Tattoo

Eric Hartsburg, the pro wrestler who got the Mitt Romney logo tattooed on his face for $15,000, has decided to have the tattoo removed. "I had a little change of heart," he said Friday. Hartsburg went on to say that Romney's recent comment that President Obama was re-elected because he gave "gifts" to women, minorities and college students made him change his mind. "I could deal with being a part of a losing campaign, but to still stand behind Gov. Romney with the positions he's taken post-election with the blame game instead," Hartsburg said.

The documentary "Tattoo Nation" deftly chronicles the journey of modern tattoo artistry in the United States as it moved from the margins to the mainstream. Director Eric Schwartz, aided by writer-producer John Corry, writer-editor Marco Jakubowicz and narrator Corey Miller (TLC's "L.A. Ink"), has crafted a vivid portrait that should satisfy aficionados and intrigue the curious. Ink-averse viewers, however, may remain unsold. Once mainly the province of servicemen, gang members, drug addicts and convicts, tattoos are now de rigueur (an estimated 45 million Americans have at least one)

David Beckham fell on his enviously sculpted bottom over the weekend after showing off some of his "Bend It Like Beckham" moves in China. The British soccer star, who recently left the L.A. Galaxy for the Paris-St. Germain football club, was visiting the country to promote his sport. He has been named China's first international ambassador and was invited by the China Football Association for a five-day trip.  On Saturday, Beckham was demonstrating a kick to the Wuhan Zall Football Club while he was dressed to the nines - suit, tie and dress shoes.

David Beckham fell on his enviously sculpted bottom over the weekend after showing off some of his "Bend It Like Beckham" moves in China. The British soccer star, who recently left the L.A. Galaxy for the Paris-St. Germain football club, was visiting the country to promote his sport. He has been named China's first international ambassador and was invited by the China Football Association for a five-day trip.  On Saturday, Beckham was demonstrating a kick to the Wuhan Zall Football Club while he was dressed to the nines - suit, tie and dress shoes.

The process was routine. L.A. County Sheriff's homicide investigator Kevin Lloyd was flipping through snapshots of tattooed gang members. Then one caught his attention. Inked on the pudgy chest of a young Pico Rivera gangster who had been picked up and released on a minor offense was the scene of a 2004 liquor store slaying that had stumped Lloyd for more than four years. Each key detail was right there: the Christmas lights that lined the roof of the liquor store where 23-year-old John Juarez was gunned down, the direction his body fell, the bowed street lamp across the way and the street sign — all under the chilling banner of RIVERA KILLS, a reference to the gang Rivera-13.

David Letterman has never been late night TV's most affable host, but during Justin Bieber's visit to “The Late Show” Thursday night, the host was in an especially cantankerous mood. Why the cranky demeanor? Blame it on the Beeb's new body art. The teen heartthrob commemorated the release of his new album, “Believe,” earlier this week with a new tattoo on the inside of his forearm. After spotting the fresh ink, Letterman wondered, “Oh God, how many do you have?

'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo' MPAA rating: Unrated Running time: 2 hours, 32 minutes, Swedish with English subtitles Playing: In selected theaters

It's a tip that bears repeating at a time when it's practically more of a subversive act to not have some kind of body art: If you must get a tattoo, take the long view when it comes to your choices. Faced with concerns about a swastika tattoo he received during his younger days fronting a heavy metal band, Russian opera singer Evgeny Nikitin has pulled out of the renowned Bayreuth Festival in Germany, according to the event's organizers. Nikitin was to appear in a performance of Wagner's "The Flying Dutchman" later this week.

It's things like this that make it difficult to be a fan of professional wrestling. Independent pro wrestler Eric Hartsburg, who I'm assume wrestles under the name The Ultimate Idiot, auctioned off tattoo advertising space on his face for $15,000 on EBay . The winner, who has yet to be named, chose the logo of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Hartsburg had the tattoo placed on his right temple. But get this: Not wanting to settle for just $15,000, he plans to auction off tattoo space on his forehead next.

Few people can say that when they come to work in the morning they feel closer to God. In my case, this may have something to do with the multicolored tattoo of the Virgin Mary that extends from my secretary's neck to her right elbow. This week, Kelly's iconic arm could well be an exhibit in a case before the U.S. Supreme Court. At issue is whether tattooing is a protected form of religious or political speech under the Constitution.

