Tattoo’s, good or bad?

Tattoo’s are always a subject that divide opinion. Some people believe they are cool and fashionable, others hate them; calling them tacky and distasteful. Trying to be as unbiased as I can (because I have two tattoo’s myself) I will try to evaluate whether they are a good or bad thing.

Firstly a tattoo should never be something that a person rushes into. In my case I considered the first tattoo I had for well over a year. When I was happy with my decision I then set out to find a tattoo parlor with a well established reputation. Never, ever go on a spur of the moment trip to any old parlor. People should remember that needles are involved in the application of a tattoo, and if needles are unclean then there are huge risks, like AIDS. This may sound stupidly obvious but a tattoo is something that should be well thought out.

Tattoo’s in society are most definitely frowned upon. There is a good chance if you have a tattoo in a place that is on show, i.e. below your elbow, on your neck etc then you will be at a disadvantage in a job interview. Is this wrong? Yes. However there are still people in society who are prejudicial of tattoo’s, claiming they are “unprofessional”. Tattoo’s are still banned in some areas of Japan as they have previous associations to Yakuza gang violence. Police in Japan don’t want to promote this type of image to easily influenced youths.  Thus conveying that there are still places in the world were tattoo’s are heavily frowned upon.

My friend, James Marshall, currently has a half sleeve down his left arm. He isn’t bothered about social opinions, because he has strong views on the matter himself. “If people want to judge me on my tattoo’s then let them. A tattoo is artwork on my body, I don’t have it for other people. It is for me and I am proud of mine. The social opinions on tattoo’s are changing for the better as they are becoming more and more common place, meaning they are more socially acceptable. This inspires me.”

When I think of my role models in life, David Beckham springs to mind immediately. This is because I am a huge football fan, and also because he is an extremely likable character. He has covered himself with tattoo’s all over his body in the last few years, admitting it is an addiction. Therefore many people feel inspired to have a  tattoo, as they see people like David Beckham embracing tattoo’s. Is this a good or a bad thing? I feel as though this depends entirely on the tattoo itself. If it is tasteful, or more importantly, if the owner of the tattoo likes it then yes, it is a good thing. Personally I can relate to David Beckham as he is a source of inspiration for me.

Some people argue “Won’t it look horrible and wrinkly when you are old?” to this I respond, “Won’t the rest of my body look like that anyway? What difference will a bit of ink make if I’m going to be old and disgusting anyway.” On a serious note, who’s going to see my body when I’m 80 years old anyway? And who’s to say I’m going to survive until I’m an old man. To me, the question asked above is extremely pessimistic as there are too many undetermined factors which could take place. So for me if you want a tattoo go for it.

On the whole people should remember that  a tattoo is someone’s choice. Everybody is different, and everybody has the right to their own tastes and opinions. In my opinion as long as a tattoo is applied in the correct procedure, with the correct facilities in place, then there is no problem what-so-ever. Of course people will disagree for various reasons and they are entitled to their opinions, but no-one will stop me adding to my collection of tattoo’s and David Beckham is correct: tattoo’s are certainly addictive.

Credit goes to George Joshua Harrison for the photography. Click here to check out his blog.

Blackberry is back!!!

Well as the title says, I finally got my blackberry back. Which means I’m very, very happy! I had to wait about three and a half weeks, and I even had to drive all the way to Lichfield, but I don’t mind, because I’ve got it back!! I was sick to death of using the crap Nokia with its special ‘flash light’ feature. It’s already making a big difference having it back as I can know take horrible pictures of people again, muwahaha. I can also check Facebook off my phone again now to fill in those awkward silences with random people. Its crazy how technology can make such an impact on people’s lives.

One of my many sneaky photo's

Talking of technology all the geeks have been locked away in doors playing Call of Duty: Black Ops. I had a go the other day, I thought it was fairly good, but I don’t understand how so many people can dedicate themselves to the game. I mean people follow it like a religion, are they really that sad? And do they really not have better things to do? I sure wish I could waste my life away playing Black Ops…  Incidentally the boy in the photograph above wants to steal a cow haha.

Missing my Blackberry…

About two weeks ago, well actually two weeks and three days ago I broke my blackberry curve. I’d had the phone about hmm nine months? on a 24 month contract, and guess what? I don’t have insurance. Why you ask? Because I’m a student and I can’t afford to pay an extra £15 a month to cover my phone… but here’s where my problem lies. I didn’t actually do anything to brake the phone. I’ve looked after that phone as if it was my baby, and I’m not one of those people who don’t take good care of there stuff. So don’t think I’ve been throwing it around or being reckless with it. I pull the phone out of my pocket to see a white fuzzy screen, great I think, the stupid thing has frozen again. So I turn it off and back on again… still the same screen. So I repeat the process but take the battery out as well, still broke! At this point I start panicking and get angry. Realising I’m not even half way into my 24 month contract I lash out and hit the nearest object… the wall. Great, my hands now cut and bruised and I’ve still got a broken phone. Resisting the temptation to throw the phone against the wall, or go and find a sledge hammer and smash it into pieces Triple H style, I calm down. Decide I’ll take it into Phones4U the next day and do my best to forget about it.

The next day I wake up, full of optimism that things will be sorted and my baby will be fixed. What a fool I am! When I take the phone into Phones4U the guy behind the sales desk laughs at me for not having insurance. Joking around, rubbing it in my face that my phone is broken. He also criticises my contract tariff, boasting that he could of gave me a better deal. He then goes on to explain how he’s had three I-phone 4’s because he has insurance and how he’s sold them to his ‘mates’ and made some money on the side… Here I am thinking well this is great but what about my bloody phone!!! In the end he mutters something about my blackberry being sent to Belgium and that it’s going to take 4-5 weeks to repair… What a joke!

Now I’m stuck using a crappy old Nokia, that has no camera, no internet, nothing at all. Apart from the facility to text and ring people, Oh and some shitty little flash light that doesn’t even work in the dark! (Yes I have tried it, sadly enough) I feel incomplete without my blackberry now and it’s beginning to grate away at me more every day. Many of my friends have had similar problems with their Blackberry’s and it makes me question whether it’s even worth having one… then I realise, I’m not one of those rich brats, whose parents buy everything for. Great, I’m stuck with what I’ve got, and what I’ve got isn’t good. To make matters worse the last time I went on a night out an attractive girl ‘gave me the eyes’. Thinking I had scored I pulled my phone out to turn around and see that in horror she had seen the phone and was subsequently ignoring me… brilliant, what’s next?  The sooner I get my Blackberry back the quicker I’ll get my life back!!!

Here is a standard photo of my phone in all its glory!