

I think my favorite part of the original story is the man who did the tattoo told him to keep it covered and not show anyone for 2 months.  Thankfully he got someone to take a look at it right away.

Today’s final story comes to us from The National Post, about the women of Burma’s Chin province.  While the custom of full facial tattoos on women is pretty much extinct, there are still some women who were born when the practice was being followed.  It’s a great read that takes a look into a cultural ritual that may become completely extinct in our lifetime.

To many of us here in the West, it would be pretty unheard of for a woman to tattoo her entire face. But these women have been doing it for hundreds of years. Why?
When I asked, I got varying responses. But the consensus seemed to be that a long time ago they were known for their beauty, and kings in Burma found out about these Chin women and teenagers. The kings would then come and basically pick out the women he wanted and take them away. In response to that, the village elders who were women started tattooing the girls as a measure against the king coming to take them away. It was almost to steal their beauty.

How did the practice become more commonplace?
Although it was once something to make them ugly, over time these women have become to view themselves as beautiful. It came to be a symbol of strength, of beauty, of toughness. Some of the women even said to me “If I didn’t have this tattoo, men wouldn’t want to marry me.” It’s definitely a rite of passage in these villages. And it’s really really painful.

That’s all the news we’ve got this week.  Have a great weekend, and as always, if you find a story you think should be included in the news round-up, just click here to send me the link, or simply send me an e-mail.

With all the attention in the news this week focused on the royal wedding, there weren’t a lot of stories for this week’s news.  This meant I actually had to dig up a couple of celebrity stories just so the week wasn’t completely devoid of content.

To kick things off this week we’re going to start with a little science.  A researcher in London has developed a formula that will predict the rate at which a tattoo will fade over time.

Tattoo inks are a suspension of water-insoluble particles, such as mercury, lead, cadmium and iron, which are injected under the skin using a needle.  Over time, these inks become dispersed as the cells which contain them die, divide or leave the body.

Although modern tattooing inks are less likely to fade, their gradual deterioration is inevitable.  Dr Eames said: ‘Skin type, age, size, exposure to the sunlight and the type of ink which is used all influence how a tattoo disperses with time.  ‘Broadly speaking, the small details in a tattoo are lost first, with thicker lines being less affected.  ‘Although finely detailed tattoos might look good when they are first done, they tend to lose their definition after 15 years.’  He added that his model will help increasing numbers of young people who have gone under the tattooist’s needle.  ‘Tattoos are incredibly popular worldwide with more than a third of 18 to 25-year-olds in the U.S. sporting at least one design,’ he said.  The research is published in the Mathematics Today journal.

I wonder if his model takes into account sun exposure, as well as the fact that not everyone’s skin is the same.  I guess only time will tell.  What I don’t get is how this will assist people when it comes to getting a tattoo.  It’s not like it isn’t common knowledge that tattoos can fade over time.

To read the rest of this week’s news, you know what to do.

Over in India Guinness Rishi, a man know for holding several Guinness records, is working on another one, this one involving tattoos of flags.

An Indian businessman has been carrying the flags of 305 countries on his own body to promote amity among nations. Now 70-year-old Har Prakash, who has re-invented himself as Guinness Rishi, is vying in Nepal for his latest world record, hoping to add more flags and more records.”People call me a joker, a mad man,” says the world record aspirant from New Delhi who arrived in Kathmandu to attend the first international tattoo conference and promptly stole the limelight from other younger participants from different countries with more exotic tattoos.  “My dream is to go around the world several times,” Har Prakash told IANS, sitting in the convention hall of the Yak and Yeti hotel while cameras click away furiously. “I want the children of those countries to ask me, where is the flag of our country, spot it and then, in the process, become aware of my country and other countries as well.”

Rishi is now seeking to add a new tattoo record: have the maximum number of tattoo artists work on him.  “The record is held by an American who in 1996 had 22 artists work on him,” he says. “As a matter of fact, I did break the record in Pattaya last year when 25 artists etched 55 flags on me. But I was not familiar with the rules and forgot to make a video recording.”  This time, he has come armed and is asking the 52 tattoo stalls put up for the Kathmandu conference to send one artist each to doodle on him further.  However, while his forehead, head, arms, legs and chest are covered with tattoos, his back remains pristine clear.  “I am saving that for a dream project,” he says proudly. “It’s going to be the Hall of Fame for World Record holding tattoo artists. I will have all their names and achievements tattooed on my back.”

Believe it or not, that’s pretty much it for major stories this week, although there are a couple of other stories that do warrant some attention.

After last week’s article about the outbreak of infected piercings in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand, even more cases have come to light.

Another 10 cases of infected piercings have been reported after Hawke’s Bay Today’s article last week, which revealed seven people were being tested for hepatitis because of unhygienic piercings procedures.  Hawke’s Bay District Health Board medical officer of health Lester Calder said the majority of infections were from piercings that took place earlier this year, before the public health unit worked with Trendez operators to put new procedures in place.

If you have had work done at this store, get yourself to a doctor’s office ASAP.

The same thing applies to people who have gotten work done at Sins and Temptations in Bowmanville, Ontario.

Durham Region’s Health Department is alerting clients of a Bowmanville body piercing studio after determining non-sterile equipment may have been used in procedures over the past year.  Non-sterile equipment may have been used in piercings done at Sins and Temptations on King Street West from June of 2010 until the present, the health department said in a news release issued Thursday. Use of non-sterile equipment could lead to transmission of diseases such as hepatitis and HIV, the department said.

Clients who received body piercing services at this facility during the specified time period are asked to call Durham Health Connection Line at 905-666-6241 or 1-800-841-2729, Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. to obtain an information package. Clients can also call the health department line this Saturday, April 30, from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 4 p.m.

Obviously, if you’ve been to either of these studios, get in touch with someone right away.

In celebrity “news” the actor who played the lead in the horrible Beauty and the Beast knockoff earlier this year has gotten himself a tattoo.

One ink spotted on his toned body is that of a cross which is embedded on his right chest. Another is more discreet, nesting above his crotch and saying “Thank You”. “In case I forget to say it,” he winked, by way of explanation.

He should have stuck with the facial tattoos and implants from the film.

Finally, a few weeks back a number of questions were raised about copyright protection towards tattoo designs.  Specifically who owns the rights to a tattoo once it has been put on a person.  Well this week the tattoo artist responsible for Mike Tyson‘s trademark tribal piece is suing Warner Brothers Studios for using his design in The Hangover Part 2.

S. Victor Whitmill, an award-winning tattoo artist who calls the Tyson design “one of the most distinctive tattoos in the nation,” is asking for an injunction to stop the release of the highly-anticipated comedy sequel, set to bow in the U.S. over Memorial Day weekend.

“When Mr. Whitmill created the Original Tattoo, Mr Tyson agreed that Mr. Whitmill would own the artwork and thus, the copyright in the Original Tattoo,” argues the complaint, filed Thursday in federal court in Missouri and obtained by THR. “Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. — without attempting to contact Mr. Whitmill, obtain his permission, or credit his creation — has copied Mr. Whitmill’s Original Tattoo and placed it on the face of another actor … This unauthorized exploitation of the Original Tattoo constitutes copyright infringement.”

Given that the artist does own the copyright to the tattoo, this case could turn interesting in the coming weeks.  Especially considering he’s filed for an injunction to block the film’s release.

