We all know the extremes that football fans can and will go to for their teams. The more outrageous the better, and few sporting events will bring out the creativity in its fans that football does.

Well the Seattle Seahawks may just have the ultimate fan on their side. I am, of course referring to the HawkFiend, Bryan Murphy. Bryan is such a rabid fan of the Seahawks that he has actually created an almost superhero persona in the HawkFiend. But, I get ahead of myself.

Bryan who was 5 when the franchise debuted in 1976, grew up watching the team with his father, Donald Wayne Murphy. He was crazy about the Seahawks right from the word go, but sadly lost his dad to cancer at the age of 13 and made it his mission to continue the family fanaticism. But, this was not the birth of HawkFiend.

The HawkFiend was actually born in a Tattoo Studio. (Kewl!!)

Four years ago Bryan saw an elaborate tribute tattoo on an Oakland Raiders fan , and thought to himself, “There’s no way I’m going to let a Raiders guy have a better tattoo.” He then sought out tattoo artist, Cody Hart of DermFX Tattoo, and laid out his plans for the ultimate tribute tat. When it was finished he had turned his left leg from the knee down into a Seahawks Tattoo. When Cody had finished the work he looked at Bryan and told him he was a “…fiend for the Seahawks.” The name and an idea stuck.

With a vision for the HawkFiend in mind Bryan headed for the nearest Halloween costume store, found a mask with two horns sticking out of the forehead and painted it blue and green. Finishing the costume with shoulder pads and claw-like gloves the HawkFiend was born. And well received by the team as well as fellow fans, I might add. Now with season tickets firmly in claw, HawkFiend and his tattoos have become a celebrity in his own right. Dad would be proud, I believe.

“HawkFiend is the crazed fan,” says Murphy, who is also the president of the Sea Hawkers booster club. “HawkFiend’s job is to be there at Qwest with the other 67,000 people and help the team.”

Recently Bryan has added to his now legendary ink, and his right leg has joined in the tribute. The right tattoo portrays the Seahawks as beasts of the NFC West, with HawkFiend in the middle in all green.

Now that is dedication, and some damned good ink as well. Kudos to Cody Hart. Good job, Man. But, somehow I don’t think the HawkFiend is done just yet, so keep those needles ready.

Bryan himself has said that if the Seahawks should win a Superbowl, “I have my whole back for that!”

I’ve no reason to doubt it, and I’ll add…“GO SEAHAWKS!”

Cody Heart can be reached at:

DermFX Tattoo
3312 Auburn Way S Ste C
Auburn, WA 98092-6259
(253) 351-6513

All Images ©by Bryan Murphy “HawkFiend”. All rights reserved.

Now, I’m the first to admit that the ways of our government are strange. But, that seems to be the way it has functioned since Gen. George “Muttonhead” Washington was sworn into office. (Yes, that really was his nickname.) It seems that making contradictory decisions are a hallmark of government. But I have to say, considering the Military’s new stand against tattoos, that I like this one.

A company known as Global Tattoo Orthotic Prosthetic Innovations has made its business by painting tattoo art onto prosthetic limbs. To make things even cooler they have been given the green light to provide the service to our veterans by none other than Department of Veterans Affairs, thus paving the way to become a U.S. government contractor.

Now, I don’t know about other artists out there, but I would tattoo a wounded veteran for free. I figured since they had put their ass on the line for me, it was the least I could do. They had already paid the price in blood. This takes it one step further.

One of the most traumatic things that can happen to a human being is to lose a limb, and to lose said limb in service to our country is the ultimate price, short of dying, that is.

According to their website:

“Twenty years into wearing a prosthetic, Dan Horkey, a trained Orthotic and Prosthetic Technician, created his own socket and applied his first tattoo, thereby initiating the tattooed prosthetic concept.
Global Tattoo Orthotic Prosthetic Innovations (GTOPI)  founder Dan Horkey pioneered an innovative method for applying artwork to braces and prosthetics, empowering fellow amputees to express their individualistic ideas through custom orthotic tattoo. Horkey’s process vastly expands the options beyond the laminated fabric choices currently available.”

