Inked Talk

Whether you love or hate the Suicide Girls (warning: the SG site is NOT work safe or child safe. Take the appropriate precautions before clicking!), you have to admit that there was some genius behind the concept: the website featured tattooed and pierced semi-nude girls with alternative fashion tastes and charged people for the privilege of looking at their photos. Add some interactive forums and limited original content, and the Suicide Girls website was worth the price of admission, which was a monthly fee charged to your credit card. Admittedly, Suicide Girls was essentially just a specialized softcore porn site, but quite honestly, it was a lot of fun.

Suicide Girls enjoyed relatively limited popularity until the site and some of its girls were featured on HBO’s Real Sex. Then the Suicide Girls site exploded, and with fame and fortune came a lot of drama which ultimately cost the SG site a number of their most famous girls as well as a lot of fans.

While some of the drama has died down, there is definitely something different about the current incarnation of the Suicide Girls website. Namely, the girls. A visit to the SG site today shows not the pierced, inked and dyed beauties that made the website famous. Instead, the site features regular, plain women, women you’d see at the grocery store, on the bus, or in college classes. Women who look like the women on nearly every other soft porn site on the Internet.

What happened, Suicide Girls?

Sure, there are some tattooed beauties remaining on the site, although you wouldn’t know it by looking at the site’s main page. With a few, rare exceptions, so many of the girls on the SG site look like everyone else.  Pretty, but common.

Maybe SG’s initial success was due to the fact that it was so different, and once different become mainstream it loses its edge. As things like tattoos and piercings become mainstream, the very definition of “alternative” changes. Suicide Girls certainly has changed, but its change has been to something far less extreme and far more mainstream.

I, for one, miss the old Suicide Girls.

Knuckletattoos is one of those websites that you wish was updated more often.  By no means is that a reflection on its creator - admittedly, knuckle tattoos aren’t as common as tramp stamps or bicep babes, so even the best efforts on such a site are limited by the number of people sporting “job stoppers.”  Knuckletattoos asks its readers to submit photos of their knuckle ink along with stories behind their tattoos, and despite the relative rarity of hand tattoos, it boasts a large and growing collection of images.

Not surprisingly, the vast majority of those on Knuckletattoos.com with tattooed hands are tattoo artists themselves or otherwise work in the tattoo industry.  Of those who aren’t, some mention the fear of unemployability because of their ink.  Others focus on the reason for their ink, and many of those reasons are very moving and reflect personal struggles and accomplishments.  The tattoos range from the utterly frivolous (”I Luv Toys” or “STFU N00B”) to the philosophical (”Half Full”).  By and large, the photos on Knuckletattoos.com are fun, and the stories engaging.

What is the attraction to knuckle tattoos?  Like hand or facial tattoos, any sort of tattoo that cannot be easily concealed signifies a real dedication to being tattooed, or on a deeper level, a commitment to accepting that others will form opinions about their bearer which may be based solely upon those tattoos.  It is a commitment that many cannot, or will not, make.  On some level, those who will not take that plunge may look at these tattoos with a degree of envy, while on the other side of the coin some will look at them with revulsion or a sense of “how can you do that to your body?”  Sites like Knuckletattoos.com serve to remind us that, yes, people who get tattoos on their hands are something other than average and ordinary, and I count myself in the group who looks upon them with envy.

Of all the tattoo blogs that have sprung up on the Internet, this is a personal favorite.  Tattoosday features different tattoos found around the New York City area.  The premise is very simple:  the blog’s writer accosts interesting people with tattoos, photographs their ink, and tells their stories on his blog.  The sheer number of tattoos and the wide variety of stories make the site a fun read, and one that I keep coming back to.

The blogger, Bill Cohen, estimates that only about one in seven people that he approaches about his blog actually participates.  When you see the huge number of tattoos featured on his blog, you have to appreciate just how much work Cohen has done on this project.  The blog has an archive that you can get lost in for a few very enjoyable hours, and then look forward to the next post.

