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.

This week’s news is coming to you from a hotel in Dallas, TX.  This weekend is the annual Dallas Suscon, and I’m here for those of you who weren’t able to make it this year.  Over the weekend I’ll be posting up photos and stories from Suscon, as well as getting some interviews for later in the week.  But enough about that, lets get to the news.

Today’s lead story is about a tattoo that the owner should have thought twice about getting.

When Los Angeles County Sheriff’s homicide investigator Kevin Lloyd was routinely looking through snapshots of tattooed gang members, he saw something that caught his eye – a crime scene he was familiar with.  Anthony Garcia, a member of the Rivera-13 gang, had a tattoo that resembled the scene of the liquor store killing of 23-year-old John Juarez in Pico Rivera on Jan. 23, 2004, reports the Los Angeles Times.

There were numerous details the murder inked on the gang member. The paper reports that the tattoo included the Christmas lights that lined the roof of the liquor store where Juarez was shot and killed, the direction his body fell, the bowed street lamp across the way and the street sign. Above everything read the title, “RIVERA KILLS”, a reference to the gang. A helicopter was also placed above the scene raining down bullets,  a nod to Garcia’s alias “Chopper.”

I suppose it’s good to be proud of your accomplishments.  Although tattooing a crime scene on your chest probably isn’t the best idea if there’s a chance you’ll ever have your photo taken by the police.

There’s still more news to come, so keep on reading.

Last week I featured a story from New Zealand where a school has lightened up their dress code to allow minimal facial piercings.  Now that it’s been a week, the “voices of reason” have come out of the woodwork to pronounce that the sky is falling.

EVERYONE KNOWS that teenagers are insane. At some early point within their pubertal experience, the cute kid metamorphoses into an irrational chemical dump and we wave them goodbye forever.  If we’re lucky, the transformation presents a fully fledged adult. But, as with monarch chrysalises caught by a frost, you can get the misshapen beasties too. Their wings twisted, they can’t fly, can’t forage for themselves, and eventually you euthanise them in the freezer.

I must say, though, that today’s teens, perhaps as a direct result of the televisual, are streets ahead of their parents in this regard. Like commercial radio, they have split into a bewildering array of sub-sets. As a general rule, everyone has some sort of niche in 2011 – their parents had few.  So you can be a sports jock, one of the popular kids, a nerd, an arty, a Glee gay, a gangsta or a Jesus/Mohammed/Hare Krishna freak. We never had that array in our time – you either played team sport or you didn’t.

The principal has decided to allow self-mutilation as part of the school uniform. From this week, teenage girls who stick pins through their tongues, lips, ears, noses and eyebrows will be allowed to keep the fellmongery that makes up their face.  One presumes that tattoos are next – the tramp stamps beloved of this generation of teen girls who wish to be seen as uniformly rebelling against uniformity. Presumably, this desire also drives the wish to revert to the stone age, or at least the bronze.

Forgive me, but it has always seemed that those who do self-mutilate are either not that attractive, or on some internal and angsty ride to irrelevance. Possibly both. If it is an adornment designed to attract males then it may have some point. Just as a tattoo is a suggestion of sauce, so is the pierced tongue or the ring through the lip. Sluts have always been attractive to men.

Forgive the extended quoting, but there was no way I could leave out some of these ignorant quips.  First, if you’re trying to appear knowledgable of youth culture, don’t use a phrase from a sitcom that was created by the old man who is completely clueless.  I’m looking at you Pierce Hawthorne.  Second, proclaiming that teenage girls are sluts because they get a facial piercing tells me that you may be the one with the fixation on sexualizing children.  You better watch out though these “Glee-Gays” and other deviants are only a couple years away from becoming adults, which means they’ll be the ones determining what’s acceptable, and narrow-minded tools like yourself will be forced to sit on the sidelines wondering why they don’t like you.

For many in North America, Spring means tax season.  Of course with tax season comes stress and financial worries, but for some, tax season means tax refunds.  Not surprisingly if one were to head to a tattoo studio around this time they’ll find that a number of people are using their refunds to get a tattoo.

Now that the deadline for filing income taxes has passed, taxpayers can breath a sigh of relief, and tattoo artists can celebrate. As tax refunds come in, so do their customers.  “It’s pretty much like clockwork,” says Marshall Brown, a tattoo artist at Revolution Tattoo in Bucktown.  “You see an influx of people.” Brown estimates that business goes up by 5 percent to 10 percent in April.

According to a 2008 study by the Pew Research Center, a quarter of Americans are tattooed, up from 16 percent in 2003, according to Harris Poll. The Pew study said one-fifth of tattooed Americans have six or more works of body art.  Mills spent $300 on his tattoo, and if that seems like a lot of money, it shouldn’t. Of 102 people surveyed by this reporter in an unofficial online poll in February, two-thirds said they have spent more than $500 on their tattoos. Nine percent said they had spent more than $5,000.

I can’t say I’m really surprised.  I know I’m guilty of paying a visit to a studio just after getting a tax refund.

Up in Alaska, Native American artist Yaari Kingeekuk is hosting a number of lectures explaining the meanings behind her traditional tattoos.

Yaari Kingeekuk’s face, hands and arms make a direct connection with her Siberian Yupik ancestors, and not just through DNA. Kingeekuk is a walking canvas of traditional tattoos that follow designs reaching back for centuries or more.

This week the topic will be those tattoos. Until the early 20th century, most Alaska Native women bore tattoos. The intricate designs of St. Lawrence Island, where the practice continued longer than on the mainland, were considered to be particularly complex and artistic.  “Tattoo artists were only women,” Kingeekuk says, “because they took the precise time and they were very graceful with their hands. That’s why they didn’t allow men to do tattoos.”
Historically the designs were sewn into the skin using a needle with sooted thread. But for her tattoos, Kingeekuk went to a parlor. It was a necessary concession to life in the big city in modern times. But she balked at referring to the electric tattoo gun-wielding technician as an artist.  “To my mind, he wasn’t a professional professional,” she says. “The art was already planned.” Planned long before she was born. The tattoos present a kind of landscape involving culture, nature, time, family, community, personal accomplishments and world view.

