After listening to some of the media interviews I am contiplating writing him in come election time. That’s right Joe The Plumber for President .. seriously.

Check out this video from The Daily Show with sound bites from Joe The Plumber from different interviews.

The STD testing program is Internet-based and is a collaboration between the city of San Francisco and a non-profit group called ISIS (Internet Sexuality Information Services, Inc.) You simply go to the Web site www.stdtest.org, print out your own lab slip and head to Gotham Tattoo and Piercing. You can also go to six other traditional laboratory locations if you prefer. But hey, if you can get tested for STDs at the same time you are getting a tattoo, why not?

The city health department has set up a room to screen for herpes, gonorrhea and other STDs at Gotham Tattoo.

Bob Martin of Gotham Tattoo says “The thing about coming to tattoo parlors, about being unhealthy, about hepatitis and HIV, all of that, that’s an outdated mode of thinking. We’re safe, we’re clean.”

Test results arrive within three to five days, accessible online by a unique identifier (similar to a bank PIN number). HIV test results are delivered on the phone by a trained counselor. The Department of Public Health will ensure all persons who test positive for an STD receive information on treatment options as soon as possible, whether through City Clinic or their own healthcare provider.

“The anonymity of the Internet erases any stigma”, Dr. Jeffrey Klausner of the San Francisco Department of Health has said. “For STD control, we need to make it as easy as possible, we need to erase the barriers, we know people are embarrassed.”

On People can get tested for free, whether they go to Gotham Tattoo or a clinic, although it is hoped patients will make a contribution.

On their blog the ISIS folks have a video that explains the whole thing in more detail. Check it out.

Adventurous couples are opting for the wedding ring that you know will never come off or get lost - the tattooed wedding ring.  Although the practice has been around for centuries, it’s newly trendy.

Celebrities including Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson, and model Mia Tyler and her fiance - musician Dave Buckner, are the most public faces sporting these tats, but they’re not just for famous people. It’s a great option for doctors, mechanics and others who can’t wear rings while they’re working. Generally, it’s also initially less expensive - less than $100 a piece, although you’ll need to get it touched up as the years go on.

Most recently making the news shows Levi Johnston with the name of his baby’s mother, Bristol, tattooed on his wedding finder. Bristol is the daughter of Sara Palin,  John McCain’s running mate and possible Vide President of the United States.

You’ll be making some powerful statements to each other and the world at large. Your tattoo will say that you trust enough in the relationship to have a permanent symbol of it on your body. You’ll also be showing that marriage doesn’t mean that you’re too conservative to be inked.

The disadvantage of course is that it will never come off. No matter how secure you feel in your relationship now, consider carefully how you’ll feel if the relationship dissolves but the tattoo doesn’t. You’ll have to be willing to live with the ring, go through painful and expensive tattoo removal, or finding a way to modify the design. When Pam Anderson split from Tommy Lee, she had her “Tommy” ring tattoo changed to “Mommy”! Others have opted to get a bigger tattoo that camouflages the existence of any ring at all.

Couples should be forewarned that the finger doesn’t heal as reliably as other parts of the body - thus the tattoo may look blurry or spread out.

Credits:
http://weddings.about.com/cs/rings/a/tattoorings.htm
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/14/fashion/14tattoo.html

So imagine the surprise of some parents of a bunch of very young kids in Jacksonville, Texas, when the children started turning up with tattoos. Not the temporary kind you find wrapped around bubble gum, but the real deal.

Now, a 13 year old will change their mind as quickly as a guy changes the TV channels with a remote control. So you know that whatever decision they make about a tattoo will seem like a bad idea by the time they are, oh, 15. Hell, I know some adults that hardly have the good judgment to figure out how to order a hamburger at McDonald’s so I know a 13 year old is not ready to make a decision about something as permanent as a tattoo.

But Wayne “Wolf” Bertrand, 28, owner and operator of the Wolves Den, couldn’t resist the lure of all those cash rich barely over the age of 12 kids. He was arrested and charged with tattooing a prohibited person. According to Chief Investigator Chris White, this was the first tattoo-related arrest his department has made since he joined the force.

“This is the first charge of this nature that we have had as far as I am aware, so it’s not something we are real familiar with,” White said. “We received information a few weeks ago from some pretty mad parents of students in the Alto Independent School District that several of their kids had obtained tattoos from an individual in the Alto area.”

Bertrand’s bond was set at $2,500. That’s at least $100,000 less than what we think it should be for adults that prey on children but that’s just our take on it. No word on the trail date, but we’ll keep an eye out and bring you an update if we find out anything.

To watch and hear a local NBC news interview of Wayne’s side of the story CLICK HERE
KETK Channel 56

A 2006 report by the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology said that 24% of Americans between 18 and 50 have a tattoo.  That only means there are more and more strange happenings in tattoo-land.

Imagine being a thief - a not very bright one - and forgetting to cover up your very distinct tattoo before robbing someone.  Investigators say a white male wearing a camouflage baseball cap and camouflage pants went into Mrs. T’s Country Store in Castleton, Vermont on Sunday, August 24th and pointed a gun at the clerk and made off with some money.

But it keeps getting more bizarre.

Police say the suspect had a four lettered tattoo on his right forearm. The clerk said the first three letters were C M M and the letters were all gothic style.  Shame on you if you know somebody this stupid.

In other “tattoo identification” news, police in Spain are asking the public’s help in identifying the body of a man from his strange tattoo.  The tattoo is on the right arm of the body and consists of a text written in Spanish copperplate lettering. The body was found naked and is of a muscular man.  He….ahem….also shaved his legs.

