Okla. Man: Attackers Tattooed “RAPEST” On Forehead
Published : May 5, 2011

DEL CITY, OK – Two men and two women are accused of pinning down a man who has learning disabilities, tattooing the word “RAPEST” on his forehead and shocking his genitals with a stun gun before beating him unconscious with a baseball bat, police said Wednesday.

The accused told police they attacked Stetson Johnson, 18, because he tried to have sex with one of them, according to a police spokesman. Detectives found no evidence to support their claims, he said.

Johnson, of Oklahoma City, said he is acquainted with all four but has never tried to hurt any of them. He said the April 17 attack began when he was thrown to the ground and kicked in the face “dozens of times” by two men while two women took turns using a stun gun on his genitals. He said the attackers yelled obscenities at him.

“I was screaming. It was hurting,” he said. “After they kicked me in the face I said, ‘Oh my god, they’re going to kill me.’”

Two women and two men are being held without bail but have not been formally charged. Capt. Jody Suit, spokesman for the Del City Police Department, said police plan to recommend charges of assault and battery, maiming by disfigurement and kidnapping.

The attackers placed duct tape around Johnson’s hands and held him down while one tattooed the word “RAPEST” on his forehead, Johnson said. The word, apparently a misspelling of “rapist,” has since been covered with another tattoo that looks like a bar code.

The attackers also tattooed a phrase on his chest that resembles “I like little boys,” police said.

They then put Johnson in a car and transported him to Eagle Lake in Del City, where he was beaten in the arms and head with a baseball bat, causing a gash in his head that required 18 stitches to close.

Johnson said he was unconscious for about two hours before he awoke and sought help.

“When I got up I felt dizzy,” he said. Johnson said he tried to get help from motorists on a nearby highway before walking about a quarter of a mile to a mobile home park, where a resident called police.

“They found him almost dead,” Suit said.

Johnson spent a week in the hospital, including three days in the intensive care unit, for treatment of a fractured skull, broken nose and other wounds sustained in the beating.

“They almost killed me,” he said.

Police seized tattoo guns, needles, ink and a Taser gun after the suspects were taken into custody, according to a police report.

Suit says the attackers told authorities they were trying to punish Johnson after one of the women accused him of trying to have sex with her. Johnson denies that, and Suit says there’s no evidence to support it.

“To me it’s bullying. The guy has the mentality of a fifth-grader,” Suit said.

He said the four have not yet been assigned public defenders.

Johnson bears scars from the attack and said he has trouble breathing and seeing out of one eye. He also said he suffers from anxiety and has nightmares about being killed.

“Everywhere I go, I look around like, ‘What’s going to happen?’” he said. “I don’t understand why they would do something like this until I was almost dead. They deserve justice.”

He said he would like to have the tattoos removed but cannot afford it. In the meantime, he had the one on his forehead turned into a barcode, with the numerals “7″ that he hopes will bring him luck and a reference to 2010, which he said was a good year for him.

Johnson’s mother, Lucy Ford, said she and her son plan to move from their southwest Oklahoma City home.

“He feels that it’s unsafe for him here. He can’t sleep at night,” Ford said. “I just can’t believe that people would be so mean. He’s 18 years old. He has his whole life before him. And he almost lost it?”

Johnson’s sister, Crystal Cline, said the incident makes her fear for the safety of her two small children.

“People are evil these days,” Cline said.

Source : NPR

Katie Price marks her Argentina trip with ANOTHER tattoo… but keeps it under wraps
by Emily Sheridan
Published : May 1, 2011

Many visitors to Argentina end up going home with a traditional mate cup, tango music recordings or Che Guevara memorabilia.

But Katie Price decided to commemorate her romantic trip to her new boyfriend Leandro Penna’s native country in a rather different way – by getting a new tattoo.

The glamour model, 32, opted to have another etching added to her inner left arm – alongside her older designs of a crown and her daughter’s name ‘Princess’.

Price also had her first husband Peter Andre’s Christian name above the crown, but had a cross tattooed on top of it in soon after they split in 2009.

But as she posted a photo of herself apparently getting another tattoo in the same place – perhaps she is finally covering up all trace of her tribute to her ex.

Although she teased fans by announcing she had a new tattoo and posting a photo on her Twitter page, the glamour model declined to show fans what it looked like, preferring to wait a few days for the redness to subside.