Those chin stripes, for example. “They mean I’m a mature woman. I have children.” The single mom has six children of her own, in fact, plus one whom she’s adopted.  The seven fluke shapes on her arms count the number of whales that her father caught during his lifetime.

It’s a fascinating article, and definitely worth a good read.

Today’s final story is sort of a celebrity related story, but because I’m Canadian I can chalk it up to being more of a political/cultural story.  As you may or may not know, next week marks the first royal wedding in England in a number of years, so of course people are making a big deal of it.

Shop manager Steve White decided to commemorate Wills and Kate’s Royal Wedding by getting the couple’s silhouetted faces tattooed on his leg.  Steve, who isn’t even a fan of the royal family, decided to get the unusual tattoo after “a couple of beers’.  The 29-year-old said: “I don’t think I’m really marriage material myself, so I thought it would be a good way to celebrate someone else’s wedding.”

So that’s it for this weeks news.  Keep an eye out over the weekend for some Suscon posts.  As always if you find a story you think would be a great fit for the weekly news post, just send it in.

Have a fantastic weekend everyone.

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.

It’s time again for the news of the week.  I’ve got good news to share before I get into the stories, there are NO celebrity stories this week!  Seriously.  I know that this may be devastating to some of you, but I hope that you can pull through the disappointment and enjoy the rest of the news.  A big thanks to those who sent in stories this week, Egan, Botexty, Nexizydrate, and xrayspex.  If you find a story in the news that is related to body modification in any way, just click here to send me the link.

Well, to get things started is a news story that popped up in the past day.  I’m sure you may have already seen it already, but for those who haven’t it’s kind of a big deal.  Basically ABC news ran a shock and awe piece on ear pointing.  While they took the time to interview Steve Haworth, they spent more time mocking him and those who get the procedure done then reporting anything substantial.

The photos are pointedly striking – young adults who have intentionally cut their ears to appear like those of elves or Star Trek’s Mr. Spock.  The surgery is painful and irreversible. It’s one body modification change, unlike a tattoo or a piercing, that you can’t take back.  The unique and delicate procedure can leave you looking like one of Santa’s elves. Numerous photos online show aficionados who appear to be thrilled with the results.

But doctors “GMA” talked to warn that sculpting cartilage is dangerous.  “The real risks are one – major deformity of the ear, which is very easy to have happen and two, infection of the ear,” said Dr. Arthur W. Perry, author of “Straight Talk About Cosmetic Surgery.” “And if infection occurs, it can destroy the ear within days.”  “It’s very difficult and often it’s not possible to fully reconstruct a nice-looking ear,” he said.

I love how they constantly claim that it’s “kids” and “teenagers” as the only ones doing it, oh and how Steve “calls himself a body modification artist”, as if it’s not a real thing.  This story is only going to accomplish two things, expand the popularity of the procedure, as well as possibly bringing negative attention to Steve and other artists.

There’s more to come, so grab a cup of tea and pull up a chair.

We’ve got another story from ABC news this week, this one about a man who got so drunk he didn’t realize he tattooed his 3 year old son’s shoulder with “DB”, for Daddy’s Boy.

Eugene “Stonner” Ashley, 26, pleaded guilty Monday to giving his 3-year-old son a tattoo on his shoulder in 2009 that said “DB” — short for “Daddy’s Boy.” Ashley pleaded guilty before the case could be heard by a jury.    George Hawkins, the boy’s uncle, has custody of the now 5-year-old child.  “He’s doing good. He’s got his problems with losing his family,” Hawkins said.  Eugene Ashley is not allowed to see the child and the boy’s mother, Amy Ashley, struggles with drug addiction and also lost custody, Hawkins said.

Eugene Ashley told police that he was drunk and didn’t remember tattooing the letters, WSBTV reported.  The little boy still remembers getting the tattoo, Hawkins said.  When asked if the tattoo hurt, the boy says “a little bit,” according to Hawkins

Of course the question arises, what else has dad been doing while blackout drunk?

Getting the news every week constantly reminds me how many negative stereotypes the news attributes to the body modification world.  But every once in a while a story comes along from a well known news source that doesn’t apply any negative bias to the story.  Take this article about suspension from UPI.com where they interview Vancouver’s Russ Foxx.

Body suspension originates from ancient Native American and Hindu cultures. Suspension experts who maintain www.suspension.org write that the practice has been going on for thousands of years as rites of passages, healing rituals and as a means of leaving the body and entering the spiritual realm.  Those who have never tried it often don’t understand the appeal, and though each individual suspends for various reasons, Foxx gets a lot of people suspending for the sheer adrenaline rush.

The body undergoes several stages of pain between preparation and suspension, said Dr. Sekhar Upadhyayula, a pain medicine specialist.   There’s a certain amount of residual pain taking place after the hooks have been inserted into the skin, Upadhyayula said, along with a quick burst of adrenaline. But as soon as there’s traction applied, the nerve endings in the skin’s stretch receptors respond, adding another burst of pain.   “Then what we expect to happen chemically…is a secondary release of endorphins,” Upadhyayula said. “(This lasts) a lot longer than the pain and that’s the sensation that they’re looking for. That’s when they get the euphoric effect.”

Granted they did file it under “Odd News”, but it’s better than having the reporter claim that the people suspending are crazy.

Now while this doesn’t exactly fall under the normal umbrella of what the news post covers, it did take place in a tattoo studio, and it was just too incredible not to share.

According to Orlando police, Gay entered Ace’s Tattoo Shop and the tattoo artist told him to look through some books while he finished with a customer, CBS affiliate WKMG reports.  While the artist was giving the customer a tattoo, Gay came around a corner holding a long sword in one hand and a guitar in the other and struck the artist in his shoulder with the sword and hit him in the back of his head with the guitar, according to an arrest affidavit.  Gay said he was going to kill the two men and went after the customer, who was getting a tattoo on his chest, the affidavit said. The customer then jumped off a table and defended himself, the affidavit said.  As the fight continued, the customer picked up a glass table top and hit Gay over the head, cutting him badly, the arrest affidavit stated.

If they didn’t have a mugshot, I would swear that they ripped this story from an action movie, or possibly a wrestling storyline.

Moving forward, Hispanically Speaking News sat down with María José Cristerna to talk about her wide assortment of modifications, including tattoos, implants, piercings, and fangs.

