This time we, (miss tattoo-me) and (anatometal-husband), head out to Mario Barth’s Convention in Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center… For : The Biggest Tattoo Show on Earth.

Oh yeah, and I am judging the Miss Expo Pageant that the Gypsy Queens are throwing… good times, and WORK. So if you are in town for the convention, stop by the Anatometal Booth and say HI.

For quite a few years now the city of DeKalb, Ill, home of the Northern Illinois University, has had a ban on tattooing. Perhaps they were worried that students would get NIU tattoos enmass after one of those good old fashioned frat parties. Perhaps they thought that a tattoo studio would earn them their very own Delta House, (Animal House for those few who may not have seen the movie.).

But, as Bob Dylan said, “The times they are a’changin’.”

According to student operated news paper Northern Star, the city council has finally relented and lifted the ban on tattooing in DeKalb.

“During Monday night’s city council meeting, lifting the ban on tattooing in the city of DeKalb under Chapter 11 of the Municipal Code was revisited with questions from the previous council meeting answered. The sticking points of insurance policy amounts, felony limitations and possible locations were answered.”

City Manager Mark Biernack lowered the required insurance policy to $100,000. DeKalb is the only city requiring such insurance. Another disqualifying ordinance about felony convictions was lowered from having been convicted in the last ten years to the last seven, and amendments were made to the ordinance to allow tattooing in heavy industrial areas of the city.

The local tattoo artists in nearby Rockford and surrounding areas were positive, and excited about the prospect of being able to set up shop in the city.

Kenny Weinstock, owner of Out On a Whim said that he felt the new laws were fair and would serve to protect tattoo artists. Robert Schaal, owner of  Euro Tattoo said that he was pretty pleased with the new ordinance.

Personally, I think the whole idea is pretty cool, myself, and it’s good to see city leaders being both reasonable and fair. That is exactly how politicians are supposed to be, so the rest of you public servants take note. At least the city council of DeKalb has their act together.

Thumbs up, Guys!

Image © Northern Star, all rights reserved

Politics are always a hot topic.  It’s one of the few topics out there that ranges from extreme beliefs to none at all.  It’s also one of those topics guaranteed to always cause an argument of some sort.  I really can’t think of many topics in which opinions and feelings (with the exception of religion), run so high that to say or believe the wrong thing in the presence of the wrong people can have catastrophic results.

As it so happens, tattoos and politics are no strangers to one another.  And just as the nature of politics is divisive and controversial, political tattoos aren’t much different, except that political tattoos have an additional burden to bear other than just being political: the actual quality of the tattoo itself.  If you’ve got a political tattoo and the artwork is crap, then you are in for some serious razzing.  People who hate your politics will rip on you for your tattoo as well as the quality, and people who agree with your politics can still potentially have a go at you over the terrible artwork permanently etched on to your flesh.

The folks at The Huffington Post are currently in the process of proving my point, with a new feature on their site entitled The Worst Political Tattoos of All Time. Now to be fair, some of these tattoos are actually not that badly done, but they get mocked simply because someone chose to have them done in the first place.  The Huffington Post is actually encouraging people to send in photos of terrible political tattoos that they or someone else may have, so that the entire world can have a good laugh.

Oh well, if there’s one thing that politics needs more of, it’s laughter.

It seems to me that tattoos and literature have always gone hand in hand.  Sure, we’ve had posts on here about literary tattoos before, nothing new there.  There’s no shortage of people out there who have quotes or characters from famous (and not so famous novels) tattooed on to their bodies.

But what’s interesting is the appearance of tattoos in literature itself – that is, authors who have included characters who are themselves tattooed.  This is by no means restricted to contemporary novels, either.  Classic works like Moby Dick, Treasure Island and Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Red-Headed League, all contain tattooed characters.  In fact, if you happen to be the sort of person who actively searches out novels in which the protagonist or perhaps some of the characters are tattooed, this list is a good place to start.

Also not included on that list are Stieg Larsson’s books: The Girl Who Played With Fire and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.  Together, they are part of a trilogy of books (the third is coming this October to the UK and May 2010 in the USA) called The Millennium Trilogy, all of which feature a tattooed protagonist named Lisbeth Salander.  Let’s also not forget two excellent Irvine Welsh novels: Trainspotting and its sequel Porno, in which the oddly lovable psychopath Begbie is also tattooed.  One could even go as far as to say that Harry Potter is tattooed, although that’s really more along the lines of branding, but…

In the past tattoos were used on characters whose lives were spent at sea or to illustrate the tough nature of some characters.  That is something that will continue to change as time goes on and tattooing opens up more and more to the mainstream.  It’s easy to chart the change in attitudes toward tattooing in popular culture via magazine ads, television programs, fashion, etc…but literature is a whole other ballgame, a way in which the societal views at the time the novel was written are illustrated within the pages of the work. Fashions come and go, magazines are recycled, but novels…novels remain as perfectly preserved windows into the past for centuries to come.

