
Hello INKED People!
I really like INKEDblog as it is now, it’s a sort of anthropological way of gathering personal tattoo stories. It really seems to work by managing to keep the artistic level of the tattoos pretty high, as well.
However, I liked the links and the questions/answer section you had before, too.
I would just like to point you to this site, I don't know if you know of it, it’s from a Sao Paulo tattoo convention and well, the gallery is just amazing. It is very diverse; from new skool surf girls, to Samoan facial tattoos. The photos are well taken too, definitely worth a look
Ciao,
M.
Dear M.
Thanks for the note! You’re right, this is an interesting site.
Readers, have a suggestion, question, or story to share? Send us an email at getinked@inkedblog.com
In the coming weeks, we'll be publishing our "Best of 2005" lists. For this feature we want your input. Drop us a note at getinked@inkedblog.com with the answers to the following qustions....
1. FAVORTITE TREND IN TATTOOING OF 2005
2. LEAST FAVORITE TREND IN TATTOOING N 2005
3. BEST TATTOO SHOP
4. BEST TATTOO ARTIST
5. FAVORITE TATTOO SEEN THIS YEAR
6. BEST TATTOO RESOURCE (ONLINE)

- Rae Schwarz takes a look at the tattoos of Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Askaban
- Charles Purdy details his tattoo removal process for PlanetOut
- A 'Dumb' tattoo leads to the arrest of a suspect
- A bullet strikes and kills a man right next to his 'Why me' tattoo
- Video-imaging Technology from NASA used to convict abductor based on detailed imaging of tattoos on his forearms
- University of Connecticut's Daily Campus examines the growth of the tattoo industry
(image above from Jason Loui's upcoming show at Invisible NYC)
Just how popular are tattoos on the internet? Well, te Lycos 50 just released the top 10 search terms for the past ten years, from Sept. 1995 through Sept. 2005. "Tattoos" comes in at #6, just ahead of "Las Vegas"
1. Pamela Anderson
2. Dragonball
3. Pokemon
4. Britney Spears
5. WWE
6. Tattoos
7. Las Vegas
8. NFL
9. Sept. 11 Attacks
10. Christmas
When soccer star David Beckham had a quotation from the Hebrew Bible tattooed on his arm, Hebrew tattoos suddenly became the hot new trend. One website to jump onto the bandwagon is HebrewTattoos.net, where for a $9.00 fee the site will send you the correct Hebrew translation for the quote of your choice. The translation comes in the form of a jpeg picture which can be printed out and brought to the tattoo shop.
If you're interested in Hebrew tattoos, check out this article from the Jerusalem Post.

From Tian comes the following story:
A father who tattooed the Chinese characters Hen Xin Niang, or "cruel mother", on his son's back after the woman ran away from the abusive man was sentenced to two years in jail, reports Liaoshen Evening News.
Bi Jun of Donggang City often beat his wife when he was drunk or unhappy after they married in 1993.
His wife left him early last year.
In February 2002, Bi tattooed the characters on his son's back in a fit of anger, saying it would remind the boy that his mother did not care for him.
(From China Daily)

Sanskrit is an ancient Indian language. Some scholars refer to it as the mother of tongues, claiming that Latin is derived from it, and therefore all Indo - European Languages. It’s used by healers and yogis of different traditions to harness energy or Prana in the form of mantras or chanted sounds such as AUM or SO - HUM. This particular tat. found here, displays the Gayatri mantra, written in its native form. The Gayatri mantra is one of if not the oldest written prayers. The premise of the prayer is the wish for all beings to be enlightened. The most interesting feature of the tattoo is the symbolism of the bumblebee. It is said that if you follow all of the known laws of physics, it’s impossible for a bumblebee to fly. However the limitations of science should not confound our faith in the greater universe.

