Newlywed Nikki Reed is to undergo tattoo removal surgery to erase the name of her old crush.

The “Twilight” actress was living in Russia when she fell for a local ballet dancer and had his name inked on the inside of her left wrist.

But, now she’s a married woman, Reed has decided to have her ex’s name lasered off so as not to upset new husband Paul McDonald.

She says, “That was called a period of time in my life that we’re now removing. It’s a Russian word. … It’s somebody’s name. It’s a ballet dancer’s name that I met while I was living in Russia.”

Source : SF Gate

COLUMBUS, OH – A lawyer whose emails to Ohio State University’s former football coach triggered an ongoing scandal and NCAA investigation that cost the coach his job and led to several players’ suspensions denied Monday he broke any legal misconduct rules.

Attorney Christopher Cicero testified he never intended to represent a tattoo parlor owner who bought or traded tattoos for Ohio State memorabilia such as jerseys and championship rings.

Cicero met with Columbus tattoo parlor owner Edward Rife on April 2, 2010, according to court documents, and again on April 15, 2010, to discuss whether Cicero would represent him in a federal drug trafficking case, according to a complaint against him by the Disciplinary Counsel of the Ohio Supreme Court.

Cicero, an Ohio State football player in the early 1980s, denies meeting with Rife on April 2, and says the goal of his meeting with Rife on April 15 was to confirm that Rife’s partner, a former client of Cicero, wasn’t involved with drug dealing or memorabilia sales.

Rife’s house had been raided April 1 by federal drug investigators and Cicero wanted to know if his client, Joseph Epling, who was Rife’s business partner, was involved in the case.

“Eddie Rife was never going to be my client in this case at all,” Cicero told a three-member disciplinary panel at the Ohio Supreme Court. “I saw him as an ally and resource for Mr. Epling. That’s how I viewed Mr. Rife’s purpose in my office.”

Rife pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and money laundering this year and was sentenced to three years in prison. He has not begun that sentence and testified against Cicero on Monday.

The Disciplinary Counsel has alleged that Cicero violated professional conduct rules by revealing information from interviews with Rife, a potential client.

Joseph Caliguiri, representing the court’s Disciplinary Counsel, asked a panel of the court’s Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline to suspend Cicero’s license for six months. A decision is not expected for several weeks.

At the end of Monday’s six-hour hearing, Cicero told reporters he wrote the emails the way he did to protect Epling. But he also said he’s had second thoughts about whether he should have tipped Tressel.

“In hindsight I would never have given them to Jim Tressel knowing that the messages weren’t passed on down to the kids,” Cicero said.

It was emails Cicero sent to Tressel in April 2010, warning him that players were selling memorabilia or trading them for tattoos, that helped launch the scandal and end Tressel’s Ohio State career.

In those emails, Cicero seems to make it clear that he may have taken on Rife as a client.

“If he retains me, and he may, I will try to get these items back,” Cicero wrote in an April 16, 2010 email.

“I have to sit tight and wait to see if he retains me, but at least he came in last night to do a face to face with me,” Cicero wrote later that day.

Ohio’s legal conduct rules generally prohibit attorneys from divulging any information they received from someone who might be a prospective client.

News of the memorabilia sales emerged in December 2010, but not until March did the university discover that Tressel had known about the sales since the previous April and said nothing. That was a violation of both NCAA rules and Tressel’s contract, which required the prompt reporting of any knowledge of such player infractions. Tressel resigned under pressure in May.

The NCAA is expected to rule this year on what type of punishment the university should receive.

Cicero and his attorneys say the emails he sent Tressel were only meant to warn the coach about his players’ actions and shouldn’t be read as a breach of confidentiality, since Rife was not a client, they say.

“This case exemplifies that things are not always as they appear,” said Alvin Mathews, an attorney for Cicero. “The emails that were sent may not actually reflect what they appear to reflect.”

The evidence was clear that Rife visited Cicero twice as a potential client looking for legal advice, on April 2 and April 15, Caliguiri told the panel.

Cicero quoted a figure of $10,000 to handle Rife’s case, according to court documents and Rife’s testimony Monday.

“I was thinking about hiring him to take my case and wanted him to know things about my case,” Rife testified.

Source : CBS Sports

INDIA – A tattoo researcher from Germany is set to trace similarities between tattoos of tribes in the Western Ghats and the tattoos of aborigines of Southern Africa.

