Tattoo

Is fiction good for us? We spend huge chunks of our lives immersed in novels, films, TV shows, and other forms of fiction. Some see this as a positive thing, arguing that made-up stories cultivate our mental and moral development. But others have argued that fiction is mentally and ethically corrosive. It's an ancient question: Does fiction build the morality of individuals and societies, or does it break it down? This controversy has been flaring up — sometimes literally, in the form of book burnings — ever since Plato tried to ban fiction from his ideal republic.

Sade Adu may have appeared confident when she hit the stage on her massive U.S. tour last year in her all-black ensemble, svelte look, high heels and red lips. But the 53-year-old singer was nervous. So nervous, she gave someone backstage a tattoo. "It was giving me something to divert me from the chaos of getting ready psychologically to go out there," Adu said in a recent interview. "I think I was more stressed about giving that tattoo than I was (doing) the show that night.

ATLANTA -- A worrisome superbug seen in prisoners and athletes is also showing up in people who get illegal tattoos, federal health officials said yesterday. Forty-four tattoo customers in Ohio, Kentucky, and Vermont developed skin infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The infections occurred in 2004 and 2005, and were traced to 13 unlicensed tattoo artists, according to an article in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

A body art practitioner is hoping to open the first tattoo parlor in Concord this summer, if his application to the Board of Health is approved. On May 15, Kurt Brown is scheduled to appear before the board seeking two approvals: one for himself as a licensed body art practitioner and a second for his proposed establishment in the Dino's building at the corner of Main and Cottage streets in West Concord. It used to be illegal in Massachusetts for anyone but a physician to give you a tattoo.

SEATTLE -- The new tattoo is on Gabe Kapler's giant, muscular left calf. It's a view of the San Fernando Valley coming up the 405 from Los Angeles. It's got buildings and mountains bathed in bright sunshine. It's the peaceful, optimistic calf, and it's still healing because he had the tattoo done during the All-Star break. The old tattoo is on Kapler's giant, muscular right calf and it's got dark clouds, lightning, and rain. Very ominous. It symbolizes the struggles one goes through during a baseball season.

How desperate are you not to miss a phone call, email, or text? Desperate enough to wear a tattoo that vibrates every time you get a message? That's what phone-maker Nokia is banking on: they filed a patent last September for a vibrating tattoo, worn on the skin, that picks up magnetic signals emitted by electronic devices that may be as far as an arm-reach away. As one who shuns those annoying buzzing ear devices, I say no, but others may be eager to wear the more discrete patch.

Sade Adu may have appeared confident when she hit the stage on her massive U.S. tour last year in her all-black ensemble, svelte look, high heels and red lips. But the 53-year-old singer was nervous. So nervous, she gave someone backstage a tattoo. "It was giving me something to divert me from the chaos of getting ready psychologically to go out there," Adu said in a recent interview. "I think I was more stressed about giving that tattoo than I was (doing) the show that night.

The Internet has been buzzing ever since a paparazzi photographer got a good shot of the dolphin tattoo on Ben Affleck 's lower back. People.com actually explains the tattoo on its list of "fun facts" about the Boston actor. The website states: "Ben Affleck covered a tattoo of his high school sweetheart's name with a dolphin. " Let that be a lesson to high school kids everywhere.

Reaper 9 p.m. Channel 56 Where have you gone, Julie Cooper? Oh, a show about hell. Melinda Clarke of "The O.C. " guest-stars as a woman who's dating the devil. ON YOUR MARK London Ink 8 p.m. TLC Maybe TLC now stands for "Tattoo-Lovin' Channel. " In the wake of "LA Ink" and "Miami Ink," we now get a six-week saga about owners and patrons of a London tattoo parlor, like Nikole (left). Law & Order: SVU 10 p.m. Channel 7 Do all TV nannies have illicit affairs?

Bill Belichick said before his team's midday practice a short while ago that yesterday's day off for players from the practice field was good for the coaching staff and gave them a chance to regroup, evaluate what they had seen in camp sessions to that point, and set a plan for camp going forward. Belichick was asked about Albert Haynesworth's progress thus far and said the D-lineman is "doing fine. He has a long way to go ... but we'll take it day by day. " He declined to discuss Haynesworth's past transgressions but said when the team brings any player into the mix,...