Her body, tells her story. Every tattoo, piercing and modification tells a part of her story, of the things she did and changed to provide for her four children.  Using her body as a canvas, and her voice to reach other mistreated women and empower them to not take abuse from anyone, Maria José is certainly an example of persistence, overcoming adversity and courage.

Despite her frightening appearance and her turbulent life story, María José sees herself as a normal person.  “I am a normal stay at home mom, a woman also dedicated to tattooing, body art, I do suspension shows, but at the same time I try to help and empower other women who have been abused, because I come from domestic abuse”  she says.

Again, a positive story with no negative slant.  Who knows, maybe the world is finally calming down a little.  Well, at least towards the modified community.

Last week we saw a story about how Ecko is offering a discount of 20% off everything they sell for life if you have an Ecko tattoo.  Well because the story came out on April 1st, a lot of people were suspicious.  It turns out that it wasn’t a prank at all, and Ecko is standing by their announcement, even releasing photos of people who have gotten their tattoos already.

Because of the timing, some people (including us) wondered whether Ecko’s widely publicized deal where customers can receive a 20% discount for life by having the company logo tattooed on their bodies was an April Fool’s prank. Marc Ecko Enterprises reached out to media outlets to assure us that no, it is not, and sent along some photos to prove their point.

I suppose if you really love Ecko, this is great news for you.

Ecko isn’t the only company getting into the tattoo business.  A UK man loves his Tetley Tea so much, he got those lovable tea guys tattooed on his back.

Andrew Blamires, from, Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire, already has one of the Tetley tea folk tattooed on his arm.  But now work has begun on a tattoo featuring all seven of the famous cartoon characters.  He said: “I had been thinking for years about getting a tattoo on my back and I thought I might as well have my favourite characters on there.”  With a nickname of “Tetley”, Mr Blamires, who reckons he drinks at least 10 mugs of his favourite brew a day, said his latest tattoo was a logical step.  The father-of-three said: “I do drink a lot of tea and I already have two tattoos of ‘The Gaffer’ on my arm.”

Anand Gandesha, marketing manager for Tetley tea, said: “We have some major tea fans working here but certainly no-one who is willing to tattoo themselves in honour of the tea folk.  “Andrew is simply one of Britain’s undisputed tea fans who has gone the extra mile to show his admiration of the tea folk is definitely skin deep.”

So that’s all there is for this week.  Have yourselves a great weekend, and if you happen to be in the Baltimore area this weekend, stop by the Baltimore Tattoo Arts Convention.

Happy April Fool’s day everyone!  With ModBlog’s annual joke already finished, it’s time to get to some legit news.  Hopefully all of these stories are real, although you never can tell on the 1st of April.

The Copenhagen Post this week featured the first of a multi-part story on the history of tattooing in Denmark.  Anyone with an interest in tattoo or Scandinavian history should take the time to check it out.  The first part covers the beginnings of tattooing in Denmark from the 1800′s sailor tattoos, to the mid 50′s when King Frederick IX posed for Life magazine shirtless, showing off his collection of ink.

“This is where it all started,” said photographer and author Jon Nordstrøm when The Copenhagen Post met him outside of Nyhavn 17, home to Tattoo-Ole, the oldest functioning tattoo shop in the world.  Though tattoos can be traced backed some 5,000 years, the modern history of tattooing in Denmark began in the late 19th century, when sailors poured into Nyhavn sporting tattoos they had gathered on their journeys and were greeted by a few enterprising locals who had set up rudimentary stations that amounted to little more than a box to sit on, hand-held tools and some ink.

At the turn of the 20th century, Nyhavn was the only place in all of Denmark – indeed in all of Scandinavia – where those inclined could get tattooed. It was a distinction the area held for nearly a century.  “Denmark, and Nyhavn in particular, was the headquarters for tattooing in Scandinavia for nearly 100 years, from the 1890s to 1975,” said Nordstrøm. “Aside from a few ‘sailor shops’ that popped up in Sweden in the ’40s, where tattoos were done in a backroom, there was no tattooing in Sweden or Norway.”

Tattoo Ole also became known for the work he did on a particular customer. In 1951, a LIFE magazine article featured a shirtless King Frederik IX – a former sailor himself – showing off his physique and his extensive collection of tattoos, which included the handiwork of Tattoo Ole. (See a short video of the King showing off his tattoos here)

I’ll be sure to include next week’s installment in the weekly news post so those interested can keep up.

More news to come, including a marketing strategy that may or may not be real.

Are you someone who likes a gamble?  Well if you live in San Francisco, tonight you can take your chances on getting tattooed with a design you pick randomly.

As the Lower Haight Art Walk approaches (from 6pm to 9:30pm on Friday, folks), so does the annual tattoo roulette tradition at Idle Hand Tattoo Studio. See, each year they offer “$60 Get-What-You-Get Tattoos” night. It goes something like this: They have a large gumball machines filled with tattoo designs, you fork over a comparatively scant $60, turn the dial, and outcomes your new tattoo. Whether you like it or not. But, since the artists at Ide Hand are top-drawer, you’re bound to like it.

I’m not entirely sure what to make of this, as it sounds like it could be a good deal if you’re looking to get some piece of random flash tattooed on your body.

Speaking of deals, in a marketing move that could quite possibly be an April Fool’s day joke, Ecko have launched an interesting new ad campaign.

The company offers templates for the two stores’ rhino and shears logos, but encourages those interested in the discount to “personalize… Add color, scenery, etc., but the logo needs to be intact.”  Of course, to get the discount, the ink must be permanent and not a rub-on transfer.

I noticed there are no size restrictions, so it might be worth getting a really tiny version of the logo tattooed on the bottom of your foot, or some other non-visible location.

The scumbag of the week award goes to Arthur Moore for not only sexually assaulting a 9 year old boy, but also tattooing his name on the boy’s shoulder.

Assistant District Attorney Kyle Rossi says last spring, Moore assaulted the boy in his home, where Moore was renting a room. Shortly after that, Rossi says that Moore then tattooed the boys upper shoulder.  When the boy’s family discovered the tattoo, the boy then told them of the sex abuse and a warrant was issued for Moore’s arrest. Arthur Moore was arrested last month in Albuquerque, New Mexico and then extradited to Rochester.  Rossi says that Moore threatened to kill the boy if he told anyone about the abuse. Moore has been charged with endangering the welfare of a child for those alleged threats.