That temporary henna tattoo may leave a longer-lasting physical effect than you had hoped for, and it may not be pretty, the Food and Drug Administration said Monday.    That's because an extra ingredient included in the longer-lasting “black henna” tattoos in wide use today - hair dye including p-phenylenediamine, or PPD - can cause nasty allergic reactions in some people, including redness, blisters, oozing lesions, increased sensitivity to...

Gimme some of that Former NBA forward-center P.J. Brown , on whether he could still play in the league if he were able to replicate whatever is making Kobe Bryant so effective in his 17th professional season: "If Kobe gave me some of what he's on, maybe. Because he's like 25 out there. He's back at school in Philadelphia or something. I don't know. He's out there doing it. He's getting it done. Maybe I got to head to Germany or something. " You're the victim? Sacramento forward DeMarcus Cousins , on his ejection for hitting Milwaukee's Mike Dunleavy in the head with an elbow shortly after Dunleavy undercut him while boxing out: "Actually, I was cool about it because I really didn't know if he did it on purpose.

According to Miley Cyrus, her engagement ring was at the shop. Or something like that. Cyrus dropped a clue Thursday on Twitter after one of her backup singers complained Thursday about sending her own engagement ring off to get fixed, because one of the little diamonds had fallen out. "ugh that's the worst!," Miley replied . "I just had a similar situation except when it happens to me then everyone says my wedding is off. " The former "Hannah Montana" star (don't tell her we called her that)

SAN FRANCISCO -- Netflix has a genuine fan boy in Myron Robinson, the first person we know of to make that fervor a permanent addition to his body. Robinson, a college student and aspiring fashion designer from Indiana, says he admired the company and its founder Reed Hastings so much, he tattooed "Netflix" on his stomach. (For all you skeptics out there, he swears it's "definitely real. ") Robinson couldn't keep the tattoo under wraps (or under his shirt) for long. He tweeted his tattoo to Netflix,  which gave him a shout out and a subscription . Even Hastings took notice on his Facebook page.

When Noomi Rapace and Niels Arden Oplev first met to discuss adapting the bestselling "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" nearly five years ago, one filmmaker's name kept coming up. "We talked about movies that inspired us, and it always came back to 'Zodiac' and David Fincher," the Swedish-born actress, 33, said in a joint interview last week with the Danish-born Oplev, 51. "It was a little strange. " It's not lost on the duo that Fincher would later helm the English-language remake of their Swedish-language thriller.

Adele admits that having a baby has kept her "out of the loop," but the Grammy-winning songstress is working hard to keep baby watchers out of her loop. The "Set Fire to the Rain" singer, who gave birth in October , won't reveal the name of her newborn son with boyfriend Simon Konecki. But a tattoo of an "A" spotted on her neck at the Grammy awards has speculators wondering if she got the ink for her her baby boy. Some believe that the A stands for Angelo, which was written on a necklace the new mom was wearing a few weeks ago. But, it could also stand for Adele, you know.

Forget those old, bulky electrodes of the past. Researchers have created a device that can track your heart, brain and muscle activity as effectively as conventional monitoring systems -- and is thin enough to be laminated onto the skin like a temporary tattoo. Down the line, such electronic patches could be used to monitor vital functions, aid in physical rehabilitation or perhaps be deployed in covert military operations. John Rogers, a materials scientist with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, discussed the research and its potential future uses.

Nokia is taking steps to make sure you never miss another phone call, text or email alert again: The company has filed a patent for a tattoo that would send "a perceivable impulse" to your skin whenever someone tried to contact you on the phone. Talk about letting technology get under your skin! According to the patent filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the phone would communicate with the tattoo through magnetic waves. The phone would emit magnetic waves and the tattoo would act as a receiver.

Seven Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies have been notified that the department intends to fire them for belonging to a secret law enforcement clique that allegedly celebrated shootings and branded its members with matching tattoos, officials said. The Times reported last year about the existence of the clique, dubbed the Jump Out Boys, and the discovery of a pamphlet that described the group's creed, which required aggressive policing and awarded tattoo modifications for police shootings.

Were you bothered by Daniel Day Lewis' pierced ears in “Lincoln” because it threw off the film's historical accuracy? Never mind all of the praise Lewis has received for transforming into the 16th president in mind and body. The minuscule holes in the actor's earring-less ears were enough to distract some history buffs, writes The Times' Rebecca Keegan . Seriously. That reaction probably didn't come as much of a surprise to Hollywood casting directors who've been tasked more than ever with finding actors whose natural looks fit in seamlessly in period pieces.