Custom painted cosmetic services are now available to Veterans through all VA Hospitals across the U.S. and your hometown VA Contractor Clinics. And, as far as I can tell is a service that is now covered by the VA.

Now is that cool, or what?

So, you vets out there. If your missing your old tattoo, or you just want to show your well deserved pride in your service, hit the link and check ‘em out. They have some really cool pictures of their artwork.

For our civilian readers who may want some of the same for their own prosthetics, they do that, too. And considering the beauty and durability of their work…it’s well worth it.

All images ©Global Tattoo Orthotic Prosthetic Innovations, all rights reserved.

Now, one thing that gets me even more pissed off than having to battle the recent, annoyingly long, power outages that the blizzard left my area with, are short sighted employers.. (I grab a shower and all the amenities I can as soon as it comes back on, since I’ve no idea how long it will stay on.) And a recent poll by DenverBusinessJournal.com has shown me one of the big reasons these assholes have ruined our economy.

I mean, damn, is it so hard to figure out that the key to ending this economic depression is to put people to work? People who have a job spend the money they make. Spending money keeps the financial “blood flow” of the economy growing, and that leads to prosperous times. You know, I thought Franklin D. Roosevelt proved that during the last great depression. As soon as he created more jobs everything prospered.

But does anyone pay attention to that? NOOOOOOOO!

According to the poll one third, or 34%, of the business men with their heads firmly buried in their own ass, would not hire anyone who has even a small tattoo. Does it matter that the person is good at the job? NO! Does it matter that they may be more productive than a non tattooed person who goofs off on the job? NO! Does it matter that they could increase the business’s bottom line, and make them even more money? NO!

All that matters to them is their own baseless prejudice against a person who has a tattoo. To that effect they would rather cut their own financial throat than hire someone with a tattoo. And consequently, ours in the process.

How friggin’ stupid can you get? I thought the point to business was to maximize profits, minimize loss, and make big bucks. Shows what I know. It also shows why we are in the mess we are in. Employers who would rather air their prejudices than make a success of their business.

Where I’m from you call that kind of person a Dumbass. You know. The kind that cuts their own nose off to spite their face.

Here are the figures from the poll:

“Yes, for any job.” — 17%.
“Yes, but only if the tattoos are small” — 12%.
“Yes, but only for non-public-contact jobs.” — 23%.
“No.” — 34%.
Other — 5%.
Not sure — 9%.

So, for the better part, only 17% are smart enough to hire the right person for the right job, regardless…the rest would rather have a government bail out. Then spend it on bonuses for the idiots who screwed it up in the first place.

How sad is that?

It’s funny how a little bit of curiosity can go such a long way.  I never ask people what their tattoos mean to them.  I may be thinking it, but it’s always seemed to me to be a rather personal question.  I’ve told people that I like their tattoo or tattoos and I’ve asked people where they got the work done and who the artist was, but when it comes to getting right down to brass tacks and asking about the meaning, I always stop short.  After reading this article about photographer Marianne Bernstein, I may have to rethink my policy on talking to people about their tattoos.

Bernstein, 53, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, made the decision one day to talk to a homeless girl who was sitting on the street.  Bernstein asked the girl if she would mind having her photo taken, and also if the girl would write down on a piece of paper what her knuckle tattoo “Lost Girl” meant to her.  The end result became the catalyst for Bernstein’s new book Tatted.

Tatted is the culmination of a vast amount of curiosity and care.  Within its pages, is a collection of people’s tattoos – a photo and a page written by the photographed person on what their tattoo means to them.  There are almost 100 such photos and written statements.  What Bernstein found while working on Tatted was that tattoos aided her in finding out so much more about the people she photographed.

“People are so much more interesting when you look closely.  How many times do you walk by somebody like that and wonder what their story is? It was a chance to connect with somebody.”