I think this is a great example of what not to do.  Ever.

College ModBlog readers, and those of you who went to some kind of post-secondary education.  After the bills were paid, and the books bought, what did you spend your extra money on?  Across North America the number one answer to that question is “buy booze”.  Well The Towerlight, Towson University’s newspaper took a look into the lives of students who spent their money on body modifications instead of alcohol.

The four or more years students spend at college can go by faster than many expect.  A permanent way to capture a moment or idea from that time is gaining popularity on college campuses, according to senior and former Towerlight contributor Amy Hefter, causing the formation of a unique culture.  “The draw of tattoos is having beautiful art or sayings on your body,” Hefter said.  “Tattoos allow you to spend your money on something that is much more permanent than a case of beer.”

Three years ago, Towson University decided to explore the culture surrounding tattoos through photography for a class project. She entitled it “The Tattoo Project. “ To date, Hefter has photographed 90 students and two professors.  Through word of mouth and social networking publicity, “The Tattoo Project” has grown into much more than a class assignment.  Hefter is now reaching out to Towson faculty to participate.  She plans to continue shooting students and faculty until she graduates in December.

This week’s collection of celebrity stories is thankfully short.

Gucci Mane, the rapper known only for his facial ice cream cone tattoo, has finally come public as to why he chose such a unique design.

In the past few months, the Atlanta MC has exhibited some less than savory behavior, culminating with tattooing a large ice cream cone on the side of his face. However, Gucci wants the public to know that he is of sound mind, and feels that his ink was a good decision. “Everybody wants to know why I got the tattoo, did it hurt, what it means,” he told Billboard. “I just tell them it’s my trademark. It represents being the coldest in the game.”

Now I could be wrong, but don’t musicians want to be considered “hot”?

In a shocking turn of events, Amber Rose went out in public with a skintight dress showing off her nipple piercings.  I don’t really know who she is, or what she’s famous for, but here’s a picture of her anyway.

Yesterday, Amber Rose stepped out in NYC wearing a skin-tight freakum dress. This wouldn’t normally make headlines because, let’s be real, when isn’t Amber wearing an outfit that shows off her assets? However, on this particular occasion, we couldn’t help but notice the nipple piercings poking through her dress.

Well, that’s it for the first news post of April.  As always, keep sending in those news stories, and have yourselves a great weekend everyone.

Well, it’s Friday Friday Friday and I’ve got my bowl of cereal all ready for today’s news post.  It’s a pretty light week for news but there are a few stories to get you through the afternoon/evening.

To start things off is a story out of England that may possibly make you sick, and at the least make you want to strangle this mother of the year candidate.

LIKE other eight-year-old girls, Britney Campbell loves dancing to Lady GaGa, is fond of fashion and enjoys putting on make-up.  Once every three months, Britney climbs on a beautician’s table and watches as mum Kerry prepares needles of Botox and fillers to be injected into her face.  Beautician Kerry, 34, from Birmingham, buys the substances online and injects them into her daughter’s forehead, lips and around her eyes.

The beauty-pageant obsessed single mum also takes her to have her body waxed, in a bizarre bid to stop her growing hair when she eventually hits puberty.

Britney says: “My friends think it’s cool I have all the treatments and they want to be like me. I check every night for wrinkles, when I see some I want more injections.  “They used to hurt, but now I don’t cry that much.  “I also want a boob and nose job soon, so that I can be a star.”

Kerry first injected Britney with Botox in May last year, as a present to celebrate her eighth birthday.  She says: “One day I had to keep her home from school as she had a slight headache, but apart from that she has had no reaction at all.  “She also has her virgin wax monthly, which gets rid of her fluffy leg hair and makes sure she wont develop pubic hair in the future.  “It will save her a fortune in waxing when she’s older.”

Little Britney says: “I feel like a supermodel and if I do ballet or go swimming I don’t have to worry about hairy legs. Although the pain makes me cry, I feel like a cool grown-up when it’s all over.” Kerry plans to get Britney’s eyebrows waxed this year.  She is also hoping to get them lightly tattooed to an arched shape and is also considering a light pink tattooed lip-liner.

When it comes to body modification, it’s an individual making the choice to alter their body in a way that they desire.  But at what age is it acceptable to start thinking about serious modifications?  There is no doubt that the mother is putting pressure on her child to achieve a desired physical transformation, but waxing the crotch of your 8 year old daughter just seems pretty excessive.  Not to mention injecting botulism into her face, and letting her think that wanting implants at her age is normal.  I try not to be too judgmental when it comes to non-celebrity stories, but this story really makes me want to slap the mom upside the head.

More to news to come…

If you recall, last year the 9th circuit court of appeals in the US made a ruling that tattoos are a form of free speech and therefore protected under the first amendment.  The reason that this case made it so high up the judicial ladder was because the city of Hermosa Beach in California was trying to prevent a tattoo studio from opening within city limits.  Well it seems that even with the law on their side, some studios are still having problems setting up shop in the city.

Six months after a federal appeals court struck down a Hermosa Beach ordinance outlawing tattoo studios, a fast-growing group of residents is trying to block their potential proliferation in town.  They’ve passed out fliers, organized on Facebook and relayed messages on Twitter. They’ve signed petitions and taken out newspaper ads. And this week, they took their fight to City Hall.

“This is going to be a playground for the element of people that live that style. We believe that will bring problems.”

I’m a little curious as to what style of life they think tattooed people live.  Any ideas?

How much do you love video games?  Or one game in particular?  Well a fan of Yakuza 3 went all out and won a contest that allowed him to get about $9000 worth of tattooing done for free.  The catch?  Get the same tattoo as one of the characters in the game.

Gaming tattoos are not a new phenomenon and we’ve seen plenty of examples ranging from small and cute to large and painful. But last year Sega ran a competition in Australia offering one gamer and dedicated Yakuza 3 fan the opportunity to win the tattoo main character Kazuma Kiryu has on his back.

In order to win you had to state in 25 words or less why you deserved the tattoo. The winner was 46-year-old Fari Salievski who has now had the tattoo applied with Sega releasing pictures of the finished tattoo and stages of Fari getting it done.

