Tattoos.com WTF?

Feb 22 - Belgian artist Wim Delvoye tattooing pigs in China (again). Three Years ago, Belgian artist Wim Delvoye was banned from SHContemporary, the city's largest contemporary art fair. His unordinary style of tattooing on pigs was not welcome at the art fair. However, no explicit reason has been given by spokespeople for the ban.

His controversial works of art includes Walt Disney Co. characters and LVMH, Moet, Hennessy, Louis Vuitton. Many visitors travalled across from Europe just to get a glimpse of these tattooed pigs. Sadly, both Wim and his fans were highly dissapointed on that day.

But now you can get your chance, he's at it again, and has continued his original way of art. Tattooing pigs. He also now runs a pig farm in the suburban Yang Town in Beijing's Shunyi District, where he and his team train to be top tattoo artist in China.

Wim described himself as a vegetarian and had been tattooing pigs since 1997. He explained each pig being tattooed was first sedated, shaved and applied with Vaseline. Then it is allowed to grow for a while before they are sold to "art" collectors from all over the world.

In 2008, it was estimated that each pig was worth around 7,500 euros, and by today, each can set you back by as much as 1 million RMB (or about 111,000 euros). Now that's an original way to really bring home the bacon.

Dec 17th - Tattoos are covered by first amendment right in US constitution. Thanks to the dogged determination of California tattooist Johnny Anderson , better known under his tattoo pseudonym of " Johnnny 2/3rds" finally the courts in the US are starting to use a little common sense. When we reached him by phone to discuss the way in which he has essentially changed the legal landscape for tattoo artists across the country he said he is just beginning to realize what a big deal that it is for the industry.

After a battle of seven years with the courts, finally a federal appeals court has upheld tattoos are constitutionally protected free expression, and a city has no more right to ban tattoo parlors than to outlaw bookstores or newsstands. The untied states court of Appeal for the Ninth Circuit in Pasadena California made this determination on May 7th under Judge Jay Bybee writing for a unanimous panel of three Republican appointees. He described tattooing as "one of the oldest forms of human expression" and "one of the world's most universally practiced forms of artwork."

The court found that: "There appears to be little dispute that the tattoo itself is pure First Amendment “speech.” The Supreme Court has consistently held that “the Constitution looks beyond written or spoken words as mediums of expression.”

Also, Tattoos are generally composed of words, realistic or abstract images, symbols, or a combination of these, all of which are forms of pure expression that are entitled to full First Amendment protection. Tattoos can express a countless variety of messages and serve a wide variety of functions, “including: decorative; religious; magical; punitive; and as an indication of identity, status, occupation, or ownership.”

For a complete transcript of the courts decision in PDF format just make with the click. Once again a shout out to tattoo artists continuing to fight the good fight to make the world a more colorful place.

Work by Johnny 2/3rds, Yer Cheat'n Heart Tattoo. Gardena California.

April 23rd - What can your tattoo do for you? In this case, a tattoo can you save your life.

A Microsoft researcher has suggested tattooing passwords on patients with pacemakers and other implanted medical devices to ensure the remotely-controlled gadgets can be accessed during emergencies.

Stuart Schechter, of Microsoft Research, proposed that access to such devices be controlled with encryption similar to what's used on wi-fi networks. Access keys would then be tattooed on patients using ink that's invisible under most conditions. Equipment used to remotely communicate with the implanted devices would be equipped with an ultraviolet light and a keypad or touchscreen for transmitting the code.

Read the full article Here.

April 20th - WTF? What's your three year old doing after nursery class? Well Ruby Dickinson will be taking tattoo lessons from her dad, Blane, at his shop Inkaholics Anonymous in Wales, with a toy kit, as she plans to make her mark as the world's youngest tattoo artist by age four.

Blane is importing a special tattoo machine from the US, designed for small hands for Ruby to have by Ocotober, just in time for her fourth birthday.

Her father says, 'She really loves it and I'm pleased I can teach her the skills.' Although her father is stoked she may one day walk in his footsteps as a tattoo artist. Blane will happily support her to make her own choices as to what she wants to become of in the future.

Read the full article HERE.