It took Bernstein a year to complete Tatted, walking Philadelphia’s South Street and finding people whose tattoos caught her eye.  The book was then published by Brian Jacobson and Nathan Purcell of GritCityInc.

At an opening party earlier this month at Pure Gold Gallery at the Piazza at Schmidt’s, almost 150 of Bernstein’s images and accompanying handwritten descriptions were on display and for sale. Jacobson said there was something nice about seeing some of his more straitlaced family and friends from out of town mingling with the city’s tattoo culture.

“They hold a common misconception that people with tattoos are different,” Jacobson said. “Being there with people covered in tattoos and seeing the images on the walls, I think it surprised them to see that the only difference is these people literally put their emotions on their bodies. I hope it changed their perception of tattoos.”

I think what’s possibly the most interesting thing about Marianne Bernstein and her book is that Bernstein herself doesn’t currently have any tattoos.  For someone outside the tattoo culture to look so deeply into it and to learn so much from it is a really special thing.  If more people took the time and care that Marianne Bernstein has taken in amassing Tatted, then maybe we would all be a tiny step closer to understanding one another; tattooed or not.

Sure, we all love tattoos; that’s cool, sure.  But let me ask you this: how many of you out there in this vast cyber universe love a good sandwich?  I’ll tell you this much: I frigging loves me a sandwich.  There’s just nothing quite like it.  Bonus points go out to you if you’re actually sitting there, reading this and eating a sandwich.  That my friend, is totally rad of you if that is infact the case.

Oh sandwiches.  So lovely.  Hey, remember that Seinfeld episode where George wants to get his two greatest passions – eating and sex – together at the same time?  He ends up eating sandwiches (or trying to) while he’s getting it on with his girlfriend.  It ultimately backfires on him, which is of course, too bad for him. 

Well, at present time, if your two greatest passions happen to be tattoos and sandwiches, and if you happen to live in or near the Cleveland, Ohio suburb of Lakewood, then prepare to have your mind blown: Melt Bar & Grilled happens to be a place that specializes in grilled cheese sandwiches.  They make a huge variety of damn tasty looking grilled cheese; everything from chorizo and potato to something called The Parmageddon.  My mouth is watering just looking at the photos of the sandwiches on their site.  All sandwiches come with hand cut fries and a side of sweet slaw and oh damn, I seriously need to go to this place.

Anyway…where was I?  Oh yeah, the sandwiches and tattoos thing.  So, the deal with Melt Bar & Grilled is that anyone who goes out and gets a tattoo of their sandwich and cross bones logo will get 25% off their sandwich needs for life.  They also encourage you to upload your tattoo to the restaurant’s website where the entire world can gaze at your sandwich lovin’ design.

It’s all pretty cool of them.  Now if only they’d start offering discounts to tattoo bloggers who help spread the word about the ever so lovely restaurant called Melt Bar & Grilled. 

How about it, guys?

Please?

If you happen to be someone who is a big fan of the classic American tattoo style and you’re looking for a tattoo artist who can really pull off that style, then look no further than tattoo artist Bert Krak.

Although the classic American tattoo is certainly not new, Krak’s approach injects a new life into the style.  Animals become much more than just ink on flesh; they pulse with energy, often with a menacing shine to their features.  There’s an abundance of colour and heft throughout his work, retaining the innocence of the storybook-like images that he works with, while adding just the right twist of the macabre. 

Six years ago, Krak began tattooing full time, after apprenticing for two years at Rock-A-Billy Tattoo in Lauderhill, Florida.  These days Krak has set himself and his family up in Queens, New York, working for Top Shelf Tattooing.  As with many other tattoo artists, Krak’s artistic impulses lead him beyond tattoo work into the mediums of painting and fashion.  He recently designed this hat for the San Francisco based artist collective, 1333 Minna.

Bert Krak tattoos by appointment or walk in and does work beyond the classic American style.  Although, with a classic American tattoo style as well defined as his, it’s pretty hard to resist.