Her tattooist Mariano Antonio, from the American Tattoo boutique in the upmarket Buenos Aires area of Recoleta, also Tweeted: ‘Gorgeous Katie Price is getting a tattoo now! Lovely lady and handsome Leandro Penna. A cute couple.’

He also uploaded a photo of him in action with the needle and promised followers his work of art would be ready for viewing soon.

When one Twitter user asked the tattooist what design he etched on her skin, he replied: ‘She’s gonna show you in a few days!’

Price’s new tattoo will be her sixth in total – she also has a ribbon around her right ankle hanging down over her foot and a bow on her lower back.

Her decision to get a sixth tattoo contradicts a claim she made last year that she was ‘needle-phobic’ while she described going through IVF with soon-to-be second ex-husband Alex Reid.

Antonio is the same tattooist who etched a spiral design across 25-year-old Penna’s back in March – just a couple of weeks after he met Price at Elton John’s post-Oscar party in Los Angeles.

She told fans she would be returning to the UK this week as she is due to sign some of her books at a WHSmith in Welwyn Garden City in Herts on Saturday.

She’s been in Argentina since April 15 after just a week back in Britain following her initial trip to Buenos Aires, which lasted just four days.

During her trip, she’s met Penna’s parents Mercedes and Hector and enjoyed lots of sports, including sky-diving and horse-riding.

Last week, the couple narrowly avoided serious injury after their car crashed when two horses suddenly ran into the road.

Her spokesperson told MailOnline at the time: ‘The accident was quite horrific and she was quite shaken up but after she visited the chapel she did get on a horse for five or ten minutes as they were horses at the hotel where they were staying.’

It is understood the mother-of-three suffered cuts on her hands and a jarred neck after the incident, which happened at 1.30am on April 23 around three miles from their hotel Estancia San Pedro Viejo in Cordoba.

And witnesses said the only reason she and the Argentine model survived the crash.

Meanwhile, Price’s two youngest children Junior and Princess have been holidaying in Cyprus with their father, her ex-husband Peter Andre.

Source : Daily Mail

Warning issued over Bowmanville tattoo parlor
by Noel Grzetic
Published : April 29, 2011

TORONTO, CANADA – Durham Regional Health Department has issued a warning to clients of a tattoo parlor in Bowmanville.

The Health Department said non-sterile equipment had been used at the boutique “Sins & Temptations” for body piercing services provided from June 2010 to April 18, 2011.

The warning states there is a “relatively low risk” that use of needles that have not been sterilized could pass diseases such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV, although the department said it had not received any transmission reports related to the tattoo parlor.

The parlor also provides hairdressing and tattoo services.

Clients are asked to call Durham Health Connection Line at (905)-666-6241 during office hours Monday to Friday to get an information package.

Source : The Star

Mike Tyson tattoo artist sues to block “Hangover”
by Matthew Belloni
Published : April 29, 2011

LOS ANGELES – The man who gave Mike Tyson his distinctive facial tattoo has sued Warner Bros. over the similar-looking facial art on Ed Helms’ character in the upcoming comedy “The Hangover: Part II.”

S. Victor Whitmill, an award-winning tattoo artist who calls the Tyson design “one of the most distinctive tattoos in the nation,” is asking for an injunction to stop the release of the highly-anticipated comedy sequel, set to bow in the United States over Memorial Day weekend at the end of May.

“When Mr. Whitmill created the Original Tattoo, Mr Tyson agreed that Mr. Whitmill would own the artwork and thus, the copyright in the Original Tattoo,” argues the complaint, filed Thursday in federal court in Missouri.

“Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. — without attempting to contact Mr. Whitmill, obtain his permission, or credit his creation — has copied Mr. Whitmill’s Original Tattoo and placed it on the face of another actor … This unauthorized exploitation of the Original Tattoo constitutes copyright infringement.”

Warners declined to comment on the suit.

It’s an interesting lawsuit. Copyrighted works are copyrighted works, no matter whether they are painted on canvases or walls or the bodies of former heavyweight champions. Whitmill attaches to the lawsuit his copyright registration for the “Original Tattoo,” as well as Tyson’s signed release granting rights in the work. (He also includes some photos of himself with the boxer while applying the tattoo in 2003 in Las Vegas.)

The designs do look very similar. And what makes the matter dicey for Warners is that the tattoo on the Helms character appears to be a direct comedic reference to Tyson, who appeared extensively in the first film. That might make it tough to argue that the designs are merely coincidentally similar.

