STJ, Ink:Week 14-What Have We Learned Part 2

            As I mentioned in the last blog, I would like to take this last blog to recap on some of the things that I as a journalist have learned and observed over these many weeks of doing this tattoo blog.

     THE biggest thing that surprised me with my interview subjects was the different ways in which they described tattoos as forms of expression.

     Allow me to share some of their quotes with you:

    “I believe tattoos are personal, may they be for expression, art, or simply even for fun. Something so permanent must contain meaning no matter what it may be.”

    “I do believe that tattoos can be a form of expression for some. Some of my friends are covered in very detailed and meaningful tattoos while others have a mess of random pieces. I think of tattooing as an art form just as much as photography, writing, fashion, or drawing. The fact that tattoos are permanent also gives me a sense of how invested someone is about what they chose to get.”

    “I feel that tattoos are a great form of expression. Whether it's a memorial tattoo, personal, funny, or you just like the artwork. Tattoos are an incredible way to express your individuality.”

     I hope that this blog has increased your knowledge and understanding of tattoos and the reasoning behind them. I’d like to thank you for reading and maybe I’ll be interviewing you sometime in the future.

STJ, Ink:Week 13-What Have We Learned Part 1

            Since starting this tattoo blog, I have spoken to many different St. John’s students. These students have all had different backgrounds and life experiences. I made it a point in this blog to ask these students the same question so that, at the end of the road, I would be able to devote 2 blogs to covering the results.  This is the first of those blogs.

            First I would like to cover a few small things that I noticed when it came to the parents of the students.  I was surprised to find out that most of the interviewees also had parents that were tattooed. Obviously, in these cases, the parents were more supportive of the students who chose to get tattooed. In fact, only a few people said that their parents were unsupportive of their tattoos, which is a strong decline from the generation before them.

            Another thing that should be noted about the tattooed students of St. John’s is that while some of them have multiple tattoos, I have yet to interview anybody that I would consider heavily tattooed or that had a sleeve done. What is keeping these students from getting full sleeves or large back/chest pieces? This is something that I will look into in the future whether it is through the blog or with my own personal pursuits.

            Finally, one thing I was happy to learn about my interviewees was that most of them, like myself, had done extensive research before getting their tattoos. For those looking to get their first piece done; I cannot stress the importance of being sure about both the tattoo design itself and the place where you are getting it. There are too many bad tattoos in the world already.

STJ, Ink-Week 12:Freedom

This week, I interviewed Isabel Rajabzadeh, 18, who is a Journalism major and a sophomore here at St. John’s University.

Isabel’s tattoo is one that is located behind her ear and reads “freedom” in Farsi.

Specifically, she explained what the tattoo represents, “My tattoo represents physical and emotional freedom for myself, those closest to me, and also the hope that one day the people of my father’s country will be free. “

She went on to elaborate on the story behind her tattoo, “There are a few different reasons why I got my tattoo. The main reason I got the idea to get it was because my father is from Iran and speaks Farsi. In Iran, there is a constant struggle for civil rights, especially for women. I mainly got the tattoo for the women of Iran that are subjected to the Islamic fascism and cannot express their thoughts or opinions unless they coincide with those of the Iranian regime. They barely have any freedom. That is also why I chose my major in journalism. I also got it because my father and the rest of my Iranian family have always pushed me to be free and fight for what I believe in. I’ve wanted the tattoo for years but I finally agreed to get it when someone very close to me was released out of jail. Those closest to me and I took the imprisonment of the person very roughly. Not only does my tattoo represent my passion for the fight of the Iranian people to become free, but it also symbolizes my own emotional state of freedom and those around me.”

         Surprisingly enough, Isabel has not shown her mother the tattoo yet (I’m guessing it’s easier to hide when you have long hair), but she noted that while her father hates tattoos, he enjoys the meaning behind hers.