So that’s it for this week.  If you come across any stories that you think should be included in next week’s news post, send them my way.

Welcome back to another edition of the weekly news report.  This week is happily another celebrity free week.  I’m worried that if it keeps up like this then one week all the stories will be celebrity related and that just saddens me.

Moving on, this week’s first story is about a school teacher in Sweden.  It seems that even though he’s been teaching there for 8 years, and is loved by everyone, a politician saw him one day and decided that something needed to be done to get the teacher away from the kids.

The problems started when pensioner and local politician Sture Grönwall, 70, visited the school and spied Aalto’s tattoos, piercings and spiky hair across the school canteen. “Can a teacher really look like that,” a startled Grönwall asked, according to the Aftonbladet daily. After speaking to one of the headmasters and not getting the response he was after, Grönwall decided to write to the local school board (Skolnämnden). In his letter he questioned the example a teacher like Aalto would set for students as well as the values of the school letting someone like Aalto teach there. The school board however did not share Grönwall’s view, coming out in defence of Aalto and Vasaskolan. “To let our students solely see adults with no tattoos or piercings and wearing suits would not show them an accurate view of today’s society,” they wrote in their response to Grönwall’s complaint.

Sam Aalto meanwhile expressed surprise at Grönwall’s reaction as well as the ‘media circus’ cropping up around him. “I have been working here since 2003 and the subject has never been brought up before – no one has ever reacted. I never knew that Grönwall had complained before I found out about the whole thing through the local press,” he said.

It’s great to see not only the school backing him up, but also the school board, the students, and the parents of the children.  It must be tough for that politician to realize that the world changed and he didn’t get the memo.

More news to come, so keep on reading.

While we’re still on the subject of schools, the New Plymouth Girls High School in New Zealand is also moving ahead with the times.

Facial piercings have been approved as part of school uniform at a major New Plymouth high school.  New Plymouth Girls High has abandoned an old policy allowing students one stud earring in each ear – a rule still imposed by at least four other Taranaki secondary schools, the Taranaki Daily News reported.

School board chairman Darren Muggeridge said students would now be allowed one lip and one nose piercing.  He described the new rule as a compromise in a hard-to-police area.  “It’s sort of meeting the students, not necessarily halfway but a little bit of the way for them to still wear a piercing but still sit within some rules and there are still rules around what is worn and where they’re worn.”  Mr Muggeridge said the school had tried to be very strict around uniforms, but it took a lot of time and effort to manage piercings.

Acting Principal of New Plymouth Girls High Stella Bond told the Taranaki Daily News the new policy had been decided after lengthy debate.  She acknowledged it may not satisfy all parents, but said policing facial piercings was no longer worth the time and effort the school had put into it.  “If we’re spending too much time on something, we need to decide if it’s worth it. We think there’s much more significant things to be dealing with.

I love how some parents are upset about the ruling.  As if not punishing students with piercings would somehow force their own children to get pierced as well.  It’s not like the school is setting up a studio in gym class.  On the plus side, it seems that all it takes for students to get the rules changed is to wait until the administration gets tired of enforcing the rules.

In another part of New Zealand a piercing studio is being investigated after a number of people reported infections shortly after getting pierced.

Complications from ear piercings at a Napier store has led to seven people being tested for hepatitis.  Seven people — most of them teenage girls — developed serious ear infections with abscesses needing to be cut open and drained, after being pierced at Trendez in February, Hawke’s Bay Today reported today.  Hawke’s Bay District Health Board and Napier City Council investigated after the series of infections came to light.  “There were deficiencies in the operator’s sterile procedures that could cause the transfer of skin infection from one client to another,” medical officer of health Dr Nicholas Jones said.

Obviously if you’ve had anything done recently at that studio you should probably go and get yourself tested as well.

We’ve all heard stories about how laser tattoo removal is often more painful than getting the tattoo in the first place.  Well some companies are trying to put forward new ways of removing tattoos.  Unfortunately it seems like using a skin cream to remove a tattoo may actually cause damage to your skin.  Shocking  I know.

Tattoo removal creams bought over the internet can result in scarring, ugly marks and in some cases can be totally ineffective, doctors warn.  People looking for cheaper ways to remove tattoos than laser therapy or surgical removal are driving sales of the creams, which cost between $80 for a small tube and $300 for a year’s supply.  But experts warn that the creams, some of which contain the bleaching chemical hydroquinone or the skin-peeling trichloroacetic acid, may not meet Australian standards for health and beauty products and can end up costing much more than professional removal.

Pramod Parmar, a laser specialist from the Manly Cosmetic and Laser Clinic, said bleaching creams could make tattoos look worse.  ”The ink has basically gone inside and penetrated the dermal layer, and a cream cannot go deep enough to release the pigment from there,” he said.  Dr Parmar said creams or other removal methods, including the injection of other chemicals to break down the tattoo, could cause the ink to smudge instead of removing it.

The website for one tattoo removal cream, Wrecking Balm, claims to use a ”chemical serum” to activate the removal process but the manufacturer did not respond to requests from The Sun-Herald for a full list of ingredients.

I can’t even imagine the sales pitch for something like this.  “Try this new cream that will use acid to burn away your flesh with the small chance of it removing a tattoo.  More often than not you’ll end up with a nasty chemical burn that smeared the pigment, but hey, it’s only a little bit cheaper than laser removal”.

In another “stupid idea” story, a Chinese man has been arrested after tattooing his wife’s face because he thought she may be cheating on him.

On the morning of March 30, the couple — who have two children — had a particularly bitter row, after which Wei “decided to disfigure Xiaowei. One, is to release his anger, second to make her make her ugly so she will no longer be loved by other men, as to prevent her from having affairs,” the site reads.  After tying his wife up and cutting characters into her face, Wei rubbed ashes into the injury, tattooing her. The horrific scars are also said to read “cheap” or “lowly,” depending on the translation.

Still, Wei has argued that Xiaowei “chose” to be disfigured:

The police in charge of this case told the reporter, those so-called “choices” were: 1. Xiaowei gets a vasectomy and stays home to take care of the children instead of going out for work; 2. Xiaowei’s lover gives 1 million RMB to Wei Shengxiong; 3. Xiaowei, her lover and Wei Shengxiong goes to court to solve this problem; 4. Wei Shengxiong is to disfigure Xiaowei and break her leg. Wei Shengxiong kept emphasizing to the police that Xiaowei chose to be disfigured.

I’m curious as to how her getting a vasectomy (I’m guessing he meant having her tubes tied) would prevent her from cheating on him.  Also given those options, I’m a little surprised she went with #4, seeing as how #3 would have been her best option.  Oh wait, you mean she didn’t actually have those choices?  That makes more sense.

Moving on, techdirt.com has a small article that bring up the question of copyright when it comes to tattoos.

My question is this, if a tattoo artist creates a unique design for a client, then this is tattooed on to the aforementioned client, does the tattoo artist still own any intellectual property rights (namely copyright) over this piece of art? If the tattooed subject were to go on to a profession (I can only think of modelling at this precise moment) where the tattoo was constantly broadcast to the general public, and the designer viewed this to be derogatory to their work, would they be able to litigate!”

If the tattooed subject wishes to have the tattoo amended or removed, [does] the tattoo artist [have] any ground upon which to object?