It looks like the artist did a good job copying it from the game, although the script on the left side is completely different, which may have been intentional.

In what I think is “celebrity” news, a woman who thought her relationship with her boyfriend was over had a tattoo of his name removed… and hour before he proposed to her.

It was a twist ending that could only happen in The Only Way is Essex, which saw Lauren Goodger lasering off her Mark Wright tattoo just moments before he proposed.  After thinking that their on/off relationship was finally over, Lauren made the decision to erase Mark from her life, and her skin.  So she headed to the skin clinic to have his name removed permanently from her crotch.

But as Mark heard the shocking news about his stamp being removed, he raced off to find his true love to quickly pop the question. Despite Lauren telling her sister Nicola that she was completely finished with her ex, it seems she still found it in her heart to give Mark yet another chance, and said yes to his proposal.

I’m assuming this is some “Hills”-like reality show.

Finally, Lada Gaga is back in the news (did she ever really leave it?) with an interview regarding the reasoning behind her tattoo placement.

Lady Gaga has revealed that the reason she only has tattoos on the left hand side of her body is because her father requested her to try to remain “normal” on one side. To this she added: “I think that he sees the right as like my Marilyn Monroe side and the left as my Iggy Pop side.”  While the singing superstar has admitted she is able to control herself in the name of her father t is her wild side that seems to be winning the fight.  Lady Gaga said: “I think, from a neurological standpoint, I’m creatively driven by my left side. But he’s asked that I don’t get any on the right side for whatever reason.”

And that’s all the news for this week.  Keep sending in those stories you find and enjoy the rest of your Friday, and then your Saturday, and afterward your Sunday.

After last week’s celebrity fueled news post, things have taken a turn for the better.  Well, better in terms of only 2 celebrity stories.  There is some pretty heinous stuff this week, including a lot of underaged kids being tattooed and pierced.  On the bright side, there are some really interesting news pieces this week that I’m sure you’ll enjoy, and one that will make you want to reach through your screen and slap someone.

Before any of that, there’s a story out of Seattle about a tattoo studio standing up to the city council.

Myers contests the city artificially inflated the parking density results “from 57 percent to 91 percent to justify the change.” He said the city told him a higher density and higher rates means more turn over and revenue.

The sign is in violation of Pioneer Square’s sign laws, but Myers said two cops recently walked by and gave him thumbs up. The building owner called him this morning to tell him to take the sign down.

“I’m presently working on taking the sign down. It might take me a day or two. It’s a big project,” he said.

I love his response to the building owner.  Basically the situation is that the area of the city where the tattoo studio is in was recently the subject of a massive parking rate increase, which is now hurting all the local businesses.  Myers and other businesses in the area are fighting to get the price hike reverted.

There’s lots more to come, so pull up a chair and get comfy…

As I mentioned earlier, today’s news has quite a few stories about minors getting tattooed or pierced.  Some are fairly straightforward cases of the kids lying to the artist, but others aren’t quite so innocent.

To start things off, are the basic run of the mill stories of kids getting work done without parental consent.  A young woman from Cardiff got “100% Welsh Lamb” tattooed on her rear.  Seeing as how she was 16 at the time, and the law there states that it is illegal for someone under 18 to get tattooed, a police investigation has been opened regarding the case.

Elsewhere in the UK a mother is furious that a studio pierced her son’s face without her consent.  The problem is, in this area, there is no law restricting minors from being pierced without parental consent.

The shop in Leys Avenue, which offers tattoos and piercings, has a policy not to pierce anyone under 16 without a consenting adult, but no statutory law for an age limit exists, provided the client’s consent is given.  “When I spoke to the owner he laughed it off but it’s not a laughing matter,” said the 39-year-old.  “He’s nearly six foot tall so he does look older than he is but they should still ask for ID unless they’re accompanied by a parent.  “Even if he’d looked at the form properly he would have seen that Jake was nervous as he said he was 16 but he gave his date of birth that would have made him 17.

“It’s a serious matter as it’s on his face and he’s been scarred for life now. It’s disgraceful.”

Unfortunately the article fails to mention where on his face the piercing actually is, although the owner of the studio did add this: “But if she doesn’t like it she can just tell her son to take it out.”.

A lot of times with stories like this we only hear from the parents, or in police blotters.  The Livingston County News in NY actually took the time to sit down with an artist that has been charged for tattooing a minor after they told him they were of age.

Although Troisi’s crime is a class D misdemeanor, his arrest was widely publicized in regional print, web and broadcast media, apparently due to its unusual nature.  A friend, whom Troisi now describes as a “former friend,” scheduled the tattooing appointment for his girlfriend without revealing the girl’s age. Troisi admits being aware of the law which forbids tattooing of someone under 18.  “She looked a little young, but I didn’t think anything of it because in this day and age it isn’t uncommon for young people to want tattoos and for parents to give their consent,” Troisi said.

Troisi saw no harm in tattooing the image which the girl requested be placed on her hip: The breast cancer ribbon accompanied by the names and dates of birth and death of two of the girl’s beloved relatives who had died from breast cancer.  Troisi does not deny tattooing the girl. However, he does affirm that the girl lied to him about her age. He suggests the girl’s mother bears at least some of the responsibility for the tattoo in that she allowed her daughter to be with the person who arranged for the tattoo and had no knowledge of where her daughter was or what her daughter was doing. In that sense, Troisi believes that, if he is facing charges of unlawfully dealing, the mother should be facing charges of neglect and abuse.

Which brings up the question, who is ultimately responsible in situations like this?  The artist who was lied to?  Or the parent who wasn’t aware of what their child was doing?  I personally think the question they should be asking is why isn’t the blame being placed on the 17 year old girl?  Or is personal responsibility not something we’re teaching kids anymore?

While these stories for the most part are pretty tame, the following stories are examples of when adults take advantage of children.

A Hugo, MN man has been sentenced to 90 in jail for tattooing teenage girls to let others know they’re the property of his gang.

Police began investigating Lee in 2009 after a runaway teen was found at his home. Investigators said several 15-year-old girls had been tattooed with the letters “OMG” marking them as the “girls” of the OMB, or Oroville Mono Boys gang, according to a criminal complaint.

