[Adam Riff] Jon over at Adam Riff, operating, as always, at full slaying power, has been following this “hot dog tattoo” trend for a little over a week now, with sexy delicious results:

A link to a tattoo of a hot dog in a leather jacket led to a tattoo of a hot dog squirting condiments on her breasts and free records for anyone who gets a tattoo of a hot dog and a comment from someone who claims to have seen a tattoo of the Black Flag logo with hot dogs in place of the bars.

So, um … anyone got some awesome hot dog tattoos to share? Or had one in mind for ages? Now’s the time, friends.

[ABC Local] Quick one here: Do you live in the Toledo, Ohio, area and have an old musical instrument kicking around? Well, bring it on by to Juki’s Tattoo and Body Piercing, who will be donating these instruments to the Imagine Madison Avenue School of Arts, and you’ll get yourself a free tattoo out of the deal. If you bring in a new, unwrapped toy, those will be donated to children in local homeless shelters, and you’ll receive half-off a new tattoo. Get to it, Toledo.

[Daily Camera] So, here’s something: Aimee Heckel over at the Daily Camera has long suffered from debilitating anxiety and panic attacks, but, a few months ago, got a cleavage surface piercing, and the anxiety ceased. She theorizes:

Several weeks later, I was at my acupuncturist. I told him about my piecing. I asked him if the rod through my chest could affect the flow of my energy, or “chi” in Eastern medicine. If sticking tiny acupuncture needles into your body can transform you, what about a more permanent puncture?

He looked at where I was pierced and smiled.

“You pieced two exact acupuncture points,” he said. “The anxiety points.”

Acupuncturists place needles there to reduce panic attacks, insomnia and anxiety. The increased blood flow and changed direction of the energy there often eliminates panic attacks, he said. I had never talked to him about my struggles with anxiety.

Which is when I realized I have not had an attack since I got the piercing.

Still haven’t.

It’s interesting, to say the very least — especially considering Heckel didn’t get the piercing with the intention of addressing her anxiety, and that that as just an after-effect that it took her a while to notice. Her article then goes on to discuss something called Ear Stapling, which is basically just a tragus piercing, I guess? But the woman who does it claims it does all sorts of magical things:

Ear stapling has been around for over 20 years and is fast becoming one of the most sought after innovative alternative methods to stop smoking, and to lose weight. A small surgical stainless steel device is strategically placed in the inner cartilage of the ear to target certain reflex points in the ear. The staples work by applying pressure to the ear reflex points, which send signals to the brain, causing endorphins to release, and communicate with your body.

[BBC] I’ve been forgetting to post this, but the BBC recently put together a documentary slideshow about tattoo culture within South African prisons, with some really stunning photography of many former inmates. This is absolutely worth your time.

[Removable Parts] Are you in Toronto? Do you like musicals? Having a lingering fascination with voluntary amputation? Well hot holy damn, Serendipity wants to give you a thundering high-five, because Removable Parts, a musical about voluntary amputation (seriously) is rolling into The Music Gallery in Toronto tomorrow night, with tickets on sale for $15. (More ticket info can be found on their Facebook page HERE.)

But what does a song about voluntary amputation sound like, you ask? Well, take a peek over at the Songs page and you can listen to .mp3s of “Fingers,” “Hands” and “Castration.” Some sample lyrics:

I understand your frustration
But for me castration
Well, it’s an evolutionary decision
I want to be more than just a breeder
I want to be a leader
And sometimes you just have to know when to quit

Why would I pass along these defective genes
They’ve caused me nothing but trouble
There comes a point when survival by any means
Is just not worth the struggle

You’ve always said that my erection
Could use a vivisection
But no one will castrate the rank and file
So I’ll have to become a pedophile
For the treatment I deserve

[First Giving] When Chris Mischler was 16, his 57-year-old dad, a diabetes sufferer, died of a heart attack. Years later, he’s decided to raise awareness (and money, naturally) to help fight diabetes, though not through your traditional charity-runs or what have you. No: Mischler is turning himself into Mr. T.

