Student Loan Blog : art

Going Skin Deep: FDA Studies Risks Posed by Tattoos

Student Loan Girl — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 07:44:00 GMT

Rashes, swelling and blistering — that’s the price you could pay to get your body inked.

Spurred by a growing number of reports of skin problems and irritations, and with the popularity of body inking on the rise, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has begun studying the chemical compositions of tattoo and permanent makeup inks.

Researchers want to know how these inks break down in the body, their long-term effects, and which products pose a risk, writes Newhouse News Service reporter Robert Cohen (“FDA to Review Tattoo Chemicals,” Feb. 11, 2008).

State of the Body Art

Tattoos are no longer just the badge of bikers, punk rockers, and ex-cons. Body art has become a mainstream accessory, showing up on everyone from straight-laced college kids to suburban housewives.

More than a third of 18- to 40-year-olds in the United States have a tattoo, a 2006 survey by the Pew Research Center found. And popular reality shows Inked on A&E and L.A. Ink and Miami Ink on TLC have brought the art — and business — of tattooing into T.V.-watchers’ living rooms.

As a business, tattooing is now a $2.3 billion industry domestically, with about 15,000 tattoo parlors nationwide, most of them small, independent shops.

Tattoo parlors are regulated by the states, but state regulation typically focuses on sanitation and basic health codes, Cohen explains, not on the safety of the dyes.

Now the FDA, which admits “it has never exercised its power under the federal cosmetic law to regulate inks or pigments used in tattoos and in the permanent makeup for eyeliner, lip liner and eyebrow color,” wants to step in.

Scratching the Surface

The FDA likely wants to avert a large-scale outbreak of skin problems like those caused by inks from Texas-based Premier Pigments in 2003 and 2004.

More than 52,000 containers of the inks were recalled in 2005, but not before the FDA received reports of more than 150 cases of people suffering from swelling, cracking, peeling, blistering, scarring, and chronically inflamed tissue where the pigments were used.

5 Ways to Protect Yourself

Skin infection is just one of the possible hazards of body inks. Tattooing done without taking adequate precautions can also spread blood-borne infections like hepatitis, tetanus, and HIV.

If you’re thinking about getting a tattoo, here are five ways to help you minimize your risk.

Get your shots. Make sure you’re up-to-date with your immunizations (like hepatitis and tetanus shots).

Look for sterile tools. Ask to see the tattoo studio’s autoclave, a device that uses steam, pressure and heat to sterilize equipment.

Go to a professional. Check that the tattoo artist is a licensed practitioner.

Make sure the studio follows standard safety precautions. Be sure the tattoo parlor follows the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s universal precautions for occupational exposure to blood or other potentially infectious materials. Artists should use gloves, gowns, and protective eyewear, and should practice exposure control by washing their hands, properly disposing of contaminated materials, etc.

Use common sense. Get recommendations from tattooed friends. If the studio looks dirty or makes you uncomfortable, go somewhere else.

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7 Offbeat, Memorable and Affordable Valentine Gift Ideas

Student Loan Girl — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 12:14:00 GMT

Let’s face it: A box of chocolates, a fistful of flowers, and a dinner out aren’t going to get you into the Valentine’s Day Hall of Fame & Everlasting Memories.

If you and your love cookie are tired of the whole Russell-Stover-and-roses routine and your Valentine’s Days have all started to blur together, chuck the clichés this year with one of these seven off-the-grid gifts, and make it a Valentine’s Day you’ll both always be able to remember.

1) The Cute, Sexy and Hotness Chronic Ailment Package

Billing itself as the “ONLY research facility that effectively diagnoses the chronic ailments of Cute, Sexy, and Hotness^©,” the C&S Research Institute — that’s Cute & Sexy, in case you missed it — features over 30 different gift packs designed to “treat” the cute, sexy, or hot afflicted babe in your life.