STJ, Ink-Week 11:I Am An Expert Procrastinator

         This week, I interviewed my good friend, Mike “Dogman” O’Keeffe, who is a 21 year-old Special Education major from Long Beach, New York.

         Mike’s tattoo is a script tattoo on his side that reads “Grace Under Pressure”.  

         Mike described the meaning behind the quote to me in detail during our interview, he said, “'Grace Under Pressure' was Hemingway's definition of courage. He first said it in a letter he was sending to F. Scot Fitzgerald and when he asked Hemingway what his definition of courage was he simply said 'courage is grace under pressure'. The phrase stuck with me after I had read the letters and I sort of got it as an homage to the pain I went through as a kid having open heart surgery and living with only 3 chambers in my heart.”

         Mike got his tattoo done at 808 Tattoo in Kaneohe, Hawaii while on a surf trip with some friends and he noted that the tattoo had a fun back-story, “Hemingway is my favorite author and I always wanted a tattoo inspired by him. I was in Hawaii on a surf trip visiting a buddy of mine and after we got out of the water he said "hey lets go get tattooed!" and at the time I was reading 'A Farewell to Arms' and I had just recently read the letters Hemingway and Fitzgerald had sent to each other and that phrase stuck with me and in the heat of the moment I decided that would be what I got tattooed. It's my latest tattoo too so that's why I'd say it's currently my favorite.”

         Mike said that he plans on getting more tattoos in the future and if money or his job were not an issue, that he would be covered in them right now.

         To close the interview, I asked Mike to give me his opinion on tattoos as a form of expression. I asked many others this question throughout the course of my blog, but I feel as though Mike hit the nail on the head with his answer, “I feel that tattoos are a great form of expression. Whether it's a memorial tattoo, personal, funny, or you just like the artwork. Tattoos are an incredible way to express your individuality.

I'd say do some research on the place you go for your first. I know one too many people who just walked into a shop and got whatever nonsense the guy showed ‘em just because they were young, dumb, and wanted a tattoo. It's your body so you should feel safe and secure and comfortable with what you're getting. Also don't go out drinking after you get tattooed i made that mistake once and it bled all night."

Seeing as though I am an expert procrastinator, here are a few of the projects for my Communications class that I just finished. Enjoy!

STJ, Ink-Week 10: Take Care

This week, I interviewed the General Manager of WSJU-Radio, Cristina Marcello, who is a 20-year-old Communications Major. 

Cristina’s tattoo is a small script (a tattoo with writing) piece on her wrist that reads “Take Care”. 

Cristina was candid in describing the origin of her first and only tattoo, “The initial reason behind getting it was to remember a difficult time in my life. During this time, Hip Hop and R&B artist Drake, released an album titled 'Take Care.' The album title itself symbolizes pride in one’s work. The saying 'take care' is often thrown around lightly in conversations and we forget its true meaning. Take Care. To me this simple saying is a reminder that no matter what I may be working on or doing in life I should always “take care” of the product rather than getting it done quickly with poor quality. If something requires my attention I should give it my all. This album also helped me find understanding in my pain and allowed me to grow through it. It is a constant reminder of a period in my life where I truly needed to take care of myself. I am the type of person who constantly helps and puts others before myself. From the time I was a young child even until now my mother has always told me I should begin to put myself first. My tattoo is a symbol of just that.” 

She got her tattoo done at the 1603 Tattoo Studio in Ybor, Florida and plans on getting one or two more personal tattoos. 

She summed up her personal feelings on tattoos at the end of our interview; “I believe tattoos are personal, may they be for expression, art, or simply even for fun. Something so permanent must contain meaning no matter what it may be.” Below, you can listen to my radio commercial that I prepared for my class. Enjoy!

STJ, Ink:Week 8-Tattoos for Charity

To be perfectly honest, I was going to spend this week’s edition of STJ, Ink discussing my latest interview, which I had with my friend Christina (which will be saved for the next edition of the blog).  The change of plans occurred when suddenly was convinced into getting a new tattoo a few days ago.