Down in Florida a tattoo artist and a woman are being charged with abuse after police walked in on the pair tattooing the woman’s 14 year old daughter.  The reason the police were visiting?  The girl posted pictures of her tattoos on Facebook and a relative contacted the authorities.

The arrests happened at Filippelli’s home in DeBary, where deputies knocked on the door, stepped inside and asked if the girl was there getting a tattoo. One deputy could hear the buzz of a tattoo gun coming from a rear bedroom, according to Filippelli’s arrest report.  Deputies found the girl sitting on a chair with her waistband slightly rolled down, and Lopez tattooing her left hip, the report said.  Lopez told deputies he thought he was allowed to tattoo the girl because he had Filippelli’s permission, Davidson said. But state law requires written and notarized permission from a parent or guardian.  Lopez was not licensed to tattoo people, anyway, Davidson said. Tattoo artists in Florida must either be licensed to practice medicine or dentistry or be supervised by someone who is.  The caller who saw the Facebook photos told deputies the child had as many as three tattoos already — the first in January. Lopez, a friend of Filippelli’s, said he had tattooed her and the girl before.

In Bucks County, PA a man is facing up to 300 years in prison for tattooing a 14 year old girl in exchange for sex.

A 34-year-old Bucks County man could face up to 300 years in prison for allegedly giving a tattoo to a 14-year-old girl from Bristol Township in exchange for sex, prosecutors said.  Investigators in Bristol and Bensalem said that Walter Meyerle, an unemployed tattoo artist, has likely had inappropriate sexual contact with up to 10 other children – both boys and girls, according to reports.  Meyerle faces two counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, and 10 counts of unlawful contact with a minor, according to reports. He is being held in Bucks County Prison on $1 million bail.

Of course there is a fine line between personal responsibility and being taken advantage of.  In the first three stories the kids all lied to the artists, while in the second three, the adults knew what they were doing was illegal and proceeded to do it anyway.  With laws being so diverse when it comes to age restrictions, it’s a safe bet to be well aware of them all before working on someone you suspect may be too young.  Unless of course you’re doing it to have sex with kids, in which case I’m sure you don’t really care about the laws to begin with.

Now then, moving away from all of that, this week a number of stories popped up looking at cultures all over the world, as well as one story about an unlikely tattoo artist.

This month is the annual Kerala festival in India and sify.com has a nice little write up about some of the rituals that are practiced during the festival.

At the Ezhamkulam Temple, the devotees practice ‘Tookkam’ in the month of March every year, in which they hang themselves on sharp hooks attached to a wooden plate by piercing their body.  People believe that this practice would remove all their miseries and bring wealth and glory to the village.  ”Our whole weight is balanced on the hook, there is nothing other than that to balance our body. It is our belief that that protects us. One can achieve anything by performing this ritual,” said Rajan, a devotee.

At the nearby Kurampal Devi Temple, another unique traditional ritual is practiced as part of the temple festival.  The cane rolling is a modern form of Nara-bali or human sacrifice and is practiced every five years with great religious fervor. It is done on the ninth day of the temple festival.  During this, devotees roll over the thorns of bamboo sticks and the blood that comes out of their body is offered to the Goddess.

In Mystic, RI, the ”Skin and Bones – Tattoos in the Life of the American Sailor” exhibit is opening this week, and it is including a number of artifacts from the local maritime museum.

The exhibit was originally researched and displayed by Philadelphia’s Independence Seaport Museum, but it features a number of artifacts owned by Mystic Seaport. Because of these shared pieces, Mystic Seaport Exhibit Researcher and Developer Elysa Engelman said the Seaport had a connection when trying to bring the exhibit north. The show features ancient and modern tattooing tools, “flash” tattoo design samples and other tattoo related art, historic photographs and artifacts, all aimed at telling the story of how tattoos entered the sailor’s life, what they meant, and why they got them.

The show is laid out in a loosely chronological fashion, starting with sailors’ identification documents dating to the late 1700s. Engelman said one of the reasons mariners got tattoos in that era was to provide distinguishing characteristics that could be used to identify them if they were killed or imprisoned.  Engelman said it was challenging putting together artifacts from the 18th century because there aren’t any images of the styles of tattoos that existed then. She said based on the identification papers that exist and other artwork carved by sailors on whalebones during that era, the museum is able to guess at what tattoos of the day may have looked like.

Even if you can’t make it out to the exhibit, the article is a nice read that goes into some of the history of nautical tattooing.

Over in St. Louis, MO the director of the documentary “Tattoo Jew” will be screening a rough cut of the film on Sunday.  The film examines why Jewish people choose to be tattooed with Jewish symbols.

“You don’t have to be Jewish to attend,” Abrams tells Daily RFT. “You don’t have to be inked to attend. You just have to be interested in the stories of people who choose to get inked despite a religious prohibition, the cultural memory of the Holocaust and the myth that Jews with tattoos can’t be buried in a Jewish cemetery.”

There will, however, be a “show your ink and a drink” special, and Abrams hopes to distribute Jewish-themed temporary tattoos.

The article even has a short video interview with the director as he discusses why he chose to make a documentary on this subject.

With all the focus in Japan being on the disaster as well as the status of the nuclear reactors, life is still going on in the areas not affected by the disasters.  Suma beach in Kobe City is moving forward with placing a ban on tattooed individuals from going to the beach.  While the law hasn’t passed yet, the author of the article spends quite some time discussing the history of tattoos in Japan, and why the city may be putting this law into effect.

While this next story isn’t one about any specific modification, it is an interesting insight into a piercer and tattooist from Japan, as well as his status as being the only native Japanese Imam in Tokyo.

A chance meeting with a foreign Muslim 12 years ago in Tokyo’s Shibuya district and a life spent studying various religions led him to convert to Islam 3 ½ years ago.
He completed the Hajj, the worlds largest annual religious pilgrimage, to Mecca in Saudi Arabia 2 ½ years ago at the invitation of the Saudi Arabian government.
Shortly after, a meeting with the man who started him down his path to Islam 12 years previously led him to becoming the Imam at a small mosque in the Kabukicho area of Tokyo.

His day job for the past 20 years has been as a tattooist and body piercer.