Good stuff for a law school exam, I would think. Of course, plenty of tattoo artwork is actually covered by copyright — which quite frequently goes ignored. But if we’re talking about a unique piece of artwork, and no clear assignment of the copyright is made, there could very well be an issue.

It’s worth pointing out, however, that this is not entirely a theoretical issue. Six years ago, we wrote about a tattoo artist suing the NBA, because a professional basketball player he had tattooed, Rasheed Wallace, had shown off the tattoo in a TV commercial, and the artist claimed it was a violation of his copyright. That lawsuit settled out of court, however, so we don’t have a legal ruling as specific (that I’m aware of… but if there are other such cases, I’d love to know about them!).

So what do you guys think?  Who owns the rights to the artwork?  The artist who designed it, or the person wearing it?

Another interesting article comes from Malaysia.  In it the reporter sits down with an older Saban woman, and talks about her ritual tattoos, and how hers was the last generation to use them.

Johan’s ever smiling face made her look much younger than her age. At times when she adjusted the sleeves of her long-sleeved blouse, tattoos were visible on her arms.  “Nice tattoos,” I ventured while taking my place on the bench where the couple were seated on Monday.  “Oh! these have been around for a long time, since I was very little. There are more on my legs,” she said.  Curious to know more, I asked how they came to be.  “From my granny. She is a Saban, a sub-ethnic group of the Orang Ulu of Sarawak. It is a tradition that has been handed down over the generations. Besides tattoos, Saban women also have very long ears,” interjected a nice-looking girl sitting with them.

Tracellia Nawi Unja, 20, was at the jetty to bid goodbye to the elderly couple who are her grandparents.  “But you don’t seem to have any, and your ears are not long either,” I shot back.  “It has been some time that we have done away away with these traditions. We have changed with the times, more so with the younger generation migrating to urban areas,” said Tracellia, a university student in Kuching who was well-versed in English. Not wanting to be taken in by the exceptional beauty of Saban girls, I changed the topic and resumed my conversation with her grandmother.  “Mak cik (auntie), what motifs are usully used in Sabans’ tattoos? Why only mak cik has tattoos but pak cik (uncle) doesn’t?  “The motifs are of plants and nature,” answered Johan.  “No, men also have. But for the Sabans, only men who succeeded in headhunting get tattoos, always drawn on the thighs,” chipped in Kassim.

Johan then said it was a tradition of the Saban for girls to be tattooed and that in the old days, it was compulsory for the eldest girl to undergo full body tattooing.  “The tattooing is done after she gets married and is a month pregnant with her first child,” she said, adding that it had nothing to do with religious beliefs, only to differentiate the Sabans from other tribes.  Johan said her generation was the last to have tattoos and that their offsprings were no longer willing to have their bodies pierced, and in fact, all her three daughters had rejected the practice.

All over the world many rituals like this have been gone for centuries, but to be able to talk with someone who experienced these traditions, as well as see them disappear is a remarkable experience.

We’re just about done with the news for the week, but there are a couple of press releases that caught my eye this week.

First is that Nintendo is releasing a tattoo design game for the DS.

The first title is Art of Ink by Sabarasa. This is a tattoo parlor simulator where players use the stylus and Nintendo DS touch screen in order to draw onto a person, all while making sure they are pleased.

You know you want a copy of this one.

And in the final announcement/story, next week marks the first International Tattoo Convention in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Who knew that Nepal would be the preferred destination for tattoo enthusiasts from across the globe? The first International Tattoo Convention will be from 22 to 24 April 2011 at the Yak & Yeti Hotel in Kathmandu and over fifty well known artists from the international tattoo community will participate.

The first of its kind, the convention will include competitions, presentations, and training workshops and will also showcase different tattoo art forms and cultural events. Mohan’s Tattoo Inn, the organizer of this event, has been at the forefront of nurturing the nascent tattoo culture here by creating an excellent platform for amateur as well as professional tattoo artists to come together to promote the art of tattooing and foster Nepal as a tattoo destination.

Art, just like knowledge, grows by sharing. You cannot expect the tattooing culture to grow and thrive if you want to be the only ones doing it. When a lot of people are encouraged to look at this form, which has long been considered immoral by overlooking our indigenous culture, in a new light, this could only help the industry as a whole to flourish.

I suppose if you happen to be in Nepal in the next week, it’d certainly be worth checking out.  The article itself also has several interviews with some of the artists who will be appearing at the convention.

So that’s it for this week ModBlog readers.  Have yourselves a great weekend, and as always, if you find a story in the news that you think should be included in the weekly news post, just send me the link.

I’m beginning to hate that every week there is a new disaster to report.  By now you’ve heard about the earthquakes that have been rocking Japan since last night, as well as the devastation that the tsunami’s have been doing to the coastal cities.  The worst news is that the quakes still haven’t ceased.  Following the 8.9 last night, there have been a number of aftershocks as well as 2 new earthquakes that occurred this afternoon.  While it is still to early to know the extent of the damage, if you have friends or family in the affected areas, or you yourself are in Japan right now, our thoughts are with you.  Google’s appspot has set up a person finder for Japan, which should hopefully help those who haven’t been able to get in touch with their loved ones.  As always, the Red Cross is on scene and providing aid as they can.

It’s in times like these that people can come together from all walks of life to help others.  A number of years ago artist Shelley Jackson put out a call to the world for people who would be willing to get a tattoo of a word on their body in order to form a story.  Since that time people all over the world have come together, bound by the power of words and skin, to contribute to her project.  While it isn’t finished, Shelley recently put together a sub-story, using videos submitted by the owners of the tattoos.

“Shelley Jackson’s story ‘Skin’ exists only in the flesh — the flesh of about 2,000 volunteers. In 2003, when she wrote the story, she called for participants to each be tattooed with a single word (some also get a bit of punctuation, like ‘ankles,’ with the comma included). The story has never been published in any other form…[For] the Berkeley Art Museum, Jackson has cut together video footage from a small set of participants to tell a new sub-’Skin’ story. Recently Jackson e-mailed them to ask that they record a video of their word tattoo, and to say the word. From those words recorded by participants, she’s edited and assembled a new story.”

This week is pretty light on the real news, but ridiculously heavy on the celebrity news.  So strap yourself in for a wild ride that includes Julia Roberts, Pee-Wee Herman, and some tiger’s blood.

To kick things off this week is an announcement about an upcoming seminar in NYC.  For one weekend in March, you can have the opportunity to attend classes and witness performances by a trio of body modification artists.

It is our great pleasure to present to you an opportunity to be a part of something paramount! For the first time in a decade, the most innovative minds of the body modification community have come together to form a collective consciousness: C-Y-B.ORG. Its goal: to educate, demonstrate and liberate our community. Body modification pioneer Steve Haworth has rejoined forces with two of the top practitioners of today and the future, Lukas Zpira and Samppa Von Cyborg. Together they are C-Y-B.org. This event will give the opportunity for those yearning to learn the art of body modification. Through seminars, workshops and live performance, including but not limited to magnetic implants, branding, scarification, tongue splitting, flesh stapling, and suspension.

If you’ve got an event coming up, feel free to drop me a line and let me know about it.

We’ve seen in the news countless stories of schools banning facial piercings.  Well some kids thought they found a loophole by using rare earth magnets to fake a tongue stud.  While great in theory, it turns out that if you accidentally ingest several magnets it will end up doing some major damage.