“I strive for beauty, flow and simplicity”

                – Yoni Zilber

 To me, hearing a tattoo artist speak about their work efforts in such terms as beauty, flow and simplicity is a surefire sign that the artist in question is a dedicated one.  Not only that, but there is a modesty in such a declaration, a reassuring subtext that promises the best of the ability that the artist has to offer.  I like that.  I like that a lot.

Yoni Zilber began his tattoo career in his home land of Israel.  Tel Aviv, to be more precise, in 1998.  Since that time, he has travelled around the world, tattooing his way through various locations in Europe, Asia and America.  He currently works at Brooklyn Adorned in Brooklyn, New York.

Like most tattoo artists, Zilber does many different styles of tattoo work, but he has his own personal favourite that he focuses on.  Unlike most tattoo artists, Zilber’s point of focus for his work happens to be Tibetan.  Quietly resisting expectations that because he is Israeli he would focus on work related solely to the Jewish faith, Zilber’s commitment to Tibetan art is great:

…[ I ] studied tirelessly on my own, but without a mentor I could only go so far.

As of 2007, Zilber has been studying Tibetan art under the tutelage of Tibetan Tangka painter, Pema Rinzin.  Being able to translate Tibetan art into the form of tattoo art is a challenge for Zilber, but one that his work thus far proves him capable of handling.  Zilber isn’t lying when he says that he is one of the few tattoo artists working who specializes in the Tibetan style.  This brings a great wealth of originality and beauty to his work, not to mention affording the Tibetan art a chance to be seen and appreciated by many more people.

Check out some of Yoni Zilber’s beautiful work.

Oh man…oh man, oh man.  It just kills me how clueless and out of touch with the reality of all things tattoo related that people can be.  Take for example the case of Elk Grove, California.

Last week, Elk Grove’s city council voted to deny a proposal to transform a vacant building in Elk Grove’s Old Town district into a tattoo studio.  We’re talking about a building that is sitting vacant, as in there is nothing going on inside that building.  Nada.  Zip.  Along comes tattoo artist Patrick McGuire and he decides that he wants to open up Elk Grove’s first tattoo and piercing studio inside the vacant building.  This of course means commerce, and a functioning business in an otherwise empty building.  Seems like a no brainer to me: a guaranteed money maker of a business vs an empty building.

Too bad that the Elk Grove City Council didn’t see it in such easy to read terms.  Despite being eager for the spot in Elk Grove’s Old Town to be filled by a business, a tattoo studio is just not what the city council is looking for, I guess.  Neighbouring businesses in the area don’t seem too eager to have a tattoo studio within close proximity either: 

Geno Cassillo, owner of the nearby Brick House Restaurant, cited recent fights and a drug bust in Old Town, and said a tattoo parlor would bring similar activity.

“I’m not saying that a tattoo parlor brings that much of that element there, but it does bring a small degree of that element there,” Cassillo said.

Yes, of course.  Because EVERYONE knows that tattoos are personally responsible for fights and the insatiable demand for drugs.  Rumor has it that tattoos even started both World Wars.  However, there are some more rational heads milling about that city council.  Not everyone is against the idea of getting some ink flowing in the Old Town:

Elk Grove City Council Member Jim Cooper disagreed at the Dec. 9 meeting.

“As a patrol commander in two different districts for the Sheriff’s Department, we didn’t have crimes (at tattoo parlors),” he said.

Fellow council member Steve Detrick said approving the tattoo parlor would have been circumventing the process already in place.

Cooper and then-Elk Grove Mayor Pat Hume were the only two to vote in support of the project. Old Town is “withering on the vine,” Hume argued.

“If you think Old Town is going to survive and be vibrant by a bunch of little antique stores or gift stores or beauty salons and if that’s going to keep you healthy – how’s it working out for you right now?” Hume said.

Unfortunatley, it’s sort of too little too late.  Patrick McGuire isn’t giving up though, he still plans to open up a tattoo shop – it’ll just have to be somewhere else in Elk Grove.  This will mean filing for a conditional use permit, which will run McGuire over $5,000.  Yikes.  Well, good luck to you Patrick.   