At the beginning of today’s news post I mentioned that there were only 2 celebrity-related stories, as well as one story that will probably piss you off.  Or at least make you shake your head in frustration at the idiocy of it.  Well, wait no longer, because here comes the celebrity round-up.

Last week I mentioned that Avril Lavinge made a promise to stop getting tattooed.  That promise didn’t even last a week.  I suppose that when your studio created image is the only thing you have left going for you, you might as work to keep that image in the press.  The bonus of this article is not only does it talk about Avril’s new tattoo, but it also gives some great insight as to what tattoo placement actually means.

Neck: You have some sort of personality disorder. If you get a tattoo on your upper body outside the area covered by a long-sleeve shirt, then you are just a little bit crazy. You don’t care what people think but not in a way that is healthy. More in the kind of way that Travis Bickle doesn’t care what people think.

Around the Bellybutton: If you’re a lady with this tattoo, it means you once wanted to be a marine biologist but then you had little Madison and had to drop out of college. But you still love Lisa Frank. If you’re a gentleman, then you are undoubtedly a homosexual. And a bottom. No matter your gender, you have about a 50-50 shot of making a pornographic movie some day.

Pubic Area: If you are a dude, it means you’re unattractive but you have a huge dick. If you’re a lady you probably know your way around a pole and a pair of platforms.

Face: You have spent time in either: A) Prison, B) A mental institution, C) Both. Also, you smoke cigarettes you bought on the internet.

And those are just a few of the gems found in the list.

Today’s final “news” story can be summed up in a little game called, “What’s wrong with this picture“.

At my count there are three things wrong.  The first two are pretty easy to spot.  The third one is a little trickier, and when you see it, you’ll think to yourself why you didn’t guess it right away.  If you guessed “piercing gun” and “no gloves” as the first two, you’re absolutely correct.  The third thing wrong is the fact that this is even news to begin with.  See what I mean?  So obvious.

Well that’s it for this week’s news.  Remember to keep sending in those news stories so we can keep the news as celebrity free as possible.

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.

I’m on the road this week so today’s news post is coming to you from Philadelphia, PA.  We had a lot of people submit stories this week, as well as quite a few people messaged me about Zombie Boy’s appearance in Lady Gaga’s new video (Skip ahead to 4:10 for the tattooed goodness).

This week’s top story comes out of Utah.  While it may not be news to any ModBlog reader, scarification is starting to get some attention in the news.  A Utah publication too the time to sit down with artist Dustin Robbins to get some insight into the world of scarification and branding.

It’s the newest ancient practice around, as evidenced by centuries-old cultures that viewed physical pain as a gateway to spiritual purification and secret knowledge. And even communion with God, as in the case of the Roman Catholic Church’s history of “mortification of the flesh.”  In contemporary culture, some groups, like fraternities or football teams, are known for cutting their own flesh. That’s a practice, of course, that professionals like Robbins don’t recommend.

At Iris Piercing, branding and cutting are separate from the majority of the shop’s piercing business, said Jesse Dobbs, co-owner along with Robbins. Not surprisingly, most branding and scarification requests end up at their doors through personal referral and other word-of-mouth.

No licenses govern those who perform body art such as tattooing, branding or scarification under the current guidelines of Utah’s Barber, Cosmetologist/Barber, Esthetician, Electrologist and Nail Technician Licensing Act, according to Tom Hukachko, spokesman for the Utah Department of Health. The only statewide regulation of tattoo parlors prohibits minors younger than 18 from getting inked, burned or cut in the name of body art.

There’s lots more news to come, including a scarification technique that isn’t the norm, and some comments from Penny Arcade over a movie that just came out.

The New York Times recently interviewed chef an author Gabrielle Hamilton.  She talks about her life as a chef as well as the scars she has, both accidental and intentional.

Perhaps it is telling that she carries at least one scar on her body that she received by design. A decade ago, in Boston for her 35th birthday, she paid a call on a body-modification artist. Ms. Hamilton wanted what’s known as a “slash and burn.” She selected a spot on her right arm to be ritualistically cut, dabbed with alcohol and set aflame. “It’s sort of like a tattoo except 5,000 times more painful,” she said. “And when they cut you, my God, they cut you.”

I don’t think I’ve seen too many “Slash and Burn” scars come through the galleries.  Does anyone have any experience with them?  I’d love to hear about it.

With the tragedy in Christchurch, NZ the community lost Matti Mceachen, a tattoo artist at Southern Ink.  When I posted the story the day after the earthquake there wasn’t much to go on information wise.  Since then the Sydney Morning Herald was able to get in touch with Matti’s family and friends who shared their stories of Matti.

Matthew Mceachen was only metres from safety when his tattoo parlour facade collapsed and killed him.

Following behind him, a receptionist at Southern Ink on Colombo Street broke her back and fractured her neck but managed to crawl through the debris and survive, friends said.

She was reportedly in hospital as tributes poured in for Mr Mceachen, 25. Friends said people fell in love with him instantly and colleagues called him ”the oil in the machine in the shop”.

”He is going to leave a void in all of us that will be so much larger than his actual physical size. He was only little but his heart was so huge,” his friend Jak Parkin said.

Inked For Christchurch is a group of tattoo studios that are coming together to raise funds to help out those in the tattoo community that were affected by the tragedy.  Events include discounted tattoo days with all proceeds going towards to rebuilding efforts, as well as assistance to those who have suffered losses due to the earthquake.

While this isn’t a story about the earthquake, it is one about tattoo artists in the UK getting together to raise funds for Help for Heroes, a charity group dedicated to helping the families of those in the armed forces.  Normally when you hear of tattoo charity drives, it’s a studio tattooing ribbons to support a cause.  This time around, they’re doing something a little different.

A Cult of cupcake tattoos which honour soldiers is sweeping the nation – and a North Lincolnshire tattoo artist helped mastermind it.  Rose Elizabeth, who works at ABH Tattooing in Mary Street, wanted to use her skill as a tattooist to raise money for Help For Heroes.  She settled on a campaign using designs of cupcakes, which are small and enjoy near universal popularity, after discussing ideas with Richmond-based tattooist Collean Moss.  Hundreds of people have been getting the £20 tattoos to show their support for Help For Heroes – and proceeds go to the charity.