Cohen has a particular rule for finding tattoos to photograph:  “I won’t go to shops to take pictures. That’s just too easy. Like shooting fish in a barrel.”  Cohen puts himself out “in the wild,” approaching people as he spots their ink.

What is the appeal of Tattoosday? Its simplicity is genuine.  The tattoos featured in the blog range from amazing to average, and the stories behind them reflect a wealth of backgrounds, experiences and influences.  The blog isn’t a showcase of the most beautiful ink on the planet - although there are certainly some amazing and beautiful tattoos on that blog.  Rather, the blog is a snapshot of everyday tattoos on everyday people.  The tattoos featured in the blog could belong to any of us.

Like them or hate them, tattoos in Kanji or Chinese characters are still a popular trend among non-Asian tattoo aficionados. There is a whole lot of trust that goes in to having someone tattoo a character whose meaning you gleaned off of the Internet or perhaps off of some blurry printout on the wall of the tattoo studio. And for every trusting person out there, there’s someone who is willing to take advantage.

Zug.com is an admittedly hilarious humor website that described a cruel prank played by one of Zug’s contributors on his coworker. The coworker noticed that many people, including his obviously caucasian coworker, had a Chinese character for a tattoo. In his own words:

So I got an idea. I started by talking to the delivery guy from the Chinese take-out near my office. I made up a few fake Chinese phrases from words I saw in a Chinese newspaper, and started throwing them out at him. Now, I have no idea how to speak Chinese. I couldn’t figure out how to pronounce the stuff I had, or how to make sentences out of it, or what dialect it was, but none of that really mattered. What mattered was having the proper Charlie Chan accent and loud, confident delivery.

Eventually his coworkers believed that he spoke some Chinese. And then he began working on the target of his prank.

He greeted his tattooed coworker in his fake Chinese dialect. As he guessed, she didn’t understand a word he said.

You don’t speak Chinese?” I ask.

So I launch into the questions: what made her decide on a Chinese symbol, who was the artist, were they Chinese, everything except what the symbol stood for. She stammers through the answers, which boil down to no real reason for the Chinese, no real interest in Asian culture or language, just got the tat from some white American dude in a shop in Sayerville. Then she launches into an explanation of what it means: inner peace or some nonsense.

And then, the punchline:

“No,” he tells her, “it says ‘hao fu,’ which means bean curd.”

To really finesse the prank, he had even doctored up a Chinese take-out menu to include her “bean curd” character.

A cruel joke? Surely. The coworker got upset, cried, and was understandably quite angry. The coworkers unwittingly played a role in the prank as they assured her that he did appear to speak Chinese quite well. Eventually his guilt got the best of him and the truth came out.

Did that stop the folks at Zug.com from taking the prank another step further? Of course not. They dedicated an entire website to providing fake tattoo flash for unsuspecting Internet surfers.

Fake Free Kanji Flash Site

While I laughed a bit when I read the article, I don’t condone anything that Zug.com did. However, there is an important lesson to learn here: anyone getting any Chinese or Kanji tattoo should check their sources if Chinese or Japanese is not their native language. There are people out there who think that your permanent “Bean Curd” tattoo is good for their momentary laugh.

For the record, your author has a Kanji tattoo which she hopes means “Soulmate.”

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Who doesn’t love Vans?

Inked Talk is debuting a new feature today: Tattoo Website Reviews. Every week we will be spotlighting a new website that features some aspect of tattooing.

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Website Review: Inked Inc.

Inked Inc. features beautiful photos of tattooed professionals. The Inked Inc. project is more than just a website - the project includes a hardcover book, an online photography portfolio, a traveling exhibition, a line of apparel, and even an online community where readers and fans can share their own experiences as tattooed professionals.

The site’s creator, Dave Kimelberg, is a corporate attorney and photographer in Boston, Massachusetts who happens to be extensively tattooed himself. His experiences in covering up for the corporate world inspired him to share the lives of other inked professionals in beautiful full-color photos.