I know what you must be thinking. How could I get a tattoo on a whim after spending so much time in the last blog talking about the amount of thought that I usually put into my tattoo decisions?

The answer is simple: It was for charity.

The concept of discount tattoos for charity was a foreign concept to me at the time of my tattoo, so I wouldn’t expect you all to know what it is.

From what I now understand, tattoo shops will sometimes promote discounted tattoos for events such as the opening of a shop, a holiday, the hiring of a new apprentice, or in my case, a charity event.

The specific charity that this shop was promoting was an organization called Project Woodhaven, which at this time is working to assist in relief efforts in the wake of the destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy.

I first learned of this promotion while browsing through the Facebook page of the Beaver Tattoo Shop of Woodhaven, New York.  This all-female tattoo shop (how cool is that?) has been on my radar for a while now because of my constant search of local tattoo shops.

Anyways, the first thing that I saw on their page was a photo advertising a flash sheet for $30 tattoos in support of Project Woodhaven.

Now I know what you all are thinking of when I mention a $30 tattoo (and yes, it’s pretty scary), but after looking at the portfolios of the artists at the shop, I was sure that this was the right decision to make.

To be perfectly honest, I don’t regret it one bit! The tattoo itself looks fantastic and the shop was professional and clean (even by my standards). Plus, I feel very good about spending my tattoo money on a good cause and that feeling with stay with me as long as I have the tattoo.

In my final installment of Presidential Campaign news, you would have to be living under a rock to have missed what occurred last week. President Barack Obama was re-elected in a landslide victory over Governor Mitt Romney to become the President of the United States.  One interesting fact in my opinion was that all of the hype behind Mitt Romney’s debate performances turned out to be a non-factor in terms of voting.

Also, here are the edited and unedited versions of an audio interview I did earlier this year for class, enjoy!

STJ, Ink-Week 7:My Street Cred

Since starting this blog, I’ve been asked about my credibility on more than one occasion. I’ve been asked, ‘Why should we listen to you? What do you know about tattoos?’

These people are right! So I’ve decided to give a little background on my tattoo experiences in order to establish my credibility (and so people will stop asking my obnoxious questions).

From a very young age I always knew that I wanted to get a tattoo, even if I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to get.   My parents weren’t exactly thrilled with this desire, but with my exposure to bikers, action movies, and heavy metal music increasing with my age, they soon came to accept it as inevitable.

About a month after my 18^th birthday was the time that walked into the Angry Banana Tattoo Shop to get my first piece of work.  At this point I was trying to get a piece that was both cool and wouldn’t be too risqué, so I chose to go with the wolf.

As you can see, the sizeable tattoo that now covers my right arm had a pretty humble beginning.

 I got the second part of the wolf done about six months later at the same shop and by the same artist. I’m actually scheduling to get the piece finished over the holiday break and I will definitely keep you all updated.

As I’ve done these interviews, I’ve noticed that my subjects have had varying levels of difficulty with dealing with the obvious connotations that come with having a tattoo. My advice to them is this: If you feel strongly enough about an image or piece of art to get it tattooed on your body, then you should have no trouble defending it.

Personally, I have NEVER had a single issue with defending my decision to get any of my tattoos and never will, even when I’ve covered in them.

To end this rather rant-filled blog, I’d like to say that I’m glad that I grew in a time where a guy like me could get a tattoo or five and would still be able to gain employment and lead a semi-normal life in this country, a statement that would have been hard to defend years ago.

By this point, you should be used to the fact that I have been concluding my blogs with my personal highlights of this week’s Presidential Campaign events. It should come as no surprise that my highlight for this week is the Presidential Debate at Hofstra between President Obama and Governor Romney. In my opinion, Obama came back very strongly at this week’s debate and did a fair job of recovering from his problems at the first debate.