For every shitty blog there usually is a good one….

Check these: I got a lot of chuckles out of the latter.

And now, there I was at “Rock the Ink” learning another lesson about judging people based on appearances. No, I didn’t get any tattoos. Happy to admire other people’s and keep my body as a “No Tat” zone.
http://thatgirlisfunny.com/2009/08/rock-the-ink-miss-tattoo-competition/

What I think I’m really getting at is I think a name change may be in order. Miss “OMG, I HAVE A TATTOO!” USA, maybe?
http://tattoosnob.com/2009/09/25/miss-tattoo-usa-is-not-okay/

Ok, so it’s also a tale of two tattoo studios. One which has already opened, and one that has hit a stone wall. The interesting thing is that both of them are in the same state, Ohio, and just goes to show that even if you are an artist, what you want to do may just boil down to the old business saw of; “Location, location, location.”

Chris Sims, owner of Pure Skin Tattoos, recently had his dreams of opening a studio denied by the Grandview Heights planning commission when he applied for a permit to operate inside the city.

The decision to deny what would have been the first tattoo studio in Grandview Heights in a split vote of 3-2 came after a local dentist expressed concerns about the kind of clientele a tattoo studio would attract to the area.

Now, we all know that we of the tattoo community are just a bunch of drugged up, uneducated, rapists, thieves and sociopaths who would like nothing more than to plunder the entire city after we get our new ink. Don’t we?

Still, I’m betting that Dr. Seuss there wouldn’t turn down a potential patient if they were sleeved out, or as Chris was wont to say, “I have clients that go to him for their dental work.  He wants their money, but he doesn’t want a shop in town that caters to them.”

Go figure.

Then there is Matty “McTatty” Matlock, owner of Peptide Tattoo in Carlisle, OH. Not only did the city of Carlisle welcome Matty with open arms, but apparently the shop is located beside regular upscale commercial businesses. And area where children and seniors are constantly walking by.

Matty’s studio is deliberately low key, and from all accounts looks more like an office space than what John Q. Public would consider a “tattoo parlor.” But, I don’t think that is the only reason that Matty was able to put his business up where Chris got stonewalled.

I think that just like Charles Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities” what you have here is one city that is reasonable, and knows that any commerce means another blow against an ailing economy. While you have another city that is populated by a bunch of short sighted reactive assholes.

Oh, yeah. Hey, Dr. Seuss! I’ll bet you can tell what uneducated, sociopath I am. I actually read Dickens for God’s sake!!

Some time ago, I did a tattoo artist profile on Rob Admiraal, owner of the Amsterdam based tattoo studio Admiraal Tattoo.  No doubt about it, Rob’s got some skills, but in addition to that, Admiraal Tattoo is one of if not the best tattoo studio in Holland.  Need further proof than the skills of its owner?  Then look no further than Angelique Houtkamp, one of the most original and dynamic tattoo artists that I have seen in some time.

Angelique’s work samples inspiration from numerous sources and although her roots are Dutch, much of her work is firmly rooted in American imagery, specifically the female Hollywood/Flapper styles of the 1920’s and 30’s.  Yet that description hardly sums up Angelique’s style, as there is everything from hints of classic nautical design to…well, hell, maybe I’ll just leave it up to Angelique’s own website to sum it all up:

“Her work is deceptively simple, instantly recognisable and often humorous. Classic old school tattoo imagery mixed with mythological dreams, antropomorphed critters, nautical iconography and haunting Hollywood romance by way of Angelique’s distinctive painterly magic and  eye for style.”

Too true.  Her art is instantly recognizable and aside from her career as a tattoo artist, Angelique also paints, with her prints for sale and her art regularly showing at art galleries around the world.  Her most recent show was this past August at the Eclectix Gallery in El Cerrito, California.  This October, Angelique will be having a solo art show and release party in both Syndey and Melbourne, Australia, at the Outré Gallery for her second book (yes, she also puts out books), “Tattoo Mystique”.

If all that’s not enough Angelique Houtkamp for you, she also sells some very cool T-Shirts. Take a look at some of Angelique’s tattoo work right here.

David Vidra of Health Educators has asked me to pass this very important message to the IAM community of body artists in regards to the recent FDA press release regarding Caretech Laboratories and the delay in production and distribution of Technicare and other products commonly used  studios.

Please be advised that this matter is in lawyer’s hands and some information cannot be made public as of yet. Rest assured we will have access to our preferred Caretech products very soon and shouldn’t worry about the quality of Caretech’s products.