For those interested in ancient and medieval esoteric practices, the Twilit Grotto Esoteric Archives may be of interest. There’s an impressive collection of symbols and woodcuts drawn from subjects ranging from alchemy to obscure seals for angels and devils. Interesting and historically accurate, the site is full of good ideas for original (and meaningful) tattoos.
Ok, so you think you’re a tattoo aficionado. But how far can you get in Vanishingtattoo’s tattoo trivia challenge?
We hate to admit it but even the primary level is pretty difficult. Although the first question leaves you feeling at least a little knowledgeable, it’s a trick to lull you into a false sense of security. If you don’t know that Samuel O’Reilly patented the electric tattoo gun, we suggest you skip straight to the answers, because the questions get infinitely harder. And, if you want to advance to the next level without getting at least seven answers correct, they will decline you access (we know this because we tried it). But don’t dismay, it’s not like one of those cruel Nintendo games where you stay stuck on the same level for years, Vanishingtattoo is kind enough to supply you with an answers page. So, if you didn’t know that “Life” magazine estimated that 10 percent of Americans had a tattoo in 1936, you can skip straight to the cheat sheet.
Symbols.com is an excellent resource for those considering a new tattoo. The site features an enormous encyclopedia of over 2,500 symbols. With a diversity that encompasses signs such as this ideogram for marriage from Ghana to contemporary graffiti, Symbols.com can provide numerous ideas available for new skin art.
Samoa.co.uk is an excellent resource for those of you that are interested in learning about the history of Samoan tattoos. Traditional Samoan tattooing of the pe'a, a body tattoo, was an ordeal that was not lightly undergone. The entire process was often highly ritualized, with most of the tattoo motifs being of animal origin, as various animals were considered to be sacred by different families. Also extremely interesting are the ancient tools used to tattoo indigenous Samoan men and woman. The site lists the Samoan words used to describe various tattoo paraphernalia, as well as featuring an English translation on how the tools were used. There are also some beautiful illustrations and diagrams of the intricate five stages of tattooing – starting at the back and ending at the navel. The site also includes a traditional song that was sung to Samoan’s while they were being tattooed. The lyrics talk about the beauty and strength of their tattoos, and their ongoing will to endure pain.

Artist Scott Blake has been working with barcodes for a long time; his work's won numerous awards and appeared in several national magazines. Now, through his website, you can purchase customized temporary bar code tattoos which can actually be read by most scanners.
An article in today's Houston Chronicle reports that beginning January first all police officers in Houston must cover up any visable tattoos while wearing a uniform. Things get even more ridiculous - bike cops are going to be forced to wear long pants if they have a tat on their lower leg. In Summer?
Police Chief Harold Hurtt is quoted in the Chronicle as saying that he wants to "ensure HPD officers present a professional image when interacting with the public."
You can read the full article here.
Photo about by Melissa Phillip from the Houston Chronicle
A recent New York Times article (password required) discusses the latest hot tattoo fad: fruit. Not people getting tattoos of fruit, mind you, but actually tattooing produce.
The idea is that by tattooing the fruit’s skin with a laser, store clerks will be able to scan the produce quickly, and customers won’t have to bother with peeling off bothersome stickers. It’s hoped that the increase in convenience will off-set the somewhat unsettling feeling that the fruit looks like it came out of a machine. There don’t appear to be plans, yet, for the introduction of tribal themes to your produce aisle, but with this new technology, will it be long before farms try to distinguish themselves with original fruit tattoos? One of the executives interviewed in the article is already raising the possibility of inscribing advertisements onto apples.
Griefwarehouse.org is an incredibly touching page dedicated entirely to immortalizing the memory of children that have tragically passed away. All of the stories are both compelling and compassionate. Interestingly, the tattoo parlor doubles as a therapy lounge for grief stricken parents. For some, getting a tattoo of a lost child can in some way help them to deal with their grief. The site also provides a link to a tattoo support group meeting, in which a bunch of parents get together at a particular tattoo parlor, and either touch-up old memorial tattoos or design new ones.