Feb 25th - WTF? are these dermatologists trying to pull? Lets look at the positive side first. Dermatologists believe that tattoo artists, working so close to the skin, can quite possibly have the ability to spot certain skin cancers and would like to offer classes to educate them on what they could be looking for. However, they do realize that the artists are not doctors and can't be certain that what they see is cancerous or even something to worry about, but what they can do is bring it to the clients attention and recommend that they get the concerned spot(s) checked out by a real doctor. Okay, fair enough.

Now, is this a sincere gesture to quite possibly save the life of someone with a skin issue, or is this just a way to sell classes to the artists as a way to make a few bucks for themselves? If you think about it, is it really wise for artists to get that involved in an area so far from their expertise? Causing unnecessary worry to their clients may even result in loss of customers. There is a good and bad to everything, yet both possibilities could be close to the truth. I guess it's up to the artist to make that final call.

No information or links have been given to further educate the artists as to where these classes can, or if they can't, be done. You can read the full article here.

Feb 15th - OK, John Mayer, What the F&*K!! DUUUDE! How can you have so much hand-eye coordination, yet no foot-mouth coordination? Unless you been under a rock, you probably heard tattooed bluesman John Mayer, seen right hanging his head in shame did an explosively controversial Playboy interview in which he compared his penis to a white supremacist. Mayer stated that "black people" love him -- and then he brought up the topic of a "hood pass."

While explaining the meaning of a hood pass, Mayer said, "It's sort of a contradiction in terms, because if you really had a hood pass, you could call it a n*gger pass."

He then made a twitter attempt at damage control by saying, "I am sorry that I used the word. And it's such a shame that I did because the point I was trying to make was in the exact opposite spirit of the word itself."

Mayer added, "It was arrogant of me to think I could intellectualize using it, because I realize that there's no intellectualizing a word that is so emotionally charged."

But it doesn't end there, oh noooo. When asked if Black women throw themselves at him he replied, "I don't think I open myself to it. My d*ck is sort of like a white supremacist. I've got a Benetton heart and a f*ckin' David Duke c*ck. I'm going to start dating separately from my d*ck."

Ohh yes, John Mayer, WTF indeed? Finally i think better heads (can you say publicist) prevailed. Last week at his concert in Nashville he apologized again, saying he was trying to be "clever" and "did that at the expense of people I love."

He then thanked his band for sticking with him, adding "I just wanna play my guitar." Now that's the smartest thing you've said this year.

john mayer

Feb 6th - The Update: Die hard Saints fan one lucky S.O.B.! Congrats for the Saints!!!

Feb 4 - WTF? - Talk about a die hard Saints fan. With the super bowl only days away now, the game starts Sunday, February 7, this man tattooed the "SaintsSuperbowl Champion" logo on his arm just a couple months ago ... voluntarily!! He says there is no doubt in his mind that the Saints will win it this year. Think he's crazy? I guess we'll find out come Superbowl Sunday. Anyone got any referrals for a good Tattoo Removal Service?

Here are some other fans that have had permenantly leased some of their skin to their teams.

Feb. 2 - WTF - Permanently Hilarious! Mispelled tattoos are apparently more common than one would have thought. Take a look at these spelling bee failures for example, it's not rocket science to double check your tattoo before engraving it on to your skin forever. If we can just give all you tattoo enthusiasts out there one word of advice, please spell check your tattoos, don't make us mock you too.

Yes.. and this just proves how awesome you really are.

This speaks for itself.

How would you know?

Jan 27th - WTF - Does reverse psychology really work? This commercial is provided by Rhett & Link, a couple of guys who represent the MicroBilt Corporation, a company committed to providing customized solutions to the business challenges for smaller sized company's. Rhett & Link use reverse psychology to create the commercial for True Blue Tattoo from Austin, TX. Steering clear of your typical commercials, Rhett & Link, with their I Love Local Commercials website, use humor and risky, innovative idea's to get the little guys in the business world a chance.

Is it just me, or do I suddenly feel like getting a tattoo?

Jan 14th - WTF - What the F are you thinking painting everyone with the same brush? A recent study out of Texas Tech University, to be published in The Social Science Journal suggests that people with lots of body art are more likely to drink excessively, use marijuana and behave promiscuously, well duh, OK, I can go along with that, I think the study is a little skewed because all the college students in Texas that aren't tattooed or pierced are either right wing bible thumpers that are already lying through their teeth, like most of the right wing nutters from down there, or they are lying to themselves and gonna go through their twenty's with religion and monogamy only to marry, have kids and realize in their thirties it's all a big lie, they missed the boat on fun, and join some greasy swingers site like ashleyMadison.com so they can screw around on their partner while they try to relive their largely misspent youth.