I’ve linked to stories in the past about how the eastern Canadian provinces have no regulations when it comes to tattoo studios.  Last week Alicia Simms, an artist from Trouble Bound Studio in Newfoundland made a public plea for the government to step in and start to enforce some kind of health and safety regulations.

We are trained professionals who’ve endured years of honing our craft, updating our techniques and using medical grade sterilization equipment, but all a client has to go on is that we can actually show them our equipment and the process and procedures we follow to ensure there is no cross-contamination between clients – and our word.

So help us help our province to bring awareness to this issue before someone has to go public with being infected from an ill-gotten tattoo from a basement or a kid’s face is permanently paralyzed from a piercing their friend thought they could do with a safety pin.

Moving to the other side of the globe, a politician in Kenya was recently ejected from parliament for heinous crime of wearing earrings.

Gidion Mbuvi, who also had sunglasses, was excluded from a session after other MPs decided that the way he dressed offended the dignity of the assembly.  Deputy Speaker Farah Maalim said the house had never before been entered by a male lawmaker wearing earrings.  But supporters of the 35-year-old Mr Mbuvi, who is nicknamed “rich man”, accused Mr Maalim of intolerance.

“The dress or the manner in which the honourable (MP) is dressed today does not depict, in the eyes and the opinion and the conscience of the chair, the dignity of this house and that of an honourable member,” Mr Maalim was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.  “Never in the history of this house… have I seen a situation in which a member of parliament, who is a male, come in with earrings or some stuff in the ears or whatever you may want to call it,” the deputy speaker said.

I would have thought his poor fashion sense would have been what kicked him out, not the studs in his ears.

Motherjones.com recently did an interview with Ina Saltz.  Ina is a photojournalist who just completed a photo essay on typographic tattoos entitled “Body Type”.  Both the interview and the essays are worth checking out if you have some time over the weekend.

Fox News in Omaha took a look into the world of suspensions this week, interviewing Mike Coons from the Hooked Suspension Team.

Coons tells Fox 42 he’s had people suspend by hooking the top of their backs, inside their knees, and on their torso. But he assures others that the group provides “the safest experience possible.”  “We’re not crazy,” he said. “We’re not just in it because we like pain or because we want to get a high.”  He said the endorphins released provide a rush or a slight high sensation, but that everyone does it for different reasons.  Eriq explained, “I felt like a new person. My time in the air rejuvenated, removed all the bad and refilled me with nothing but love from both my blood family and my hook family.”

Wellness and Lifestyle Coach Amy Mccae said, “I would hope they would find a more comfortable way in which to find peace.”  Mccae added there are healthy ways to deal with life, and that human suspension is not one of them. “I was very saddened that people would go to such great lengths when there’s no need. You can establish a great connection a great connection to a spiritual source or to relaxation to set goals to do with anything you want in meditation without any extremes,” Mccae said.

I love how they went to a lifestyle coach to get a differing opinion on suspension.  Of course she’ll say there’s no need to suspend when people can come and give her money to have her tell them what to do.

While writing up today’s news I got a last minute submission about an automatic tattoo machine.

Auto Ink is a three axis numerically controlled sculpture. Once the main switch is triggered, the operator is assigned a religion and it’s corresponding symbol is tattooed onto the person’s arm. The operator does not have control over the assigned symbol. It is assigned either randomly or through divine intervention, depending on your personal beliefs.

Just before we move on to the celebrity news, there is one more story that a number of people have e-mailed me about.  The new “Beauty and the Beast” adaptation entitled “Beastly” has offended quite a few people in the modified community, for understandable reasons.  The film take an “attractive” person, and makes them “hideous” by essentially adding tattoos and piercings.  It’s a huge and tragic event that the main character must go into hiding because everyone around him finds him revolting.  Tycho from Penny Arcade summed up a lot of what people are feeling in a recent blog post.

It was an act of will to keep from cocking my head at the Beastly trailer, which Gabriel queued up while laughing through his nose. Eventually I had to use my hands to maintain a neutral orientation, but then the urge to knit a scornful brow nudged its way through and everything fell apart. Ugly has received a significant downgrade, or perhaps an upgrade; maybe it depends on what you’re trying to determine.

If you’re trying to determine if Ugly is a word with a reliable meaning, I might suggest the former.

This “monster” looks like a fairly regular person out of BMEZine, frankly. I don’t have an opinion on that continuum of human experience, other than to say that their B is their property and they can M it if they want to, what I’m saying is that the “beast” in this movie only nominally represents something undesirable, and independent of the narrative’s candy shell you would have no idea that that this intense fellow was meant to be loathsome as opposed to an eminently desirable frontman astride some gloomwrought fork of Mausoleum Rock.

You can also read the comic that goes along with this piece right here.

Moving on to the celebrity round-up, it’s a pretty light week this time around, but it’s still populated by a whole lot of crazy.

For starters, David Beckham recently got a new tattoo depicting himself as jesus and his sons as cherubs lifting him to heaven.  We get it Dave.  You’re a good footballer.  Except of course when you’re sitting on the sidelines because of your latest injury.  But as long as he can make it to fashion week, he’ll be alright.

Not to be outdone by Gucci Mane’s ice cream tattoo, rapper Yung L.A. got a pink duck tattooed on the side of his face. I’m not sure which is worse, the fact that he got a tattoo of his newest label on his face, or that there’s a 15 minute video of him getting it done.

Someone named Cher Lloyd also got a new tattoo.  She’s famous for losing a televised talent show.  That’s it.  At least that Justin guy who lost American Idol got a movie.

Finally, when it comes to crazy, Charlie Sheen is making serious power moves to take over the number one spot from Gary Busey.  When Carlos Estevez isn’t making fun of his boss for changing his name, or ranting like a lunatic in a televised interview, he’s getting a tribute tattoo dedicated to his father.

“The banner from the death card that Kilgore (from Apocalypse Now) is throwing on his victims, but there’s also falling from it, is the apple from The Giving Tree. There’s my life. Deal with it. Oh wait, can’t process it? Losers. Buh bye.” — Charlie Sheen

And with that double dose of lunacy, this week is done.  Remember to send in any links you stumble across over for next week’s News of the Week.