The tiny ball bearings – known as ‘buckyballs’ – are sold as an executive desk toy which can be moulded into any shape.  But some teenagers are using them as fake tongue rings to make it look as though they have a piercing.  If swallowed, the balls can cause serious damage, burrowing through the small intestine. The packaging warns of the danger, and says they are not suitable for children.

Lauren, who lives in Wheat Ridge, rung her mother last week in tears, complaining she couldn’t walk because of an intense pain in her side.  She said: ‘They bounced off my tooth and went down my throat, and I couldn’t stop it.’  Lauren is now in hospital recovering after an operation to remove the magnets.  Her surgeon, Dr Saundra Kay, told the channel: ‘You have one strong magnet in one loop of intestine, another magnet in another loop of intestine, and those magnets are so strong that they will bring those intestines close together and the two loops joined.

So just to review, magnetic implants: good, swallowing magnets: bad.

One of the most often questions modified people hear is “did it hurt?”.  Well it turns out that when you get a tattoo removed, it also hurts.  No big shock there, but what is surprising is that tattoo removal can come with some pretty nasty side-effects beyond pain.  Because of this, the FDA is holding a “webinar” next Tuesday to educate people about the dangers of tattoo removal.

The inks and pigments applied in tattoos can cause allergic reactions, infections and scarring, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  Also, tattoo removal process is not as great as it seems.  FDA will be holding a 30-minute tattoo safety webinar at 1 p.m. CT on March 15.  Bhakti Petigara Harp, a specialist from the agency’s Office of Cosmetics and Colors, will discuss potential problems, along with the misrepresentation of the inks and pigments as “FDA approved.”

What a lot of people don’t know when they get tattoos is how painful they are to remove, Shamontiel Vaughn. Some say laser removal feels like the snapping of a rubber band against the skin. Vaughn, who spent about hundreds of dollars getting one tattoo and three cover-ups removed, called the process of laser tattoo removal “insane.”  “Each time I got laser surgery, there were a bunch of small bumps that resembled keloids, rock hard skin and a little bit of bleeding,” said Vaughn.  “I made the mistake of falling asleep on that arm the day after surgery, and I woke up and thought something was crawling on me. It turned out that my arm went completely numb. I woke up screaming and jumping around trying to get my own arm off of me because it’d turned into dead weight. After I turned on the light (while still jumping around), the feeling slowly came back into my fingers,” concluded Vaughn.

It seems as though tattoo removal is not as fantastic as it is often portrayed.  It is not only pricey but also very painful.  The FDA’s 30-minute tattoo webinar will be held Tuesday, March 15 at 1 p.m. (CT). You’ll have a chance to ask questions at the end.

In case you weren’t aware, spring break is happening next week.  This also coincides with the annual “go get drunk and tattooed/pierced” week.  I’m sure it’s just a strange coincidence.  In any case, universities are starting to pay attention and are putting forth efforts to educate students about safe practices, so that when they’re completely smashed they won’t get pierced with the same needle that the 10 people before them were pierced with.

The last thing on a college student’s mind during spring break is contracting HIV, Hepatitis C or Tetanus.  Who would have thought that getting a spur-of-the-moment tattoo or piercing could leave not just a mark but a life-long disease?

On March 8, the Office of Counseling and Student Development and Student Health Services passed out information to students about body art safety and how to protect one’s self over the break.  ”Stamped and Stabbed” offered the soon-to-be spring breakers pamphlets and brochures on the harm that coincides with tattoos and body art.  ”They [students] tend to rush into things during spring break. We’re here to get students aware of what consequences they can face as they jump into getting a tattoo or piercing,” says Joy Wunderlich of the Office of Counseling and Student Development.

“Students meet a girl or guy, get their name tattooed and then realize the next day that they’ll have to explain to their future spouse whose name is tattooed on them,” said Williams.  As students departed with information on body art safety, they were given a temporary tattoo as a reminder to make appropriate decisions during spring break.

And with that, we’re on to the celebrity round-up.

To kick things off Ke(dollar sign)ha, has expanded her clientele of tattoo customers beyond her band to include fans.

A big fan gets a Ke$ha tattoo. A SUPER fan gets a tattoo from Ke$ha. Well, a SUPER fan who is okay with having a subpar tattoo gets one from Ke$ha, anyway.  The singer posted this video to her Facebook profile of herself marking up a dedicated fan with her safety pin, giving her dollar sign to the emotional, fawning fan.

Last week we saw rapper Yung LA get a duck tattooed on his face in honor of his new record contract.  Well it seems he jumped the gun, as the record label never actually offered him a contract.  The quick thinking Mr. LA rushed out to a studio and covered up his already fresh duck with an LA Dodgers logo.

Not to be outdone by the boys, “femcee” (their word, not mine) Diamond also joined the facial tattoo club with a tattoo of a bullet.

The rapper debuted some new ink on Tuesday (March 8), via Twitter (@DiamondATL), posting a pic of her new face tattoo of a bullet with the accompanying message: “IN LIFE: You only get ONE SHOT!!!!!! Remember dat!”

In happy news this week, Avril Lavigne has promised to not get any more tattoos for a while.  So for the next little while the celebrity round-up will be Avril free!

In other bad pop singer news, Britney Spears has gotten in shape and did a photo shoot.  Supposedly the fact that she’s showing off 10 year old tattoos is a shock to some people.

Pee-Wee Herman made an appearance on Lopez Tonight earlier this week and was stunned to find out a woman in the audience had a Pee-Wee tattoo.  I think the real news here is that Pee-Wee was actually shocked to see little Pee-Wee sticking out in the audience.  You’d think he’d learn his lesson by now.

Someone sent Charlie Sheen a bottle of tiger’s blood.  To celebrate he got “Winning” tattooed on his wrist.  I can’t make fun of this at all.  I truly believe that Charlie Sheen is winning.  What he is winning has yet to be determined, but he’s definitely winning something.

And now the story you’ve all been waiting for, because including Julia Roberts in a ModBlog news post is something of a special event, a man has come forward to show off his love and devotion to Julia.  By getting her portrait tattooed on his body 82 times.

Film buff Miljenko Parserisas Bukovic enjoyed one of the actress’ films so much he got 82 tattoos of her FACE permanently etched all over his body.

Miljenko – a newspaper vendor in Mexico – has covered himself from head-to-toe with the pictures.  He splashed out HUNDREDS of pounds on the tattoos after seeing Roberts in her film Erin Brockovich.

So what was that you were saying about the woman with a bunch of Robert Pattinson tattoos?

That’s it for this week everybody.  Remember to keep sending in those links to news stories the world over.

Have a safe spring break, to those in college, and for those affected by the disaster in Japan, please drop someone a line to let them know you’re alright.

Welcome to the almost last newsfeed post of 2010.  After last week’s scarcity of stories, we’re back on track with stories ranging from identifying the body of a French king, to an attack on a mall body piercer by some angry parents.  So let’s get started.

Last week researchers announced that the mummified head that was discovered a few months back was indeed the head of France’s Henri IV, who was assassinated back in 1610.  One of the main contributing factors to the skull being identified as Henri IV, was that he had a pierced ear.

Months of tests have led to the conclusion that the body part belonged to Henri IV, who was stabbed to death in 1610.  Giveaway signs were a cut near the nose, a pierced ear and a healed facial wound from an earlier murder attempt.  The head was chopped off and stolen in 1793 when revolutionaries raided the grave of Henri. Private collectors then bought and sold the body part over hundreds of years.