Many of Kimelberg’s photos feature the subjects covering their ink in “work appropriate” attire followed by photos of them displaying their tattoos. The Inked Inc. Youtube video gives a good overview of “before and after” type photographs.

There can be no doubt that tattoos have become more and more mainstream in recent years. People from all walks of life are not just getting tattoos, they are getting large, loud, wild tattoos and displaying them for the world to see. While corporate culture as a whole still frowns on body art, the tide is turning as more and more professionals are getting inked. Obviously, there are tattooed professionals out there, and there are probably more than anyone really realizes. How long will it be before they can stop covering up for the workplace? Time will only tell whether will we ever see the day where a physician with “Mom” tattooed on his forearm won’t make the general population do a double-take. The fact that Kimelberg’s photos are so interesting is a itself a commentary that the day has not yet arrived, but that there is a segment of the population who is fascinated by its coming.

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Homebiz Chat

Even though this info is targeted at teens the information is valuble for everyone. The article in the context in which it is being delivered is targeting teens and kids. Both groups are very curious about the topic, especially since a lot of mommies and daddies have them.

click here for the article at kidshealth.org.

So I am totally addicted to Johnny Cash now. I remember my dad listening to him when I was a kid, but I never listened to him on my own. I saw Walk the Line and I think it has changed my life. Anyway thats all I listen to is Johnny Cash and of course June too. Anyway I decided to run a search on Johnny Cash tattoos and I came up with some links.

A black and gray piece of Johnny Cash
a Johnny Cash tattoo done in black
a color tribute to Johnny Cash

I would consider a Johnny Cash tattoo… maybe someday…

also check out www.johnnycash.com for Johnny Cash info, downloads and images

I have been a member of this community for at least a year now (screen name: saintamyjane). It is a myspace for the tattooed. You can find all sorts of tattooed and pierced people on there and all age ranges.

The site not only features tattoo enthusiasts but it also features tattoo artists and tattoo shops. The site also offers resources such as flash art, classifieds, chat and message boards.

If you are tattooed this is the place to go to find other tattooed people.

inkednation.com

I found this blog dedicated to celeb tattoos. It has a substantial amount of pictures for just recently getting started. So if you are celebrity obsessed or just like looking at their tattoos this blog is for you.

www.celebritytattoos.org

I received a reply from yellowman.com about my post. You can read the post and my comment here. There is actually some good information in that post. It talks about the quality of the product, the durability and the its diverseness. Which is wonderful for the people that can afford it.

If I could afford one, I would definitely purchase a shirt from the POTC collection. I really love the movies (as does most of the population). These shirts really capture the essence of the orient, sailors, pirates and of course, the tattoos. The colors are beautiful and they are neatly done by the respective artists as they would have done any tattoo. 9 of the top artists in the world are responsible for these wearable works of art. Check them out (the shirts and the artists) here.

Anyway I really do love these shirts and If I ever have the money (hopefully in the near future) to spend on a fine shirt (I still have a tattoo i’m working on) I am going to yellowman.

So I got this comment about this website. I had to talk about it because I really think it is a great concept. The web site is www.yellowman.com. The founder, Peter Mui, believes that skin color shouldn’t get in the way of social status. He is an Oklahoma native with Chinese blood. The web site name plays on the a derogatory term used towards people of Asian decent.

So what is the web site all about? Peter Mui has created wearable tattoo art. The vibrant shirts depict different styles of tattoos by different artists. From the greatest tattoo artist to artists from the most remote parts of the world (Peter has gotten some work from a Buddhist monk in Thailand). The styles and artists vary of course. They even have a special edition line of Pirates of the Caribbean 3 Dead Man’s Chest shirts.

Peter Mui has great vision. The only problem is that these shirts are pretty pricey. I mean what do you expect with the caliber of artist he works with. But for the demographic he is targeting, most of us would spend $218 on a tattoo, not a shirt.

All prices aside, these are beautiful shirts. Or beautiful works of art is more like it.