But Warners could argue that the copyright isn’t valid, or that the studio changed the design just enough to escape infringement, or that the use in the film is “transformative,” meaning it is depicted in a larger context and thus a fair use, or that’s it’s a parody. Whitmill also is challenging the use of the image in ad materials and trailers.

What’s scary for the studio is the request for an injunction to stop the movie’s release. A few years back, Warners was forced to fork over a hefty settlement to the author of the source material for its “Dukes of Hazzard” film when a judge issued an injunction weeks before the film’s release.

Source : Reuters

Alex Pettyfer’s Tattoo Above Crotch Teased in Pic
Published : April 29, 2011

Hollywood’s latest bad boy flaunts his torso, revealing a little of his salacious-placed tattoo. Alex Pettyfer did a photo shoot at a studio on the outskirts of Paris for the new issue of VMan, wearing all-white for the beauty of Mario Testino’s work. One of the pictures shows him with an opened coat and lowered pants.

One ink spotted on his toned body is that of a cross which is embedded on his right chest. Another is more discreet, nesting above his crotch and saying “Thank You”. “In case I forget to say it,” he winked, by way of explanation.

From the inside interview, readers find out that his tattoos spread all over his body parts. A black ring is on his finger, Arabic writing is on his arm and the phrase “What Goes Around Comes Around” is on his shoulder.

Labeled a “bad boy”, Pettyfer said that he is not as reckless as people think he is. “I don’t go out, I don’t drink, and I don’t do drugs.” In fact, his Wikipedia profile is full of lies because the 21-year-old thinks people don’t have anything cool or interesting to be said about him. “I’ve heard I’m called a bad boy, or difficult – maybe that’s because I don’t take any bulls**t,” he slammed.

Source : Ace Show Biz

‘Memorial’ tattoos with cremation ashes more popular
by Monica Robins
Published : April 28, 2011

The idea might be morbid to some people but others consider it the ultimate way to honor a lost loved one.

Today, more people are taking cremation ashes, known as cremains, and having them put into a permanent memorial tattoo.

Travis Green wears a vile around his neck, that contains a small amount of his father’s ashes. But Travis decided that he wants his late father closer.

In fact, it was something the two talked about even before his father’s death.

“I brought this up to him once a long time ago, yeah, if you ever die, I will get you tattooed in me, so here I am,” Travis says.

The practice — called “commemorative or ritual tattoos” — isn’t new but it is gaining in popularity, says Bob Johnson of Finest Lines in Wickliffe.

He’s been doing it for 30 years and says he’s never had any complications with clients.

“We do it quite a bit. It’s something we’ve done for a long time.” he says. He adds that the amount of ashes used is microscopic.

“The preparation is different but it’s the same way we would do any tattoo. We sterilize them first in an autoclave as we would the rest of the equipment, and them make sure it’s fine powder and mix it with the ink.” Bob says.

Tattooing laws and guidelines vary from state to state.

Ohio laws don’t address the practice directly, but are clear on sterilization and sanitation procedures. Proponents say the ash is made sterile and poses no health risk.

But medical professionals caution that, any time you put a foreign substance in your body, you run the risk of problems ranging from rejection to infection.

Travis Green isn’t worried, but rather relieved that now he will always carry a part of his father with him wherever he goes.

Source : WKYC-TV

British study predicts how your tattoo will age
Published : April 27, 2011

LONDON – Tattoo artists are increasingly leaving their mark on Western culture, but a study released Thursday reveals for the first time how their designs will deteriorate as their human canvases age.

Tattooed celebrity trailblazers as diverse as David Beckham, Angelina Jolie and British “first lady” Samantha Cameron have helped bring body art into mainstream culture, but will they be regretting their choice as the years pass?

Ian Eames, a researcher in fluid mechanics at University College London, has created a mathematical model which can be used to predict the movement of tattoo ink particles over time, and give an idea of which designs age better.

“Tattoos are incredibly popular worldwide with more than a third of 18-25 year olds in the US sporting at least one design,” said Eames.

The paper, which is published in the Mathematics Today journal, will enable those considering getting a tattoo to accurately predict how their design will look in 20 years’ time.

Eames said the study would “pave the way towards assessing whether there are any long-term health implications” and provide “an idea of how their chosen design could look several years down the line”.

Tattoo inks are a suspension of water-insoluble particles, such as mercury, lead, cadmium and iron, which are injected under the skin using a needle.

Over time, these inks become dispersed as the cells which contain them die, divide or leave the body.