We’ve got lots more news ahead just behind the clickthrough.

While we’re on the subject of ear piercings, a woman was brutally attacked due to a dispute over a child’s ear piercing.

Alana Denhard said customers were always stressed at this time of year, but she had never experienced anything like Tuesday’s incident. The Rainbow Bay resident was helping customers in Kaos Hair Salon who were not happy with their six-month-old daughter’s ear piercing on Monday.  “The ear was bleeding so I took the earring out, cleaned the ear and apologised,” Miss Denhard, 23, said.  “I did everything I could, but they kept coming back and yelling at me.”

The parents returned the following day with more family members, Miss Denhard said.  The customers followed Miss Denhard to the food court where security tried to calm the woman down.  “The mother was mouthing off and she broke away from the security guard. I was walking away and she came running at me and just bashed me onto the tiles.”  Witnesses told Miss Denhard the woman punched into her until security was able to pull her off.

Now I can understand being mad at someone for piercing the child’s ear with what I’m assuming was a gun, but to come back the next day to give her a beat down just seems a bit excessive.  Even with holiday shopping in full swing, that kind of behaviour is reserved for line-ups in Walmart for the newest “tickle-me” doll.

So while it may be the season for people to lose their minds over material possessions, some people are able to maintain some degree of sanity and are able to think of others.  Take Dynasty Tattoo and Body Piercing from NJ.  The shop is sponsoring a family in need this holiday season, and are asking people to come in and donate clothing, toys and cash.  Any donation over $20 will get you a gift certificate worth $25-$300 at the shop.

Then there is Barbie, a tattoo artist who attempted to break the world record for most tattoos done in a 24 hour time period.

Barbie is confident that she will set a new record, hoping to surpass 850, possibly closing in on the 1000 mark.  Barbie planned to tattoo an outlined 3” by 3” cancer ribbon, with shading in a choice of colours to reflect the cancer being recognized.  With each tattoo, a $20 donation was required with all money raised going to support the Canadian Cancer Society.

While she didn’t achieve her goal of 1000 tattoos, and suffered from some severe hand cramps, she was able to raise $6000 for the cancer society.

The holidays are also a time to celebrate family, both those with you, and ones that are no longer there.  Earlier in the year I posted a story about a women who got a tattoo using the ashes of her deceased son.  Now a Tasmanian artist is offering the same type of thing to any of his customers.

Shane Dyson believes he is the only tattooist in the state who offers memorial tattoos created using cremation ashes.  Since opening his business, Angelic Ink, a year ago in Wynyard in the state’s North-West, Mr Dyson has used his skills to help five grieving families.  ”I love all my tattooing work but the memorial tattoos are particularly special because it really does help people to be able to have a piece of their loved one with them at all times,” he said.

“The most beautiful occasion was when an entire family came in to get memorial tattoos for their lost daughter and sister,” he said.  ”I closed the studio for them for a day and the lady’s mother, father, brother and sister all came in to get tattoos of her name.  ”At the beginning it was really sad and everyone was crying but as the day went on they put on special music and were singing away.  ”There was a real sense of celebration and it is a pleasure to be part of such a personal experience.”

Now while some people wish to have their family members tattooed into their skin, others get tattoos for things that are significant to them.  Music tattoos are often seen on individuals, and can range from lyrics to a song, to a band’s logo.  California band Strung Out knows just how popular a band tattoo can be, and are asking their fans to send them photos of their art for an upcoming greatest hits album.

Strung Out are beginning to assemble a retrospective album and need some help from their loyally inked fans. The music portion of the album is already in the works, and will include a number of surprises, both new and old. But in order to create a truly unique collection, the band is asking that all fans with Strung Out tattoos send the band high-quality photos of their tattoos along with their full name, city, state, and country of residence, to be included in a massive gallery in the album’s packaging. Please e-mail all submissions to [email protected] The deadline is January 31, 2011.

It’s not just bands who are looking to obtain photos of tattoos.  Boston restaurant Tremont 647 is undergoing a remodel and is asking people to send in photographs of their food related tattoos.

Now in other tattoo related news, you may have heard of the murder trial going on in Florida where the state has been paying a make-up artist daily to cover up an accused murderer’s tattoos so that he can get a fair trial.  Earlier this week he was found guilty, and the sentencing was scheduled for today.  When he arrived to find out if he would be getting the death penalty or not, he chose not to have the make-up applied.

Neo-Nazi John Ditullio walked into court Thursday with his tattoos in plain sight: the large swastika and the words “f— you” on his neck, the barbed wire running down the side of his face.  Ditullio, 24, was convicted of first-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder. In early 2006, he was living with a group of American Nazis near Hudson who hated Patricia Wells, their next-door neighbor, for having an African-American friend and a gay son.  One night, authorities said, Ditullio put on a gas mask and broke into Wells’ house, attacking her with a knife. She escaped with injuries to her face and hands, but her son’s friend, 17-year-old Kristofer King, died from stab wounds to his skull.

Over on the other side of the planet, The Fatwa Centre in Abu Dhabi states that tattoos are haraam.

However, in a report carried by Al Khaleej, the fatwa clarifies that only permanent tattoos are haram, but those using gold or paint to create a superficial drawing on the skin are allowed.    The fatwa issued by the centre, which is affiliated to the General Authority for Islamic Affairs and Endowments, states: “We should differentiate between two things, tattoos and graphic drawing on body. Tattooing means to prick the skin with a needle and inject kohl or some other substance to change the skin color to blue or green. This is haram according to the consensus of scholars.”

Keep in mind that strict adherents to both Christianity and Judaism forbid tattoos as well, so it’s interesting to see that this is only being brought up now.

A couple of weeks ago I posted a story warning vegans that some tattoo inks are still not vegan friendly.  This week ThisDishIsVegetarian.com has an in-depth interview with James Spooner, a vegan tattoo artist.

I use inks made with vegetable glycerine as opposed to the animal based variety. Most of the popular brands use veggie stuff so there isn’t a lot of compromise in quality there. The main thing with ink is blacks. A lot of companies use Shellac in there ink, which is some kind of bug excrement. I’m not sure which orifice it comes out of, but either way I cool without it. Some crazy companies still use bone char in their black so that is also something to look out for.

The other things to think about are all the ointments, soaps, and aftercare used. I’ve read that the industry standard green soap uses an animal based glycerine. I use Dr. Bronners, which is making waves in the industry, I hear they are even showing up to tattoo conventions now. I also am phasing out all petroleum products, which contain all kinds of lanolin and junk like that. I’m currently trying a few different products to see which I like best, but I’ve got a couple of options I am digging right now. There is also stuff like the gelatin strip on the razor or the stencil paper. When you’re trying to make it vegan you might as well think of everything right?

Just a couple more stories before we head into the celebrity round-up.

Professional wrestler “The Perfect Creation” has been keeping a photo collection of what people are calling “The Ultimate Gaming Tattoo”.  I was going to include a couple of photos to give you the general idea, but it’s probably better you just go to the page.  He’s managed to squeeze in games from every platform, genre, and era into both of his arms.  I have serious geek envy after looking through the pictures.

Wired.co.uk recently did some number crunching to determine that water is wet.  Wait, wrong article.  They crunched numbers to determine if people will do something just because it is free.  To gather their data, they went to a nightclub that was offering free tattoos to anyone who wanted them.