A body art practitioner is hoping to open the first tattoo parlor in Concord this summer, if his application to the Board of Health is approved. On May 15, Kurt Brown of Acton is scheduled to appear before the board seeking two approvals: one for himself as a licensed body art practitioner and a second for his proposed establishment in the Dino's building at the corner of Main and Cottage streets in West Concord. It used to be illegal in Massachusetts for anyone but a physician to give you a tattoo.

Q. My mother just passed away, and I am the eldest of three brothers. For some odd reason, we don't communicate often due to how our family was structured. I am not a perfect person, though I have tried to seek redemption for my past mistakes. I am the one, however, who is still perceived as having mental issues and no concept of the "real world. " Everyone is entitled to perceive and interpret the world as they will, but it seems that once people have made up their minds, they only see what they want to see. Since the death of our mother, we've had some bonding, but there is still tension in...

Maybe you're the sort of person who finds the annual slosh through the Boston Wine Expo a tad staid, the average age well above your demographic comfort zone, and the whole affair a little lacking in the temporary tattoo department. If so, you'll be thrilled that Wine Riot Boston will surge into the Park Plaza Castle this weekend, ready to pull the corks on 250 bottles. Rioters can choose from three four-hour insurgencies, one on Friday and two on Saturday, and from a variety of educational meet-ups.

The Board of Health voted this week to allow children ages 14 to 17 to get tattoos from licensed artists if they have written consent from a parent or guardian who accompanies them to the tattoo parlor. Board member Nancie Zecco told The Telegram & Gazette the goal is to prevent teens from going to unlicensed artists, which can spread HIV, hepatitis, and infections. The owner of one of the two tattoo parlors in the town said that even though it is legal, he has no intention of inking children.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Author Harry Crews, a hell-raiser and cult favorite whose hard and crazy times inspired his brutal tales of the rural South, died Wednesday in Gainesville, Fla. He was 76 and had suffered from neuropathy, said his former wife, Sally Ellis Crews. "He had been very ill," she said Thursday. "In a way it was kind of a blessing. He was in a lot of pain. " Thanks in part to motorcycle accidents and nerve damage in his feet, he had walked with a cane in recent years.

How desperate are you not to miss a phone call, email, or text? Desperate enough to wear a tattoo that vibrates every time you get a message? That's what phone-maker Nokia is banking on: they filed a patent last September for a vibrating tattoo, worn on the skin, that picks up magnetic signals emitted by electronic devices that may be as far as an arm-reach away. As one who shuns those annoying buzzing ear devices, I say no, but others may be eager to wear the more discrete patch.

Authorities are seeking help in identifying the body of man believed to be Hispanic and between the ages 25 and 35, found about 8 a.m. yesterday on a dirt road leading to a Department of Public Works sand pit. The man was 5-foot-10 and 177 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair, according to the Worcester County district attorney's office. Officials released a photo of a tattoo on the man's right calf of four Asian symbols with flames coming from each. Officials are encouraging anyone with information to call State Police at 508-829-8420 or Fitchburg police at 978-345-9648.

No film in recent memory has a more arresting opening few minutes than "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" (2011). Even if you're already familiar with damaged cyberpunk Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara) and the twisted mystery she's drawn into by investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig), there's endless satisfaction in watching director David Fincher tease the story. Details are parceled out in morphing black-oil computer renderings as palpably toxic as Lisbeth's inner turmoil.

If the whole singing and acting thing ever falls apart for Jennifer Hudson, you might find her working at a tattoo parlor. The Oscar- and Grammy-winning performer was interviewed at the Grammy Museum on Saturday by Bob Santelli, the director of the museum. At one point, he asked her what she would be doing if she wasn't able to pursue a career in singing or acting. "I promised myself a long time ago I would use my gifts and my talents," she said. She added that she could draw: "(I'd)