The researcher, who likes to call himself ‘Travelling Mick’, will be sharing his academic study on tattoo culture around the world at the 2nd International Tattoo Convention to be held in Saligao from November 18 to 20.

“I have been travelling around the world since the 1990s to find the social and cultural roots of tattooing. In India, there is very interesting tattoo culture from the Lamani tribes in Maharashtra and Karnataka, who tattoo their arms and legs as a custom to those in North Eastern states who ink tattoos on their faces as they come from warrior tribe culture,” Mick said.

He said that he plans to go through the Western Ghats soon to explore the tattoo culture amidst the tribes residing in the ecologically sensitive region. “It will be the first time I will be going to the Western Ghats. I want to see if the tattoos of the tribes in the Western Ghats have any similarity to the medicinal tattoos of the Bushmen in Southern Africa, as I have heard. Medicinal tattoos are coloured tattoos that function on the principles of acupuncture,” Mick said.

He said that the culture of getting tattoos inked at the base of the thumb by Christians in Goa is a custom also prevalent among Christians in Egypt. “Wherever Christians are in a minority with Hindu or Muslim majority, this culture is seen of drawing the cross on the hand to identify community members and feel one with other persons of the faith. Coptic Christians in Egypt also ink similar crosses on their bodies,” Mick said.

Organizers of the tattoo convention, to be held at a club in Saligao, Rohit Patel and Shibani Shah of Eventos Promotions and More, said that more than 4,000 persons are expected to attend the event in Goa. “The first international convention was held in Mumbai in April this year and was attended by more than 8,000 persons. The convention not only provides tattoo enthusiasts the opportunity to get inked by some of the best tattoo artists in the world, but it will also be a platform for tattoo artists to interact with one another and attend seminars on various unique tattoo techniques,” Shah said.

One participant at the convention will be Anil Gupta who has been featured on Ripley’s Believe It or Not series for the smallest tattoo inked on a thumb – Leonardo Da Vinci’s portrait of Mona Lisa.

The organizers say that tattoo culture is growing at an incredible pace in India. “In Arambol, Calangute and Anjuna areas itself in Goa, one sees numerous tattoo stores which have come up in less than five years. There were none before. It is a billion dollar industry in India at the moment,” Patel said.

Source : Times Of India

Paramedics many times are alerted to a patient’s medical history through emergency bracelets, but a new trend is making it more permanent by getting medical tattoos. Our Lauren Kendrick spoke to a local tattoo artist, who says the latest tattoos can possibly save lives.

“There are traditional means of identifying a medical condition that include carrying a card or some sort of jewelry like an identification bracelet.” More and more people with serious medical conditions, such as diabetes, are choosing tattoos over the traditional alert bracelet.

“Body art indicating or identifying medical conditions appears to be a trend nationwide, although it’s new here to our area.” Fire Captain, Eloy Vega, says he’s never seen a patient with a medical tattoo, but understands why some might opt for them. “If they have a very active lifestyle the chances of jewelry getting snagged or coming off increase.”

We spoke to local tattoo artist, Gabriel Rodriguez, with Lazy Boy Tattoos, who says he has actually done many medical tattoos. “Like the alert bracelets. Same thing. Just get tattooed and it says diabetes type whatever.” He also talks about a tattoo done on a client’s chest stating ‘do not resuscitate’.

And it’s not only Rodriguez who has done medical tattoos in Laredo. He shares that a fellow tattoo artist has recently given a permanent reminder to residents with the illness. “Actually I had a friend of mine that was telling us how he had a couple of people that were diabetic that came and got diabetes tattoos, so it’s pretty cool.”

Fire Captain Vega says if a patient has AIDS or any other communicable disease and becomes unconscious, having a tattoo or any other way to let the paramedics know is very helpful. “That’s something that’s looked at when conducting an assessment, if it’s obvious, of course, and taken into account when providing treatment to the patient.”

In addition to looking for a medical bracelet or card, Vega says that paramedics will now be aware of this new trend in medical tattoos.

“Although it’s not customary to see it, nowadays, we understand that times change, trends change, and with that we need to be ready.”

Source : KGNS News

MESA, AZ – One Mesa tattoo shop had some cleaning up to do after a weekend crash.

On Saturday night, as Masto-Don Body Piercing and Tattoo was preparing for a big Monday event, a suspected drunk driver smashed into the side of the shop.

The whole thing was caught on surveillance.

A worker came running out and saw the hole in the side of the building. He told CBS 5 News there were beer cans all over the parking lot. As he started calling 911, the driver got out and took off.

