Russian Criminal Tattoo Designs

If you're still looking for that holiday gift, you might consider some attire inspired by Russian criminal tattoos.

Last month, regular readers of Tattoosday may have noticed the ad that popped up on the left side of the blog, promoting a line of clothing from MiR1, an online shop run by a fellow Brooklynite named Roman, featuring designs based on and inspired by this style of tattoo.

Our good friends over at the Needles and Sins Tattoo Blog even featured Roman's online shop as part of their Holiday Gift Guide feature earlier this month. Their piece on Russian Criminal Tattoo Apparel appeared here. You can also check out their Facebook page here.

For the record, I have one of MiR1's hoodies and I'm very pleased with it. If the wind chill wasn't teens this morning, I might even wear it to work.

But I'm not writing about this to sell apparel. Of course, you won't be surprised to hear that Roman has tattoos that run along the themes featured in his clothing line.

He was kind enough to send along this picture:


As explained on the MiR1 site:

The cat has been a symbol in Russian criminal tattoo culture since the beginning, partly because the cat abides by it's own rules. There are many variations of the cat tattoo. The cat symbolizes a thief that is good at what he does. This tattoo can show a man's or woman's connection with the criminal world. The word CAT or "KOT" (in Russian)is an acronym as are many other normal words that are tattooed. KOT stands for "Korenoi Obitatel Tyurmi" or "Native occupant of Jail" as in Jail is my second home.

Roman was kind enough to elaborate on the origin of his tattoos:

The cats were done in Watertown Correctional Facility, by a man named Diablo. For 3 packs of cigarettes and some cakes, cookies, and various junk...Cats are supposed to bring good luck. One cat means u mostly act alone, two means usually with others or part of a crew. I really didn't care either way, I just like symmetry.

The hammer and sickles were done by a friend in the 90's...

I encourage readers to check out the clothing line over at their online shop here. And thanks again to Roman for sharing his own personal ink with us here on Tattoosday!

Darren's Trio of Tattoos

I was contemplating the best way to approach a rather imposing figure who was completely covered in ink, when Darren passed me at the entrance to K-Mart in Penn Station.

When I caught up to him in the store, I introduced myself and, being a piercer in a New York City tattoo shop, he was more than happy to indulge my curiosity.

Darren has three tattoos, all on his arms and crafted by Young Cho at Monster Tattoo in the Elmurst section of Queens.

The first piece, on his lower right arm, is a pin-up depiction of Lady Luck perched on a crescent moon:


The second tattoo is a half-skull that pays homage to Boys Night Out, a band in which one of Darren's friends plays:


This is the outer forearm on his left side.

Finally, we have this piece, which is more than just a few numbers and letters:

Located on his inner right forearm, this tattoo is translated as 40 degrees, 40 minutes, north latitude and 73 degrees, 9 minutes west longitude. These coordinates refer to a specific location in the world, in this case, a spot in the Great South Bay off the coast of Long Island. It was here that Darren's father loved to go fishing and the coordinates in question mark the spot where his father's ashes were scattered after he passed away.

I must emphatically state that this is one of the coolest memorial pieces I have seen. It is extremely thoughtful and creative, speaking to a point on the earth where Darren knows his father will remain, in spirit, for the rest of time.

I thank Darren for taking the time to stop and chat with me about his three tattoos here on Tattoosday!

Quick Hits For December 9th; Meet Mr. Monk's Daughter (Well, Sort Of)

(1) There was a lot of activity on this blog last weekend concerning the MONK series finale, one of the busiest 24 hours this blog has ever seen....but there was one issue that was never resolved and had viewers scouring the internet still looking for answers....

People wanted to know who was the very beautiful actress who played Trudy Monk's daughter?.

Molly Evans was played by Alona Tal, an Israeli actress, who like the character she played on MONK is 26 years of age. She starred on several series in Israel, and began her career in the United States on Veronica Mars as "Meg Manning" from 2004-06. She had a recurring role on Supernatural (2006-09), and has guest starred in such series as CSI; Crime Scene Investigation, Cold Case, 7th Heaven, Ghost Whisperer, and The Mentalist.

Almost immediately after the episode aired, within minutes, queries began....who played Molly in MONK's finale?  I had no answer at the time, and as of now on the USA website the credits for the last show of not been posted in the episode guide. But she definitely made an impression on the huge audience for the final show. 

After five years of working in the States, Alona Tal is an overnight sensation!



(2) Same sex marriage is being debated in Trenton. The current governor, Jon Corzine, said he would sign the bill if it passes. Governor elect Chris Christie has said he would veto the bill if he were in office. My take- I agree with the immortal Kinky Friedman. When Kinky was running for governor of Texas a few years ago he was asked what he thought of same sex marriage he said....."I'm for same sex marriage. There's no reason gay people shouldn't be allowed to be as miserable as the rest of us are".