A large room in an industrial building housed three picnic tables, lined end to end, in the centre. The tattoo station comprised a portable table with two folding chairs and a cheap floor lamp. Our assistant, with her clipboard, was by far the cleanest and most official-looking person around. And when she offered to help the tattooist by taking names, he was delighted. In the five hours she was there (from 9pm to 2am), a total of 76 people signed up for the free tattoos.

As the assistant was collecting the data, another tattoo artist stopped by to give us her opinion. This petite brunette, with a medallion tattoo on her sternum, felt that she had to tell us about all the unhygienic and potentially health-hazardous practices she had witnessed that night. Apparently, a contaminated paper towel had been passed around and an obvious necessity missing from the set-up was disinfectant. She said these practices could cause people to contract a blood disease, such as hepatitis or HIV. So perhaps the real cost of tattoos are not their price, but the odds of infections and even long-term illness.

Who needs proper hygiene when it’s free right?

Advice columnists for the most part are always clueless when it comes to tattoos.  So imagine my shock when I read this exchange.

Dear Christy,

My boyfriend just got a freaking horse tattoo on his back. It is so stupid and cheesy. He’s obsessed with Charlie from that stupid “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” show, and that’s why he got it.  What do I do?

–Hates Charlie

Jerk:  

Lovely “Charlie”… The boyfriend. Not you. “Jerk” is your worthy moniker… It is imperative that you dump this broad.

Now.

She’s an insult to your brilliance.  

“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” is a top gem on the tube.

If you desire my genius guidance, retract your statement immediately. Speak up. I have seven pounds of hair encasing each ear.  

The tattoo is funny. Sure, I wouldn’t do it, but I would totally date your boyfriend — and be better at it than you — because of the horse.

Looks like princess is embarrassed.

The only solution is to grasp those preying talons on a tranquilizer gun, gather a couple thousand bucks and drag him to a laser-removal joint.

Note: You’ll probably break a nail during the escapade. Abort mission. Plus, “Gossip Girl” is almost on.

Just embrace his ink. He embraces those damn Uggs.

I’ll give you a moment to finish your golf clap before we move on to the celebrities.

Finished?  Great.  So here were are with another collection of the rich and famous and all their crazy antics.

Take Ke$ha (Seriously?  That’s her name?), for kicks she likes to tattoo her friends with a safety pin.

“She told Radio 1: “It’s not bad. I’ll practise on my bandmates . I’ve given tattoos with a safety pin and an ink pen.”

I really shouldn’t be shocked by anything like this anymore.

Hillary Duff was stalked on the way to the gym by papprazzi, who couldn’t find anyone actually famous to stalk that day.  On the plus side they took pictures of her tattooed feet to sell to fetish websites.

Of course the week wouldn’t be complete without checking in with one of everyone’s favorite orange colored “reality” TV “stars”.

Well that’s it for the week.  Remember to send in any news stories you stumble across just by clicking this link.

Oh, and because it’s been sent to me a few times over the past few weeks, here’s a little video someone came up with.  You’ll have to watch it to the end for the full effect.  When you’re done, remember to go and hug your tattoo artist, as they have to deal with this all the time.

As the work day winds to a close (at least for us on the east coast), it’s time to take a look back at the news from all over, to if tattoos, piercings, or any other type of modification turned up.  This week we’ve got a follow-up from a story we reported over a year ago, debates about dress codes for adults, the newest winner in the “worst editorial on tattoos ever” contest, and of course, the celebrity round-up, where I actually read some of the stories this week!

To kick things off today we have a story that will surely be repeated by parents everywhere when their child asks to get something pierced.

As Grace Etherington, 15, lay in hospital, doctors didn’t know whether she would ever walk again.  She had been struck down with a rare disorder, after getting an infection in her ear after she’d had it pierced just days before. She couldn’t move a muscle or even speak, and she had to be lifted in a sling.  She was diagnosed with Guillan Barre syndrome, a rare disease of the nervous system that paralyses the body. The doctors told Miss Etherington that her daughter’s case was so severe that if she pulled through, she may only be able to blink her eyes for the rest of her life.

Grace ended up making a recovery and is able to move again.  Thankfully they don’t dwell too much on the pierced ear, but I’m sure other news outlets weren’t so generous.  Just to clarify something, isn’t Guillan Barre the disease that Foreman always thinks the patient is suffering from on House?

There’s still a lot more news to come, so put your feet up and click the read more button.

Back in June of last year, Jordan posted an article about a New Jersey tattoo artist who was charged with sexually assaulting his clients, as well as breaking into his old place of employment while on bail for the assault charges.  Well, it’s been over a year and he’s finally pleaded guilty to the charges.

Jeffrey N. Dekmar Sr., 37, who has lived in Hardyston and Flanders, admitted to state Superior Court Judge Thomas V. Manahan in Morristown to three counts of burglary and two counts of criminal sexual contact.  In exchange for his guilty pleas, Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Alissa Hascup and defense lawyer Donald Fedderly negotiated a plea bargain that calls for Dekmar to be sentenced to 11 years in state prison, with no minimum period of time to be served before parole consideration.

Authorities previously have said that Dekmar on Feb. 21, 2009, sexually touched a 23-year-old woman who wanted a tattoo of a Hebrew prayer applied to her right upper thigh. The patron alleged she refused Dekmar’s request that she remove her underpants and that he pulled them down and touched her genitals. This woman hopped off the table and fled the premises.  The second tattoo parlor victim told Roxbury police that Dekmar rubbed his genitals against her own without her consent.

At what point in your life do you decide it’s ok to rip off a client’s underwear and finger them?  Clearly it was last year for this guy.  I wonder if he’ll try the same stunt when he’s tattooing guys in prison.

Heading over to Taiwan, it seems that kids in the US aren’t the only ones bullying other kids forcing them to get tattooed.  Luckily for the young man, a friend of his stumbled upon a police officer shortly after it happened.

The police officer, Fan Yu-yuan (范育源), said he was having a bowl of noodles at a stand in Taipei City’s Beitou District (北投) late on Wednesday night when he was approached by a teenager begging for food.  Fan said after he treated the boy to a bowl of noodles, and upon learning Fan is a -police -officer, the teen revealed to him that a friend of his, surnamed Lee (李), had been badly bullied by some other teens.  The boy told Fan that the teens had forcefully tattooed bad words and figures — such as a middle finger, a swastika and a cross with wings — on Lee’s back and arms against his will.

The story goes on to say that local coverage of the assault has prompted several people to come forth and donate money to have the tattoos removed.

Back in Canada, Toronto Public Health has issued a warning to people who were tattooed at “It’s Just Body Art” in North York.

Health officials say “It’s Just Body Art” on 1072 Wilson Ave., near Keele Street, did not follow infection control practices to prevent the spread of diseases such as Hepatitis B, C, and HIV.  There are no reports of infections, but authorities are advising anyone who got a tattoo between Sept. 29, 2009 and Sept. 30 of this year to see their doctor and get tested.

So if you’re in Toronto and have gotten work done there in the past year, make sure you go get tested.  According to the video in the link, it seems their autoclave wasn’t working properly so some of their equipment may not have been sterilized.

Now down in Utah, a new law has been passed that prevents the hiring of any new city employees with visible tattoos, brands or scarification.