Care-Tech® Laboratories, Inc. Suspends

Manufacturing and Distribution of OTC Drug Products

ST. LOUIS, MO, September 14, 2009/ – – Care-Tech® Laboratories, Inc. announces that it has suspended manufacturing and distribution of its drug products to address concerns raised by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Specifically, the FDA has informed Care-Tech® that it believes the company’s over-the-counter (OTC) drug products have not been manufactured, processed, packed, and held consistent with current good manufacturing practice for drugs, which makes them presumptively adulterated under the law, even where, as here, no finished product has been found to be defective. FDA also has informed Care-Tech® that it believes these products do not conform to an OTC drug monograph, and so are considered unapproved drugs. Accordingly, Care-Tech® has agreed to suspend manufacturing and distribution of our drug products until we have fully resolved these concerns. Care-Tech® has already taken significant steps to address the issues FDA has brought to our attention, and we are working closely with agency officials to ensure any remaining issues are resolved as expeditiously as possible.

Neither FDA nor Care-Tech® is aware of any reports of injury or illness related to the use of these products, and FDA has not requested that previously distributed product be recalled. “The company is committed to ensuring that each of its products reflects the highest standards of safety and purity,” says John C. Brereton, President. “For over 100 years, patient safety has been Care-Tech® Laboratories’ first and foremost commitment. And I can assure you, it remains so today.”

The company intends to update its customers as further information becomes available.

I am one of those people that try and learn something from everything I do. During my adventures in tattoo advertising I have learned alot. One of the big things I learned, and I think I already knew to a degree is how judgemental people are. People have the right to think whatever they want about what ever they want. I do believe though that one of the problems with our culture is we judge people to much by the way that people look and not by who the person is. Fifty years ago if you had a tattoo people would have thought you were crazy, or assumed that you were a criminal, or thought other things about you. Today tattoos are becoming more common, and people are starting to be alot more open about it and that’s a good thing. We still judge people way to much though, if only people could judge someone with tattoos by who they are as a person, and not by what is tattood on their skin. Don’t get me wrong if you have a tattoo of something racist, or something like that, then that’s a different story.

I knew that by getting a tattoo on my forehead and face that people were going to judge me, and think bad things about me. It doesn’t bother me as I don’t care what people think. I think that I enjoy getting tattoo advertisements on my face and head not just because it helps out financially and helps me raise awareness for the need of people to sign up to be organ donors, but it also allows me to in a way rebel against what I see as judgemental society, a society that doesn’t judge people for who they are, but judges them by the way they look, or by how much money they have or don’t have. By getting tattoo advertisements on my face I am in a way saying I dont care what people think of me. It allows me to see who my real friends are so to speak. 

Enough about what I learned from tattoo advertising. I just had another tattoo advertisement done on Tuesday. This tattoo advertisement was for the website LoveEvelyn.com. I was supposed to get this tattoo advertisement a few weeks ago but my artist was booked up. LoveEvelyn.com is an awesome website if you are into porn. For those of you who have not heard of Evelyn Lin she is one of the hottest Asian porn stars out there. If you are into porn I definitely recommend this website.

As some of you may have guessed form previous posts of mine, I’m not real fond of government intrusions into the common man’s privacy. Believe me, I was nearly apoplectic when Bushy boy began having illegal wiretaps and computer spying going on in the name of “National Security”. Personally, I think they have their nose far enough up our collective asses as it is.

Well here we go again. A researcher at Michigan State University has created a computerized automatic image retrieval system whereby law enforcement agencies can match scars, marks and tattoos to identify suspects and victims.

Now normally I would say this was a good thing, but when is enough, enough? The last I counted we have computer programs to trace DNA, fingerprints, cell phone records, bank transactions, etc, etc. What’s next, a data base to let them count the undigested corn in your shit?!! Just how much of this intrusive crap do we really need?

According to Anil Jain, the researcher responsible for this latest bit of “keep track of ‘em” software, “In a world filled with homeland security concerns, identity fraud and natural disasters, the need to establish the identity of an individual based on something other than a driver’s license or demographic and personal data is vital.”

Excuse me, ‘Anal‘, but I thought we already had about six data bases that do that already. I hate to burst you bubble, but the dictator’s battle cry of national security has historically been used as the first step in toltarianisim by everyone from Julius Caesar to Adolph Hitler. Think not? Just check your history and you will find that every freedom crushing move they made was touted as for, “The good and safety of the people.” Can you say, “Are your papers in order?”

As Santayana said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

Not to mention that I have to question the validity of such another program. For one with the new concealers out there on the market, and the ever growing industry of tattoo removal, as well as cover ups, it would seem to me that just keeping such a data base current would be a 24/7 task.

Finger prints, and DNA do not change, cannot be removed safely, and cannot be covered up. Tattoos and scars can be covered, removed, and are subject to change at a moments notice now days. So why?

Now this program works on Biometrics, an automatic computer identification program to identify an individual based on his anatomical or behavioral characteristics. In other words if your tattoo is not already in the data base, it cannot identify you. Now this wouldn’t be bad as far as a criminal goes, but notice that ‘Anal’s program adds victims to that mix. Now just how is that supposed to happen, and what happens if a computer glitch places that image into the wrong file?

Owning a computer, most of you already know how easy it is for the machine to screw up. Computers are stupid, they only know what a human being tells them, and like any machine they can and do malfunction.

Do we really need another personal identification system?

I think not.