Strikethebox is an incredibly impressive site solely dedicated to firefighter tattoos. It’s no surprise that the September 11th attacks spawned some serious needle point patriotism, with many fire fighters sporting patriotic tattoos to commemorate their colleague’s sacrifices. It was as though tattoo parlors were doubling as therapy suites, where firemen could undergo a little pain in the hopes of immortalizing the pride they felt for their fellow firefighters. But it seems that even four years after the attacks, firefighters are still getting inked as a show of respect. Strikethebox features a plethora of tattoo images– the most touching being those related to 9/11, such as the three firefighters raising the American flag amongst the rubble of the fallen World Trade Center.

Amongst the articles on Native-languages.org is an incredibly comprehensive resource detailing all that you need to know before getting a Cherokee or Native American tattoo. The article is a terrific source to research before you choose a design. Knowledge is important in any culture, so do your homework. If you're planning on getting a Native American tattoo, Native-languages.com is an essential resource
Badtattoos.com is one of our unspoken guilty pleasures. Sometimes we have to remind ourselves that the tats on Badtattoos.com are actually real pictures of real tattoos. Some of these tats are just so so wrong that they make you cringe. For example, for the life of us we can't understand the impetus behind the ‘Clown with a Gun’ tattoo. However, we’re still holding out hope that the that the joke’s is on us and that some people out there see the true appreciation. Like when something is so dorky that it’s kind of cool. Well, we're not sure if any of these tats qualify, but they’re certainly good for a quick laugh. And what’s with the ‘Blueberry Man'? He looks like a character out of the Mr. Men series of children’s books – that, or a piece of homework your art teacher gave you a ‘D’ on. This site can provide hours of fun scrolling through the disastrous messes people have made of their skin. We just hope that you don’t get a nasty shock when you realize that your prized Elmer Fudd Tattoo is featured on the site.
Bellaonline features another great article. This time on "bug tattoos". The always terrific Rae Schwarz gives you some insightful snapshots into the meaning behind various insect tattoos. The selection of creepy crawly tattoos is pretty diverse, and each insect can have a multitude of different meanings. They can be fierce symbols of protection, brightly colored cartoons, or personal images of healing. Butterflies are a popular insect for tattoo designs, due to the symbolism of metamorphosis and change. For women wanting a powerful image, the queen bee can be it. She is the lone female who runs an organized and industrious community. The Egyptians thought that honey bees were tears of the sun god Ra. The article also features a cool image of a praying mantis tattoo – the symbolism is pretty obvious on that one.
In the last few weeks we've learned that most people who are into tattoos have in their mind that "one tattoo" that they'd love to get but for one reason or another - guts, money, not having the perfect design - they just haven't gotten yet.
So if you're holding onto a tattoo design or concept that one day you hope to get - perhaps when you get the guts, money, or perfect design - let us know. We'll post the answers we receive on the INKEDblog website.
Cheers,
Marc and the INKEDblog Crew
Let's face it, we all love those ‘hot or not’ websites. They provide hours of procrastination time. We especially like this hot or not tattoo site where you can deem a tattoo bearer “mad cool or a mad fool”. The site also provides a perfect gallery for those of us who need our peeps stamp of approval before we permanently pen our skin – just find the tats with the highest rating and you know they’re a goodie. However, it’s kind of annoying that they give you the rating before you vote, We'd much prefer it when you vote first, then they tell you if everyone loved or hated it – it gives that added drama for those of us that need it. The best category by far is the ‘character tats’, some of them are pretty wack.
If you’re thinking of getting a tribal tattoo with your own unique twist, then CreateATattoo is a good site to get you started. The CreateATattoo program is easy to navigate even for the lamest Luddite. This ace part is that you don’t have to worry about files on your computer, the designs are saved right onto the createatattoo server. If you hate it, they promise to hit you back with a full refund. And, most importantly – you don’t need to know how to draw.