A month ago, I had a full head of hair, no beard, no piercings, and no tattoos. I challenged my friends, family and coworkers to raise money for diabetes research, and at specified targets, I would make myself look more like Mr. T. They reached all the goals faster than I ever imagined, and pretty much turned a normal guy from Milwaukee into a Mr. T look-alike, albeit much smaller and more pale.

[...] I don’t have an unhealthy obsession with him. I mean, like any other guy my age, I thought he was cool when I was a kid. The challenge started out as a way to get people at my workplace to donate, and I thought the Mr. T hair would be a good bet because nobody thought I would really do it. Now, well, it’s sort of taken on a life of its own.

Mischler, thus far, has grown a beard, dyed his blond hair black, shaved his head into a mohawk and gotten an ear piercing, all to the tune of $500 raised. But now that he’s hit that mark, he’s raising the bar — now, he’s (hopefully) getting tattooed.

The next challenge is:
Phase 5:
$2,500 by Nov 9, 2008
“I Pity The Fool!” tattoo on my arm

Followed by the following challenges, at 2 week intervals, if each goal is met in time:
Phase 6: $7,500 A portrait of Mr. T above the text “I Pity The Fool!”
Phase 7: $20,000 The size of the tattoo doubles, to take up most of my upper arm
Phase 8: $50,000 An A-Team collage ‘quarter-sleeve’ tattoo
Phase 9: $100,000 A full A-Team collage tattoo on my back

Permission to editorialize? This guy is awesome. The sponsorship prices are steep, and, truth be told, I’m not sure what the chances are of anyway contributing $100,000 to see him get an A-Team backpiece (although God knows someone should), but this guy’s got a premise and he’s sticking to it. He’s at almost $2,000 now, which is nearing the mark for an “I Pity The Fool!” banner. Pass it on.

Photo source: RescueInk.org

[Rescue Ink] See those guys over there? The big, muscly ones? With all the tattoos? Who look like they just finished burning a series of villages to the ground? Who do not in any way look like they appreciate the stinkeye you’re giving them right now?

They’re actually pretty big sweethearts, and are part of the team behind Rescue Ink, an organization devoted to saving abused and neglected animals by any means necessary. The day jobs of these guys include firefighting, championship weightlifting and bodybuilding, martial arts training, auto mechanics, and one guy was even a detective with the NYPD. All of which is to say, these guys are for real, and are all bound by a common love of animals:

We formed Rescue Ink™ because the problem of animal abuse and neglect has grown beyond the resources of the existing animal welfare agencies. We love the work done by some of the local shelters, but they cannot possibly keep pace with the volume of problems that need to be addressed.

That’s where Rescue Ink™ comes in. We will stop at nothing within the bounds of the law to protect animals at risk. We will intercede without hesitation when we are informed of a situation that needs to be addressed, and we will address it. If we need to convince people to do the right thing … we can be very convincing, we’ll even buy animals if that’s what it takes to get them away from abusers.

Among the programs and services they offer and participate in are puppy mill awareness sessions, feral cat neutering, animal housing workshops and anti-dogfighting activism, and they’re always looking for volunteers. Just don’t screw them over, because oh my God they can hurt you.

[Fredericksburg.com] So, down in Fredericksburg, Virginia, Jack Brown’s Tattoo Revival is hosting its annual Tattoo For Community fundraiser this weekend, during which literally 100 percent of all proceeds from tattoo work go to benefit the Fredericksburg Area Food Bank. In addition, the studio is holding a canned-food drive — bring three cans or more, and you get $10 off any piercing.

“With the economy being so bad and so many people losing their jobs, we decided it was more important than ever to support the Food Bank,” [Kenny] Brown, [co-owner of the shop] said.

[...] “We are trying to feed 30 families with the same funding we used for feeding 10,” she said. “This is a great time of need for the bank.”

Brown said that his own business is also suffering from the current economic crisis.

“We might have to save a few of those cans for ourselves,” Brown joked.

Sarcasm aside, Brown is serious about his philanthropy.

“Every year it gets harder to find the time and money for charity,” he said. “This is our way of giving back and keeping our ties with the community.”