I love a good misunderstanding, especially when it comes to other people’s tattoos.  I mean, I don’t want there to be any misunderstandings when it comes to my tattoos, but when it comes to someone else, I don’t have any problems enjoying the zaniness of a tattoo mistake.

For example.  Anyone who grew up watching the sitcom “Roseanne” will be familiar with Roseanne’s real life ex-husband Tom Arnold.  Tom seems like a pretty funny, good natured guy and he played a good sleezeball in that James Cameron film, True Lies.  Anyway, Tom Arnold recently got re-married to a woman.  I emphasize that he got married to a woman because despite what Tom Arnold’s tattoo may say, he isn’t gay.

Okay, now I know that I’ve got you confused and I’m sorry about that.  Allow me to set things straight.  You see, back in 1989 after the Chinese government massacred students at Tianamen Square over the student’s demand for a free and just society, Tom Arnold was moved.  He saw this display of state brutality against men and women whose only crime was wanting to be free and he went out and got a tattoo on his leg of the Chinese characters that he was told translated to “Love of Mankind”.  Tom was happy with this tattoo and nothing seemed to be wrong with it.

But there was something wrong with the tattoo, namely that what Arnold thought the tattoo said and what it actually said were two very different things.  It wasn’t until this past November while Arnold was on his Honeymoon in China that he found out what the tattoo really said.  While getting ready to be interviewed on Chinese television, Tom mentioned that he had a tattoo that said “Love of Mankind” which he had received after the Tianamen Square massacre.  As Tom showed the tattoo around, he was not only told not to mention Tianamen Square on television, but also that his “Love for Mankind” tattoo actually read “Man Love”.

That’s the sort of misunderstanding that I’m talking about.  That is just classic. 

Say, for the sake of argument, that you are engaged in a criminal enterprise, and you have those identifying marks known as tattoos. Either because you like them, or they were the ,(shudder), result of spending a little time in the Big House. Or, as it is better known, Criminal College. Believe me I know more than one person who wasn’t a real criminal when they went in…but they sure as Hell were when they got out!

Anyhoo, let’s say you have screwed up again. Perhaps it was because you felt you had no other option, or maybe your just one of the hard headed suckers who just can’t seem to learn from their mistakes, but now you have to get that tattoo covered up so the cops can’t pin the crime to you, or track you down because of it.

Sorry Charlie, but it ain’t gonna work this time.

A revolutionary new forensic technique developed by scientists at the University of Derby are using a familiar piece of technology to see through criminals’ cover-up work. Infrared light. That’s right. They have now developed a technique that will allow them to see the tattoo you thought safely hid beneath that bitch’n new tribal.

By using an infra-red digital camera, researchers are able to separate the original tattoo from its updated version, and as the old saying goes, “You are busted!”

In experiments the technique found that on a student’s back, a butterfly image had covered up an image of an imp in the original tattoo, and that other tattoos which had been updated, or changed were clearly visible once the technique had been used.

David Bryson, senior lecturer in applied photography and forensic science at the university, said:

“Identifying individuals using tattoos has been an established part of forensic science practice for some time, but there can be cover-ups of tattoos with lasers, more tattoos or surgery.”

“It is now possible to take a control photograph and a separate photograph with an infra-red filter to take images of the tattoo, and determine if it is indeed the original or is a cover-up, or altered tattoo on the surface.”

Oh, did I forget to mention that having the tat lasered off won’t help either? Well, now you know. Tattoo artists have said it many times. A tattoo is for life, whether it can be seen with the naked eye, or not. You can bet your bottom dollar that law enforcement is adding those cameras to their budgets even as I type this.

I guess this proves another old 70’s saying. When it comes to tattoos and breaking the law.

“Don’t do the crime, if you can’t do the time.”

Hey. I liked “Berretta”! LOL! Peace out, Gang. 😉