He says the shop has had to turn away some body piercing customers today.

The shop was preparing for a prostate cancer awareness event called Mo-vember, where men grow out their moustache to raise awareness for prostate cancer.

Since not every man is able to grow facial hair, the Mesa business is helping with that by offering $20 “finger moustache” tattoos.

All the money raised will be donated to the Mo Moneymakers Mo-vember team’s fight against prostate cancer.

Source : KPHO

CHEYENNE, WY – A local tattoo artist filed a $500,000 claim against the city Wednesday, saying that its failure to approve his individual body artist permit was a violation of his 14th Amendment rights.

Steven J. Martinez also claims that the seizure of several computers in his home and business, Bad Ass Tattoo, was a violation of his constitutional right against unreasonable search and seizure.

Martinez was accused of illegally videotaping female clients without their consent while piercing their genitalia. He was charged with felony voyeurism.

He was acquitted of the charge in July 2010 when Laramie County District Judge Thomas Campbell determined that the warrants used to obtain evidence lacked probable cause and were therefore invalid.

In February 2010, while the charges were still pending, Mayor Rick Kaysen and the Cheyenne City Council denied his request for a body art permit, citing concerns for community welfare.

The claim alleges that Kaysen and the acting chief of police at the time, Capt. Jeff Schulz, based their denial of the permit on the four affidavits of probable cause and the pending criminal charges.

Martinez claims that he suffered a loss of reputation and business because of the denial of his right to due process and equal protection under the law.

“It’s hard to put a dollar amount on that,” Martinez said Thursday. “A lot of it is principle. They violated my civil rights in numerous ways. ”

According to the claim, Martinez was out of work for eight months, used all of his savings, maxed out his credit cards, sold personal belongings and borrowed money.

Once Martinez was acquitted of the charges, he again filed for a body art permit, which was approved.

He is demanding $250,000 for the illegal searches and another $250,000 for the “arbitrary and capricious actions of the entities” that denied his constitutional rights.

He specified that the claim is against the city of Cheyenne, Cheyenne Police Department, Cheyenne City Council, Kaysen, Schulz, and Cheyenne Police detective Boyd Wrede.

“You’re supposed to be innocent until proven guilty, and the mayor and the city council didn’t do that,” Martinez said. “It did a lot of damage to my business and my reputation.

“I think what we are asking for is more than fair.”

City attorney Dan White declined to comment because it is pending litigation.

Source : Wyoming News

The couple that tattoos together, stays together? Looks like that is what American Idol alum Adam Lambert and boyfriend Sauli Koskinen are hoping. The pair each got freshly inked Thursday night at Kat Von D’s LA Ink shop.

American Idol’s Adam Lambert took to Twitter to show off his brand new artwork, taking a moment to tease followers before revealing a photo of his key tattoo. Thanking a follower, Adam wrote, “Thanks for telling me bout Kevin at Kat Von D’s high voltage tattoo! I wish he coulda tattooed us at the same time! Do you all wanna guess what I got?”

Adam Lambert’s over one million Twitter followers, surely a great deal of American Idol fans, responded with an interesting mix of guesses ranging from a unicorn to a ‘pink elephant with glittery roller skates.’ Turns out Adam Lambert’s new tattoo isn’t anything quite that flashy — it’s a key.

The 29-year-old, who shot to fame during the eighth season of American Idol, shared the photo seen here on Twitter writing, “Based on drawing by Hans Haveron and tattooed by Kevin Lewis!”

No word on what Adam Lambert’s boyfriend Sauli got done at the tattoo shop, though a video shows his new ink is in the same forearm location as Adam’s. It does not appear that the couple got matching tattoos.

Adam, who made it to American Idol’s top two in 2009 before being beat out by Kris Allen, then committed a huge Twitter party foul. “Sad for Haley… But it’s all good! Can’t wait to hear her music,” he tweeted, spoiling the American Idol results for West Coast viewers. Has Adam learned nothing from Ryan Seacrest’s Twitter drama?

Source : She Knows

NORWALK, CA – A gang member with scenes from a liquor store murder tattooed across his chest was sentenced to 65 years to life in prison, according to reports.

Anthony Garcia was convicted of first degree murder in April in connection with the Jan. 2004 killing of John Juarez in front of Ed’s Liquor in Pico Rivera, Calif.  According to the Whittier Daily News, Garcia was sentenced on Thursday.

The case went cold until Los Angeles County sheriff’s homicide detective Sgt. Kevin Lloyd came across a photo of Garcia’s tattoo, and recognized the crime scene images and details of the killing.