The updated policy says employees hired on or after Sept. 1 cannot display any tattoos, brands, scarification, body art or decals on their body during work hours or while in city uniform.  Employees hired before that date can display certain tattoos that they already have between the wrists and the fingertips; between the toes and the ankles; and from the neck to the top of the head. These workers had until Sept. 10 to make their department head aware of their existing tattoos; all new ones have to be covered.

It seems that nobody really minds the new policy as applications haven’t diminished and those affect by the ban have already reported their modifications.

Elsewhere, not everyone agrees with this sort of policy.  A school teacher in South Carolina is having a problem with the school board’s policy towards staff members and visible tattoos and piercings.  (Bonus:  The teacher has an epic beard!)

Some Horry County School employees don’t like the current dress code they have to follow. That includes no visible tattoos or facial piercings.  Jack Ebright a psychology teacher at Socastee high school said Tuesday that he can’t understand why the district requires teachers and other county school employees to have a business like appearance at all times during working hours.

Ebright said he isn’t looking to create controversy but that he just wants district leaders to be on the same page as him when it comes to attire that creates trust rather than distance within the classroom.  ”Put me in anything, move my beard from here to there,” he said pointing to his long white beard, “It wont change how effective I am but I’ll be honest with ya, looking a little bit like Santa clause, doesn’t hurt in creating a good rapport in the classroom, good relationships are always part of our business.”

I don’t know about you, but if a guy shows up with a viking hat and an epic beard, I’d probably do whatever he demands.

Something for the “Well that’s just dumb” file, the city council of Painesville, Ohio has denied a tattoo supply company from opening up downtown.

During the Painesville Planning Commission meeting on Wednesday night, Tattoo & Piercing Supply Shop was denied a conditional use permit.  Prospective shop owner David Nofziger attended the meeting and said the commission voted against the permit based on concerns that the shop was not comparable to other businesses in the district.  The commission also noted that neighboring businesses were against opening the new shop.  No tattoos or piercings would be done at the shop. It would strictly be used as a supply shop, Nofziger said.  City Planner Russ Schaedlich thought the East Main Street location might have been suitable for the business because it has plenty of storage space, which is essential to the shop.  Nofziger said the business would deliver supplies for tattoo artists in the event of an emergency. Though artists can order supplies online, supplies can take up to five days to get to the store.

Now we’ve all seen stories about cities trying to ban tattoo shops from opening up in certain parts of town, in fact that’s what led to the court decision making tattoos protected under the first amendment.  But to prevent a supply store from opening up seems pretty silly in my book.

Speaking of things that are dumb, an Australian writer has written an editorial for the The Courier-Mail.  Of all the tattoo bashing editorials I’ve read, this probably tops the list of the all time worst ones.

As one wit observed, a tattoo is a lot like marriage – it’s a lifelong commitment, hurts like hell, and the colour fades over time. And I’d like to add pointless and expensive.  In my book, if you want to announce to the world that you’ve served time in the services or perhaps a correctional centre, live in a caravan, have severe bogan tendencies, are having a midlife crisis, or all of the above – go get a tattoo.

Newly divorced women in their 40s once just got an ankle chain – a far less permanent nod to their new independent status than a tattoo. Less painful too.  Now they’re likely to front up for a piece of body art (and I use the term loosely). Maybe an ancient tribal or celtic symbol called “wheel of balance” or “mystical equine” – or, even more nauseating on a grown woman, a butterfly.

She then goes off on a tirade against pretty much everyone who has gotten a tattoo ever.  My Aussie slang is a bit rusty, so I’ll let our ModBlog readers from down under come up with some good words to describe her.  The only thing redeeming in the article is the photo of the eye-candy she chose to go along with her rant.

Recently we’ve seen a string of charity events set up to raise money for cancer charities, this week a woman in the UK is doing a charity tattoo drive to help out her local animal shelter.

Ms Oram, who runs Cherubs Tattoo Parlour in Sheep Street, is offering to tattoo a paw print for £35 to animal lovers, donating all proceeds to the home at Claverton Down.  She hopes to raise £2,000 over the weekend of December 4 and 5.  She said: “I’m gonna be knackered. There will be tea and cake and a raffle and if anyone would like to donate for this, then that would be wicked.

“It’s booking up quickly. I’m already halfway there, so call the shop on 07795 474219 or email [email protected] cherubtattoo.co.uk for bookings.”  Ms Oram, a volunteer dog walker at the home, said: “I wanted to do a bit more. It costs £3,000 a day to run the home and they are completely self funded, so every bit helps.  “Hopefully, this will remind people that a dog is for life… just like a tattoo.”

So if you have the chance, stop by to help out some of our four legged friends.  Plus, you can have tea and cake!  More shops in North America need to offer that.

Now last week I caught a lot of flack because I didn’t read all of the articles for the celebrity section.  This week you’ll be happy to know I forced myself to read them all and I can honestly say I’m now dumber for having read them.  Thanks everyone!

While you gloat over my pain, here is what’s been happening in the world of celebrity tattoos and piercings.

First up, infamous talk-radio show host Dr. Laura, known mostly for her nude pictures online, has gotten herself a tattoo of a skull and rose, possibly to commemorate the ending of her radio program.

In an effort to dispel the myth that all tattooed rock stars are tough, Dougie Poynter from the band McFly has admitted to fainting while getting work done on his sleeve.

And finally, to celebrate her final days as jail bait, Miley Cyrus flashed some sideboob and tattoo ink to paparazzi while on the runway for an MTV Europe awards show.

Well, that’s it for the news this week.  As always, if you find a news story that you think should be included in the weekly news, just send it to me.

In case you didn’t know, this week is World Kindness Week, with tomorrow being World Kindness Day, so go out and hug someone this weekend.

This week’s news is coming to you from Chicago.  As the first stop on my trip around North America most of the time has been spent getting ready with my road trip buddy for the coming months.  Just because I’m on the road, doesn’t mean the news is going to stop.  So, with that said, let’s see what has happened in the world since last week’s update.

We’re going to start this week by taking a look at how modified people are making a positive impact in their communities.  Be it through their art, setting an example for others, or taking time to help out those who can’t help themselves, all these individuals have taken their modifications and used them for something positive.

First up we have Wafaa Bilal, an Iraqi artist who is using his skin as a canvas to bring attention to the continuing loss of life in the war with Iraq.

Over the next 24 hours, they would be barraged by dots of ink, thousands and thousands of them — each representing a casualty of the Iraq war. The dots are tattooed near the city where the person died: red ink for the American soldiers, ultraviolet ink for the Iraqi civilians, invisible unless seen under black light.  “We are talking about 100,000 Iraqis who have died and 5,000 American soldiers,” Bilal says. “They’re not visible. Many people don’t even know the number.”

Continue reading to hear about more people like Wafaa, as well as some followup to stories from the past few weeks, some interesting perspectives on religion and body modifications, and the return of the celebrity roundup!

In New Hampshire Steve Manchini, a high school drop out, has returned to school and is proving to his community that heavily modified young people can succeed when given the opportunity to.

Manchini wears glass earrings that are nearly 3 inches in diameter. His first piercing came at age 14. He has six tattoos. And no matter the weather, he wears flip flops.  Despite quitting school his sophomore year, Manchini will graduate this month with honors, placing him closer to a goal of attending medical school. He wants to major in neuroscience, the study of the brain and nervous system.