“Skin type, age, size, exposure to the sunlight and the type of ink which is used all influence how a tattoo disperses with time,” explained Eames.

“Broadly speaking… the small details in a tattoo are lost first, with thicker lines being less affected.

“Although finely detailed tattoos might look good when they are first done, they tend to lose their definition after 15 years,” he added.

Source : AFP

Trial starts in grisly death of Denver tattoo artist
by Jessica Fender
Published : April 27, 2011

COLORADO – With the hotel room black but for the glow of a television and a comforter tucked in at her chin, Kauri Tiyme could have been sleeping.

The custodial worker at the Tech Center Marriott who’d walked in on Tiyme during noon rounds Oct. 17, 2008, quietly backed out so as not to disturb her.

Only later that day would investigators discover the cuts and gashes all over Tiyme’s body, the blood-drenched mattress, a trove of poisons and the scalpel and bloody Goldschlager bottle used to kill the 39-year-old tattoo artist.

Ex-husband Keenu Tiyme, 37, has been charged with her murder, and jurors got their first glimpse Tuesday at the bloody details of Kauri Tiyme’s death over four days in Room 9001.

Keenu Tiyme’s defense attorneys said during opening arguments that the deeply disturbed former spouses had decided on a murder-suicide pact, but that the defendant ultimately couldn’t kill himself.

They’re trying to prove that Keenu Tiyme was insane at the time of the killing, which he admits he committed.

“Depression, desperation and devotion. That’s what this case is about,” defense attorney Joyce Akhahenda said in court.

Prosecutors argued that Kauri Tiyme had wanted to live and cast doubts on the defendant’s suicidal intentions.

They said Kauri Tiyme had a new boyfriend, a new business and at one point resisted her death in the hotel room.

Source : The Denver Post

Iconix buys global rights, ups stake in Ed Hardy brand
by Viraj Nair
Published : April 27, 2011

* Deal worth $55 mln plus $7 mln in earn-outs
* Increases stake to 85 pct from 50 pct
* Raises FY view on Ed Hardy deal
* Ed Hardy to add $15-16 mln in annual royalty rev
* Shares rise 5 pct to year high (Adds stake details, share movement)

April 27 (Reuters) – Iconix Brand Group Inc acquired the worldwide rights to American tattoo artist Don Ed Hardy’s brand from Nervous Tattoo in a $55 million deal that raised its stake in the brand to 85 percent.

Iconix, which acquired a 50 percent interest Hardy Way LLC — owner of the Ed Hardy brand and trademarks — in 2009, also raised its full-year expectations to reflect the acquisition. [ID:nASA01ZS4]

News of the acquisition, coupled with strong results, drove Iconix’s shares up 5 percent to $23.56 — their highest in over three years.

On a pro-forma basis, Iconix expects the Ed Hardy brand to generate total annual royalty revenue of about $15-16 million. The deal also included a $7 million earn-out.

Don Ed Hardy will retain a 15 percent minority interest.

Nervous Tattoo will continue as a licensee for Ed Hardy t-shirts, hats and hoodies and pre-pay $7 million in royalties under its license.

Iconix, which posted better-than-expected quarterly results driven by strength across its brand portfolio, owns and licenses brands including Candie’s, Joe Boxer and Badgley Mischka and sells its products at Target Corp , Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Kohl’s Corp among others.

“We also expect to continue to be acquisitive,” said Iconix Chief Executive Neil Cole, the brother of American designer Kenneth Cole.

Source : Reuters

Hayden Panettiere opens up about tattoo spelling mistake
by Frances Kindon
Published : April 26, 2011

Hayden Panettiere has warned fans against getting tattooed in a foreign language after she revealed that her own Italian body art has been misspelled.

The 21-year-old Heroes actress decided to have ‘live without regrets’ inked on her back in Italian, to remind her not to get hung up on rejection and disappointment, but said that she was horrified to find out that the tattoo artist had made a spelling mistake.

Appearing on The View on Monday, she said, ‘Here’s the thing, if you’re going to get a tattoo in a language, just don’t ever go to that country, or a country where anyone speaks that language.

‘It’s not like, ‘oh I wanted (this) and now it says, ‘I love apples’. It’s ‘live without regrets’ but it has one extra ‘i’ and it’s so minor that people who spoke fluent Italian are like, ‘Egh, that looks right.’ And of course I’m reading in a newspaper that it’s wrong.

‘So you know what, I’m left to live up to what it means. I’m proud of it!’

Source : Monsters And Critics