“I remembered in 2004, I’d been at the scene when the murder occurred in the city of Pico Rivera and so right away, it caught my attention,” Lloyd told CBS affiliate KCBS Friday of the tattoo. “The victim was standing at the corner, gets shot in the head and then falls down in the… driveway of the liquor store.”

Lloyd said the murder was a shooting against Garcia’s rival gang.

Garcia was arrested at a La Habra home in October 2008. Parker said he confessed while in the Norwalk sheriff’s station jail and was booked for murder the same day.

“All I can say is he’s very boastful and arrogant and so he was very proud of his tattoo and when he was in a position, he would talk to other people about it,” Lloyd added.

The man who drove the getaway car also confessed and faces 20 years in prison.

Detective Lloyd said in his 30 years in law enforcement, he had never seen a tattoo that depicted an entire crime scene, until this unusual case.

Source : CBS News

Riverside County supervisors tentatively approved an ordinance Tuesday establishing health standards and safety regulations for tattoo parlors and other body art businesses.

The measure, which would be enforced by the county’s Department of Environmental Health, is set for a public hearing next Tuesday.

Under the ordinance, the approximately 100 body artists with operations in the county’s unincorporated communities — and in cities that do not have their own health departments — would be required to register their businesses by filing an application, establish “exposure containment” plans that prevent the spread of blood-borne diseases such as HIV/AIDS or hepatitis and permit regular inspections by county personnel.

Shop owners would have to demonstrate adherence to sterilization procedures for body-piercing and tattooing equipment and ensure used products are properly discarded. They would also have to comply with state law and refuse to tattoo, pierce or otherwise permanently alter the features of a person younger than 18 without parental consent.

With other board members’ backing, Supervisor Jeff Stone, a practicing pharmacist, added a number of provisions to “strengthen” the proposed ordinance.

The supervisor introduced the changes after citing literature indicating that “30 percent of new piercings require medical attention” and “eight out of 1,000 piercings require emergency room treatment.”

The provisions Stone submitted included:

– a mandate that body artists use sterile gloves in addition to sterilized equipment;
– any procedure that involves piercing a customer’s butt, genitalia or breast be witnessed by a second person;
– business permits be clearly displayed; and,
– that any practitioner of permanent cosmetics submit a thumb print to the state as part of the application process.

Stone also wanted a prohibition against any sex registrant working in a body art business. Under California law, any person convicted of a sex crime must register their whereabouts with law enforcement for life as a condition of their parole.

The supervisor recommended a letter-grade system, similar to restaurants, in which health inspectors rate the quality of an establishment on an A-F scale, with grades being posted in a shop’s window.

The ordinance comes about a year after the county’s Grand Jury criticized the Department of Environmental Health for a laxity in holding tattoo parlors and other body art businesses to tough standards.

According to the grand jury report, applications furnished by the department often failed to ensure that permanent cosmetics providers passed a safety class, obtained a facility permit, established an exposure containment plan and retained a copy of the county’s health code.

Source : SWRNN

AUSTRALIA – A love of ink has many Sunshine Coast girls at the back of the pack for modelling jobs, according to agency owner Sam Plant.

Tattoos are still largely unacceptable in the industry, 22-year-old Sam, of Alexandra Headland, said.

“So many girls in the modelling industry go for jobs and make it all the way to the end until they are told they haven’t made the cut because of their tattoos,” Sam said.

“Generally there is still a lot of people in the community who connect tattoos with criminals, and that’s simply no longer the connection.”

So Sam has begun her own south-east Queensland model search.

Those with a blank canvas or conspicuous butterflies or dolphins need not apply.

“Inked Beauties” hits the Coast on Saturday night.

The second of four Queensland heats will be held at the Sands Tavern at Maroochydore from 3pm.

The top three will compete in the final on the Gold Coast on June 10.

Sam’s tattoos include a rose embedded cross, “strength” on her right foot, two tributes to friends and even a “Where’s Wally?” homage in her sleeve.

What does she say to critics who question how they will look when she is old?

“It’s like saying why bother dyeing your hair because it’s only going to fall out anyway,” Sam said.

“They represent moments in my life that I want to remember.”

Inked Beauties, with “burlesque” and “bikini” sections, is open to women of all ages and appearances.

Style and design of tattoos will not be judged individually but will be critiqued as part of the model with the best overall appeal.

Source : Sunshine Coast Daily