(3).The funniest guy on late night TV....or possibly on any TV show? Its Craig Ferguson, hands down (above with Jennifer Love Hewitt). Living proof that less is more....no band, no sidekicks, just Craig and his stream of consciousness  form of humor. The guest has no idea where he going with the interview, so its just be prepared for anything and everything. He does a great Michael Caine impression as well.

(4). On November 29th I boldly made these bowl projections for the Big East....

Cincinnati beats Pitt, West Virginia beats Rutgers, and UCONN- USF a tossup. Cincinnati would go to the Sugar Bowl, West Virginia (tie breaker on Pitt) goes to the Gator, Pitt goes to the Meineke, Rutgers to St.Petersburg, South Florida to The International, UCONN to Papa John's.

OK...so I also included three other scenarios to cover all of the bases. I'd rather be thorough than to be wrong. But I'm usually never so thorough, and often find myself oh-so-wrong.

(5). Does anybody out there actually write down how you managed to rig the outdoor Christmas lights so you can be more efficient each year, or are you like me- a mad scientist plugging in lights and watching them short out before your eyes? And because of this, have you invented any new curse words for this most sacred of seasons? Well...I have.

"#@%$#)&@'er's".....and its so damn cold out here!"

(6). I don't know what I found more amusing- Chad Ochocinco putting on a sombrero and poncho after catching a touchdown pass last Sunday (and getting a $30,000 fine from the league for doing it) or seeing ESPN's latest promo featuring Mike Ditka and Snoop Dogg (talk about an odd couple). Nice hat Mike!

(7). I woke up yesterday morning, looked at the calendar, and saw it was December 8th...."Ahhhhh! The "Feast of the Immaculate Reception," I said to myself. Which means either I'm not such a good Catholic (no big news there) or I watch way too much football. Or perhaps both.

(8) Sad news about the WNBA's Sacramento Monarchs being disbanded. Just a few years ago they won the league championship and for years were one of the WNBA's flagship franchises. In recent years the franchises in Charlotte and Houston were dissolved and Detroit is being relocated to Tulsa. A recent press release has said the league wants to have a franchise in the San Francisco Bay area in 2011- new ownership was sought for the Monarchs but not found, and the timetable for a move to the Bay Area just wasn't feasible. A dispersal draft is to be held for the the players on the Monarchs roster.

(9).As The World Turns , the CBS soap opera which made its debut on April 2, 1956, will end its run on September 17, 2010. The age of the daytime soap opera may be nearing an end, with a total of only six on three networks as of fall, 2010. Its yet another blow to the acting fraternity based in New York.

So what will be the replacement? Yet another talk show? A retread gameshow? Or a vapid unreality reality show? I'm not a fan of soaps but at least they are scripted and gave actors a chance to work on their craft. This is just another example of what happens when bean counters take over an industry....ANY industry.

(10). Finally, Rick Malwitz, columnist for The Home News Tribune wrote a great piece; For Some Five Consecutive Bowls Is Not Enough, concerning some of the griping Rutgers Nation is doing about its selection to play Central Florida in The St. Petersburg Bowl. Rick's take is it wasn't that long ago (2004) that Rutgers football fans would sell their first born to go to a bowl game...ANY bowl game, having not gone to one since 1978. And Rick is right- the mere fact that people are complaining about going to a minor bowl game is, in a way, a sign of progress.


I'll be sticking to this self imposed Holiday Schedule until the beginning of the New Year or unless World War III breaks out in the next three weeks, which ever comes first. It works for me....and I have mucho stuff to do, Christmas shopping, and a house to decorate for the holidays....we'll talk to you again on Friday.

Design protection as an incentive? Not to be taken lightly

An unusual initiative from the ever-innovative ACID caught my eye today. According to that organisation's press release,

"ACID (Anti Copying in Design) leads the way with the announcement of a National 2010 campaign to introduce intellectual property ... as another tier onto the criteria for judging design awards in the UK. First to take up the mantle is ACID trade association partner, The Lighting Association’s UK Student Lighting Design Awards 2010. The objective is to ensure that all entrants identify the IP they created, demonstrate what they have put in place to protect their IP and have an IP strategy and communications policy in place. An ACID representative will be appointed to the judging panel to assess the level of awareness. Awards organisers who include this ACID IP tier in their judging criteria will be able to display the ACID IP Accredited Awards logo on their website and marketing material. ...