WTF is Courtney Love not on? She is back in the news today, the Huffington Post reports that after a few months off the twitter she has returned as, according to them, she has the twitter handle CourtneyLoveUK, for those of you that are sensitive to bright colors don't clikee the thumbnail at right.

And the Queen of the The tattooed skankdom herself Tila Tequila is adding fuel to the negative tattooed girl stereotype fire once again, and is getting roasted over the coals for using twitter as a place to air her whoa is me, tales of broken heartedness all the way to the bank. The publicity Ho spews endless verbal diarrhea on her twitter page, the typical self involved shallow dribble you come to expect from these famous reality show drama queens, at least it's good for a laugh. My personal theory is she is really an alien sent here to see how influential someone with absolutely no talent can become in the media. You KNOW there's giant eyes under that forehead, and for god's sake get some decent tattoos.

WTF was this guy thinking? He gets a pair of glasses tattooed on his face? I would really like to sit down with this crazy SOB and have him tell me what he was thinking.

Jan 13th - WTF was this scratcher thinking? Here is a delightful little story, I had to laugh because it's scratcher Karma. January 13th, Youngstown, Ohio, Tattoos for drugs.

YOUNGSTOWN — A 27-year-old Hubbard man told police he was robbed at gunpoint of his tattoo equipment at a friend’s house on Oak Street in Youngstown.

The victim told police a friend called him offering to trade him drugs for tattoos. The victim agreed, but when he got to his friend’s house around 6:50 p.m. Tuesday, another man, whom he knows only by his first name, pointed a handgun at his face and demanded the tattoo equipment, according to a police report.

The Hubbard man turned over two tattoo machines, a power supply, tattoo inks and needles, the police report reads. The suspect wasn’t caught as of late Tuesday.

Tattoo Parlour Goes Green

WTF? is going on in Pineville, LA - The future home of Natural Mystic Tattoo Parlour. Mel Collier, and his wife Lori, have been in the business for over ten years. Since then, tattooing and tattoo studios have become so mainstream that they've been forced to think outside the box and do something great for their studio.

The couple discovered a way to put themselves on the map in an environmentally friendly fashion. Over two years ago, they started the idea of building a dome for their new parlor, a structure that has never been done by a tattoo studio before. Because of the Dome's efficient design, the building will be cheaper to to power, air condition, and heat; saving the studio a lot of money on their future utility bills. Not only is the bio-dome cost-efficient, the strength of the building is like no other. The dome has been proven to stand through major weather conditions such as hurricanes and F5 Tornados. Mel has stated that in case of a major weather condition, he welcomes people into his "safe house" for protection from the extreme weather conditions.

The business owners have brought in specialist, John Johnson, the project manager for this develpoment, who has been working on building domes since he was in his teens and now does it for a living at New Age Construction. The dome is two-stories high, insulated on both the outside and the inside, with very high ceilings allowing natural light to fill the rooms, while the inside describes to be very colorful and artistic with wood railings along the balcony and stained concrete floors. The building was started about a month ago, and is expected to be finished some time in December if all goes well.

After speaking with Mel over the phone, you can hear through his words the passion and excitement of his newly developing structure that will soon be overflowing with tattoo enthusiasts and the curious. Check back here for photos of the completed project.

See more updated pictures and the early development of the Eco-Friendly Tattoo Dome.

What The F Were You Thinking?? Eyeball Tattoos

Apparently, you can tattoo an eyeball. Although it has been done on blind eyes to hide corneal defects, people are actually tattooing their perfectly healthy eyes. A Toronto man, the first person to receive the experimental "eyeball tattoo", has basically turned his sclera, the white of the eye, blue.
A couple of trial and errors and 40+ injections of blue ink later, the Toronto man now has blue eyes. Pigment was injected under the top layer of the eye using a syringe. At first they had tried a traditional needle with ink on it, but when the ink didn't hold, they switched to the syringe, injecting ink right into the eye. His update? The man reported that all is well so far, but it feels like he has something in his eye. Interesting observation. He also noted, now that this experiment has been started, please wait for us to either heal or go blind before trying it. Thanks for the warning.

WTF... No dirty fingernails! This must be a quality shop.

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