Jud Winters (Photo source: MySpace.com)

[About.com] Sad story here, folks. Last week, Jud Winters, a 21-year-old tattoo artist in Nampa, Idaho, was severely burned after trying to light a bonfire, sustaining second- and third-degree burns on 90 per cent of his body. He’s undergone two surgeries already, just to remove burned tissue, and doctors are only putting his chances of survival at 30 per cent. The Garrity Tattoo Shop in Nampa is holding a raffle to raise money for Winters’s family, the statement for which can be read below:

Jud Winters, a 21 yr. old Nampa tattoo artist, was recently involved in a horrific burning incident which resulted in the loss of 90% of his skin. He is clinging to life at the SLC Burn Center, with a 30% chance of survival, and his family by his side. On Behalf of Jud Winters’ family, Garrity Tattoo will be hosting a raffle of donated items to help benefit them, and help assure that their basic needs (food, clothing, shelter) are met during this time. We are currently asking for donations of every type, and plan to raffle the items with a drawing and appreciation BBQ scheduled for Saturday December 20th at 12:30. This young victim’s life will be forever changed, as will the lives of all who knew and loved him. During this time, where we are so powerless to help Jud directly, we must not forget the ever growing needs of his family, and do our part to assure that his family knows that their community is here for them. As the month progresses, and the donations are made, we will keep an updated listing of raffle items available in our MySpace blog. Please tell everyone you know that for the price of a $2 raffle ticket, they could win some great stuff, and support a great family with firm ties to our community. Come by the shop at 3116 Garrity Blvd (18) today to donate your items and buy your tickets! If you have any questions, please call 461-3181

The shop has received tons of donations already — gift certificates from other tattoo shops, rare albums, sporting goods — and really, this is about as good a cause to support as any. If you’re in the Nampa area, try to pay the shop a visit.

This link features video of a news broadcast about the story.

[feelunique.com] Ha ha, now this is a great idea. If this terrible recession has left you jobless and hopeless and hungry, how about you, I don’t know, get some temporary tattoos on your eyelids? For money? Sure, why not.

With the credit crunch continuing to bite why not try an alternative way of making money by renting out your eyelids as advertising space.

feelunique.com is offering people the chance to earn 10 pence per wink in return for displaying the company’s logo on their eyelid space. People who sign up to star in the campaign will have the feelunique.com logo temporarily transferred onto their eyelid and will be paid on a Pay Per Wink (PPW) basis – up to a total of £100 per model.

Amy Rebours of feelunique.com says:

“We all take notice when we’re being winked at so what better way to advertise feelunique.com than on people’s eyelids. It’s a genuine marketing first, which encourages people to spread a feel-good winking moment and earn some much-needed extra income in the process.”

A “marketing first” indeed! I can’t believe nobody has never thought of paying people to, huh, blink? Really? I’m kind of surprised that these marketing geniuses behind this one didn’t get “Pay Per Wink” trademarked, as this is clearly the new frontier.

[Ananova.com] Here’s a good one: Some donkey gets pulled over for some reason, tries to give the cops a fake name, but, whoops, he had his name tattooed on his neck:

Darnell Frazier, 25, and a friend were pulled up by a police officer in St. Paul, Minnesota, reports the Star Tribune.

Frazier told the officer he had never had a photo ID and claimed his name was Darnell Lewis.

The officer, however, noticed that the man had “Frazier” tattooed in large letters on the side of his neck.

Police spokesman Peter Panos said Frazier was arrested on four misdemeanour warrants, including driving while disqualified and no proof of insurance.

Frazier then tried to flirt with the officer, batting his eyelashes repeatedly, but forgot that he had his initials temporarily imprinted on his eyelids, thereby giving up the game even further. He did, however, make a cool 60 pence, which is something, I guess.

[BMEzine.com] Rachel posted this last night, but here it is again for good measure — her words follow:

Canvas Los Angeles, the boutique and gallery of the tattooer arts, was robbed on December 12th. Thankfully, none of the gallery’s staff were injured, but sadly, two pieces of artwork were stolen. The two pieces stolen were by Alex Garcia and Guy Aitchison.

This was a truly despicable act. It’s a violation, pure and simple, without any justification whatsoever, and it’s an insult to both the art and tattoo communities. Theft of any sort is inexcusable, but when you steal work from an artist, you steal the thing they produce, and you rob them of their livelihood.

What we want more than anything else is simply for these pieces to be returned. If those responsible for this theft bring the paintings back, or if they are otherwise returned unharmed, Canvas LA will not press charges. All we want is for the pieces to be returned to the gallery — this is really just a matter of supporting our community, plain and simple.

“Minty Fresh Death” is oil on masonite while “AutoMech #2″ is acrylic on canvas. Both paintings are approximately 8×10 and were framed at the time they were stolen. Please keep an eye out on eBay and anywhere else you may see art for sale or displayed, and report anything you see to [email protected]. Thank you all for your help and support.