And in case you have a really unique and special tattoo, here’s a new way of paying the rent.  A man has sold his back tattoo to a collector and has agreed to appear three times a year to display the tattoo.

Yep, ol’ Tim Steiner struck a $217,789 deal that states the gallery can display the tattoo of the Virgin Mary — still on his back — three times a year.  The gallery also has the option of reselling the tattoo, which took over 35 hours to create.  And yuck….they can also can remove it from his skin when he dies.

Another odd factoid on this story is the Tattoo Artist, Wim Delvoye (a Belgian conceptual artist),  that did the Virgin Mary on Tim’s back has been tattooing PIGS since 1990.

He’s even got a wikipedia entry, Click Here.

Makes me wonder if he even got a cut of good old Tim Steiner’s deal. Doubt it since Tim probably paid the original artist to get the tattoo to begin with.

Hey Wim! I’ve got a great idea for a Sacred Heart full back tattoo for myself if you ever get tired of doing the pigs … now what did I do with the number to that Gallery?

Remember there is a limitation to what can be covered up and how many times you can cover up a design.

Here are some ideas for tattoo cover ups:

1. Tribal
   If you are into tribal designs then consider getting a tribal tattoo incorporated with or covering up the old tattoo. Tribal tattoos can blend in well and are deep colored enough that if you have a fading tattoo it can do the job covering it up.
2. Name Cover Ups
   A common tattoo to get covered up are names. These can carry a huge amount of regret, especially if it is of an Ex, and covering them up can be a relieving experience.

   There are different ways you can cover up names such as using the same color in a new design as the name can usually be incorporated and covered efficiently.

   Another option may be to change the actual name in design, making it more comical, or re-wording it so it means something different.  Johnny Depp used this method when he  changed his “Winona Forever” tattoo into “Wino Forever”.  It’s usually rare that a good name change can work but it is something to consider.

3. Modern Design Cover Up
   Another way to cover up an tattoo is by getting one of the newer modern designs that are out. Usually these are very rich in color and elaborate making a cover up job easier.

Another critical part is choosing the Tattoo Artist. Make sure you look through their portfolio and ask specifficaly if they have any before and after pictures of other Cover Up’s they have done.

The example cover up images above were provided by a Patrick, fantastic Tattoo Artist out of Germany, and we will certainly be featuring more of his designs.

For more of his work you can visit the following websites:

Patrick’s Deviant Art Gallery Page

Patrick’s MySpace Page

Patrick’s Official Website

If you love tattoos I would encourage you to check out the Deviant Nation website.

One of the biggest problems with permanent pigments is that the best ones are unsafe for use on humans. This leaves the the industry with just a few save alternatives. For the most part, very light fast and permanent colors are used. But this is not always the case. When it comes to yellow, purple, orange or magenta, the fade resistance is still not very high. The most common reason for fading colors is Ultraviolet Light, especially the light from the sun.

This does not mean once you get a tattoo you have to stay out of the sun forever. It’s just that excessive amounts of sun will fade tattoos. It fades about the same rate your skin degrades when exposing it to the sunlight too much.

Another factor is the application of the tattoo itself. I have noticed the more experienced an artist is the better he can apply the pigment correctly and the less it fades.

Also keep in mind that new tattoos nearly always look like there is enough ink in them because there is ink in both the dermis and the epidermis, but the ink in the epidermis will grow out with the skin and the tattoo will fade noticeably in the first year or two compared to a tattoo done by an artist who takes the time to get it right. So it is important that the artist not go too fast. Think of it as pixels in a digital photo’. If a tattoo is done too quickly less ink gets into the skin and the tattoo will look good at first but will start to fade noticeably after only a year or two. It’s like putting you printer on Fast Draft as opposed to Best, one comes out fast but faded and the other slowly but bright and vibrant. The only difference is that a tattoo will always look bright at first because there is ink in the top dead layer of skin (epidermis) that disappears as new skin grows and the epidermis and flakes off

People often say their tattoo looks much older than it really is. So it is they probably exposed themselves too much to the sun, didn’t take care of it properly during the healing process or the artist simply did not apply the pigment correctly.

Your skin ages and with it the tattoo. That’s a fact and there is no way around it. If you want the tattoo to look good as long as possible take care of your skin and you will take care of your tattoo at the same time.

In ancient Egyptian mythology and in myths derived from it, the phoenix is a mythical sacred firebird. Said to live for 500, 1461 or for 12594 years (depending on the source), the phoenix is a male bird with beautiful gold and red plumage. At the end of its life-cycle the phoenix builds itself a nest of cinnamon twigs that it then ignites; both nest and bird burn fiercely and are reduced to ashes, from which a new, young phoenix arises.

So I’ve recently become re-interested in the Phoenix and the mythology behind it and have started looking for a tat that I like. Looks like it may be a longer search than I expected. Below are some of the tattoos or designs that have caught my eye in my initial search.

Not a bad Tattoo but looks a little too aggressive for me. Guess I want a more wise noble phoenix

I actually like this one, kinda has that Japanese style going. Just not sure how it would layout across my shoulder. Will have to print it and experiment some. Also not sure if I would want to color it or leave it like it is in this design.

Another nice Tattoo, rather large for me personally but very tastefully done.

Show some love at http://graynd.deviantart.com/gallery/

What others are saying about Graynd.

you are by far one of the most talented tattoo designers I have seen in a long time. Your work is both colourful, and yet still has fresh and bold takes on classic themes. needless to say, I love your work!

Wicked tats…