ACID has carried out 1,000s of one-to-one IP Health Checks at their IP Clinics for over ten years at exhibitions; it makes sense to broaden this out to a National campaign to raise awareness about the importance of IP as a valuable asset through a National awards campaign. Through ACID Accredited Awards schemes, this may encourage more universities to include an IP module as part of the curriculum for courses representing the creative industries. The UKIPO have expanded ACID’s initiative positively with the launch of their own online IP health check, making IP awareness available to many more of the UK’s micro and SMEs.

Many award winners are unaware that in a recent Judgment [Procter & Gamble v Reckitt Benckiser 2007: noted here; full text here], Lord [Justice] Jacob created a welcome precedent for designers, particularly those who have protected their design via a registered Community design. It allows those designers who have won accolades, such as awards, to use this as evidence of commercial success, showing that their design is novel (and enforceable). Previously such evidence would have been largely ignored by the Court in deciding novelty, much to the understandable annoyance of the designer".

The idea of drawing design protection into the awards criteria is commendable: not only does it enhance the awareness of design protection on the part of contestants themselves, but it puts the relevant market sector on notice of the facts that (i) a particular design is protected and (ii) the protection is backed by a legal strategy. However, the evidential value of an award should not be overestimated. All that Jacob LJ said in Procter & Gamble v Reckitt Benckiser was this:

"7. ... Of more relevance (though even this is secondary) is the fact that the P&G design (in the form of its physical embodiment) received some independent accolade. The Judge records this at:

[10] The Febreze product was well-received within the packaging community. At the end of 2004 it won the New Jersey Packaging Executives Package of the Year Award. In 2005 it won the Ameristar Award within the category of household products. The citation for the latter award said:

"Febreze Air Effects is packaged in a uniquely shaped aerosol can that breaks category norms, stands out on the shelf, is easy to use and delivers a superb scent experience for consumers. Febreze redefines the difference a great product and a unique package can make in a customized container and actuator".

Having assessed this evidence, he found that the award-winning design was not infringed because it would produce a different overall effect on the informed consumer to what the trial judge felt was a poor imitation of that design. I suspect that the claimants in this litigation would rather not have won the design award if their failure to do so enabled them to succeed in the infringement proceedings.

Jason's Tattoo Reaps What it Sows

Today's tattoo belongs to Jason, who sports this nifty Reaper on his left forearm:


Inked by his younger sister, Mystie, who was an apprentice at the time in Savannah, Georgia, this is one of seven tattoos Jason has.

He had been working as a grave digger and headstone carver and, he said, "after burying kids younger than me," it made sense to get the tattoo. It's a reminder that "nobody's got forever".

Thanks to Jason for sharing his "grim" tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

A Roundabout Tale of a Swedish Tribal Tattoo

Yesterday, I joined my friend Janet for lunch at Chipotle on 45th Street.

There was a fundraiser at which a $5 contribution bought you a burrito, chips, a drink, and an opportunity to meet Yankees manager Joe Girardi. His charity, The Catch 25 Foundation, was the beneficiary of all proceeds from lunch. Here's proof I'm not making this up.

Janet and I were dopey enough to go without any Yankees memorabilia to get autographed. So he signed a flier for me and (yes, there is a tattooish point to all of this) declined to sign Janet's skin, above her "I ♥ NY" tattoo (featured on the blog here). It was worth a try.

And no, Joe Girardi didn't offer up a tattoo.

However, Janet and I grabbed the downtown V train after lunch. I got off at 34th Street and figured I'd cut through Manhattan Mall.

Waiting at the bottom of the J.C. Penney basement escalator was Julio, visiting New York from Sweden.

Now, I'm not a big fan of tribal designs, but Julio had this pretty cool one on his upper right arm:


See! There is a tattoo in this post!!

Julio's tattoo was inked for him by an artist at Magic Man Tattoo and Art in Skövde, Sweden.

Thanks to Janet for lunch, Joe Girardi for the autograph, and Julio for the tattoo. Tattoosday appreciates all you did to make this post happen!

Holiday Schedule For The Blog

To All Readers, Visitors, and Followers.....Its becoming apparent that the demands of the Holiday Season are going to mean its time to cut back on postings on this blog for the next few weeks. For most of 2009 I posted at least two or three entries per day, but for the duration of the month I'll be chiming in with new material every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday until after the New Year. In the coming weeks I'll comment on "The Year In Review", a look back at the first decade of the 21st century (I can't believe its over already), and a look back at some of the most popular topics and persons on this blog in 2009. Thanks to all of you for your amazing and much appreciated support during the past year. I'll be adding some holiday "bells and whistles" on the blog very, very soon.

"Hugh Jee"