A little south of Steve, in Ashville NC, Freaks & Geeks Tattoo Sideshow is holding their annual “Tattooing Paws for a Cause” event this month.

The centerpiece of the campaign is a 12-hour pet paw print tattoo and body piercing marathon from 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday, June 27, at Freaks & Geeks. During that day, patrons may choose from four paw print tattoo designs for the deeply discounted price of $40. Diamond Thieves Body Piercing owner Daron James will provide above-the-neck and belly button piercings during the daylong event for the reduced cost of $15. All clients will be taken on a first-come, first-served basis. Proceeds from the marathon will benefit the Humane Society, which will have a number of pets up for adoption on site during the event.

In addition the shop will act as both a donation center for people looking to donate to the Humane Society, as well as providing information regarding adoption.  If you’re in the area and have some time, swing on by and either get some work done, or make a donation.

Finally we have an interview with Dawn Kasper, an LA based artist that incorporates branding and scarification into her performance art.

In one performance, she branded the word “love” onto the skin of her inner bicep. (She followed with “truth” on the other bicep several years later.) In another, she carved the shape of a heart into the middle of her chest, an unsettlingly visible expression, one could say, of wearing her heart on her sleeve. The scars of both remain.

June also appears to be a good month in the news for artists that incorporate tattoos into their work.  In Hammonton NJ, the Noyes Museum is hosting an exhibit entitled “The Art of Tattoo”, featuring not only photos of tattoos, but also original sketches and paintings.  Melbourne tattoo artist Jessica Swaffer, is featured this week in on thevine.com.au.  Jessica’s watercolors are a modern take on late 1800s pornography, mixed with classical tattoo imagery.  Over on the west coast, OCWeekly has done a photo essay on local chefs and their body art.  And really, who doesn’t love good food mixed with a splash of color.

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago about how three Canadian provinces have no regulations in place when it comes to any form of body modifications.  Well it seems that those provinces aren’t the only places that are looking at doing something with regards to regulations.  In Florida, governor Charlie Crist signed into law new legislation dealing with age restrictions, as well as health standards.

Gov. Charlie Crist signed into law Friday a bill that bans children and teenagers younger than 16 from being tattooed and requires those 16 to 18 to bring a parent to give permission before they get inked. The law (HB 729) also regulates tattoo artists for the first time. They must get a license, take an infection control course and pass an annual test.

The only downside I’m seeing to this is that the law doesn’t take effect until January 2012, which means for another year or so Florida will still be following the old rules.  While Florida is taking steps forward, it seems California is digging its heels in and not making any progress.

Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, D-San Francisco, who was born with hepatitis B, stepped in, introducing a bill to codify the standards.  Supported by health officers, blood banks and the body-art industry, it sailed through the Assembly and Senate in 2009 with virtually no dissent. But when it landed on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s desk, to the astonishment of all, he vetoed it, saying he didn’t see the point.

There currently is another bill pending, being supported by even more groups, so hopefully the Governator will allow it to be passed instead of arbitrarily vetoing it again.

Taking a quick look at some of the stories that I mentioned in the past, the student that was assaulted by his classmates and forced to have his ass tattooed has relocated and plans to finish out the school year at a new school.  The jury has begun deliberations in the case of the father who tattooed a gang symbol on his seven year-old son.  While the prosecution has presented the case as a straightforward assault/child endangerment suit, the defense is claiming “the jury has to find Gonzalez and Gorman not guilty if they are not willing to convict a parent for piercing their kids’ ear or getting them circumcised”.  Now I can’t recall if I mentioned this story before, but Curtis Allgier, who has been charged with killing a prison guard, is asking for permission to cover his extensive facial tattoos while in court. so that he can get a fair trial.

In certain cultures and religions, body modifications are frowned upon, and in some cases considered a sin.  This week I came across two articles about modifications and religion, that surprisingly don’t take a negative turn.  In the first article two Rabbis answer the question “What should I do about my tattoos before converting?”

Moreover, the tattoos condemned by the original ban were carried out either as a form of self-harm as part of excessive grief over a bereavement, or they were a religious rite belonging to a pagan faith.  These are not in the same category as the ones you bear, which were probably done for decorative reasons. I also assume they are permanent and cannot be removed, otherwise that would be an easy solution.  Still, by definition, the act of conversion implies both “turning away from” a certain lifestyle and “turning towards” a new path. You cannot undo your past, either the visible bits or the invisible aspects, but what counts is the person you are now and who you wish to become.

The second story is about a Christian church in Springfield MO that has taken a significantly different stance on body modification than the majority of Evangelical churches.

“In the lobby of the south-side Springfield church, one wall is covered with photos of members proudly displaying their tattoos.  “

The church has taken the position of embracing the modifications of it’s parishoners as something to be celebrated, not condemned.  For me personally, this sounds like a great step forward and hopefully more churches follow suit.

Now I know everyone’s favorite section is the celebrity roundup, but I’ve got two more stories to go before we get to the good stuff.

On Judge Judy recently a tattoo artist was being sued by a former employee.  Unfortunately he made the mistake of trying to tell Judge Judy how to do her job.

In my favorite article I found this week, an author holds nothing back in describing his feelings towards tattoos.  I’ll just let him speak for himself, I’m sure you’ll have some choice words for him by the time you’re finished reading it.

And now ladies and gentlemen, the moment you’ve all been waiting for, the celebrity roundup!

Well, it turns out that all of us tattooed Modblog readers have gotten our ink because we’re following the trend set by pioneers such as Megan Fox, Angelina Jolie, and something called a Justin Bierber.

Speaking of Megan Fox, everyone’s favorite toe-thumbed, robot fighting, motorcycle riding, starlet has gotten herself tattoo number nine (I know I shouldn’t be shocked there are people keeping count, but really?)

When I say the words “rugby player” what are the first things you think of?  Maybe it’s Matt Damon in Invictus, or is it the sterotyped image of a huddle of the toughest guys on the planet beating the shit out of each other.  Well, it turns out some of those guys just aren’t that tough.

A new tattoo is understood to be behind Jake Friend’s latest brush with the law, with the Sydney Roosters hooker arrested for possessing two valium tablets without prescription after being searched by police in Coogee on Saturday night.  The Herald was told Friend had the tablets to relieve pain from tattoo work done last week, as well as help with anxiety, and will plead not guilty to the charge.”

Supposedly there’s some books about vampires that have gotten popular in the past couple years.  I’m not entirely sure what they’re about, but I think glitter is involved.  Well, I guess these books have gotten the actors in the films based on the books famous.  So famous that the fans are getting themselves tattooed with their autographs.  After looking at the pictures, I just have one question, isn’t that Shark Boy on the right?

Finally, it turns out that a rock star getting tattooed is news.  I know, I was shocked too.  Well, thanks to twitter, we can all see Courtney Love‘s latest pieces of art.  Also, the rock and roll lifestyle has taken it’s toll on Metallica’s James Hetfield.  After getting his latest tattoo, he’s looking to make himself the new poster boy for the straightedge movement.  Any straightedge types have any thoughts on this?

So that’s it for this week’s news.  Next week I should be somewhere in Colorado, so once I get to a wifi hotspot, you can expect to see the latest collection of mod related news from around the world.

Thanks again to Botexty for the Aussie submissions, and if anyone else comes across a story you think should be on Modblog, feel free to submit it here.  Have a great week everyone, and take care.