Each gift pack includes:

A personalized letter diagnosing the recipient with multiple ailments that CSRI specializes in treating
“Medication” like M&Ms and Hershey’s Kisses
Optional add-ons such as chocolate roses, an aromatherapy kit, or a variety of gift cards, from Victoria’s Secret to Lowe’s to Starbucks

The best-selling standard gift pack will only run you $8.99, plus shipping and handling.

You can check out a video rundown of the CSRI gift packs on YouTube.

2) Message in a Bottle

Named the “Most Romantic Gift” on Oprah, this one should win over even the most cynical pink-picketing anti-romanticists.

Choose the classic “Chestnut” bottle for $29.95, or go all-out with the “Key to my Heart” bottle for $86.95 (special Valentine’s Day pricing, regular price $129.95).

You can select a prewritten message, or pour your heart out and write the scrolled note yourself.

For inspiration, check out these true stories of bottle senders and receivers.

Valentine’s Day shipping is available, and you can have your Message in a Bottle delivered right to your valentine’s door.

3) Godiva Chocolate Decadence Suite

Heroes star Ali Larter calls Godiva chocolate pearls the “perfect bit of sin.”

And now sin has gone loft-sized with Godiva’s Chocolate Decadence Suite, currently on display in Manhattan’s East Village.

The suite, made almost entirely of chocolate, is the centerpiece of this year’s annual Godiva Valentine’s Day promotion.

Specially marked Godiva Valentine’s Day gift boxes valued at $23 or more offer a chance to win a pampered weekend getaway for two in this Godiva room, which will be re-created in a suite in Manhattan’s Bryant Park Hotel.

Every wall in the room is made of chocolate, and the living room includes a chocolate-decorated day bed, chocolate fireplace, chocolate “Pucci” armchairs, and chocolate bookcases holding several chocolate books that open up to caches of chocolates instead of fiction.

A chocolate-and-amber-crystal chandelier illuminates the dining room with its dark-chocolate candelabras and chocolate mosaic table and chairs. Even the high art on the walls is chocolate: Multicolored chocolate pieces make up an edible version of Gustav Klimt’s “The Kiss,” and a brown-and-white abstract above the dining table offers a chocolate interpretation of Jackson Pollock.

Besides a stay in the Godiva suite, the Grand Prize Chocolate Fantasy Weekend includes airfare to New York, two days of spa treatment, a private chocolate tasting with a Godiva chef, and a private, chef-catered dinner for two.

If you win, though, you’ll have to wait until May to enjoy your prize.

4) Personalized Valentine’s Day Magazine Cover

If you have a high cheese threshold and you’re big on seeing you and your sweetie in full-color print, YourCover can help you plaster your love all over a ready-to-frame glossy magazine cover.

Here’s your chance to show off your creativity and how great you are at expressing yourself: Customize your cover, front and back, with meaningful photos, quotes, and your own affectionate, funny, or Cosmo-worthy headlines.

The $49.95 price tag includes printing, a deluxe frame, and shipping and handling.

5) Heart-Shaped USB Flash Drive Necklace

Less than $15 gets you this heart-shaped 1GB USB flash drive necklace, where your valentine can hold your digital photos, music, and video memories close to his or her heart.

Perfect for that special, low-maintenance geeky someone in your life.

6) Sonic Boom Love Clock

You’re ready for love. Whether it’s a dinner date, a night out on the town, or just coffee and breakfast, you’re there.

And waiting … on your frequent companion who can’t seem to be on time, ever.

For $40 (plus shipping and handling), treat your perpetually unpunctual pookie to this take-no-prisoners timepiece from ThinkGeek.

Deceptively unassuming in its heart-shaped cotton-candy–pink casing, the Sonic Boom alarm clock packs an industrial-strength wallop. At 113 decibels, the alarm is actually louder than a jackhammer (100 decibels).

If that’s not enough to get your sweetheart out of bed and out the door to meet you, slip the shaker attachment under the mattress. Unless your significant other makes a habit of sleeping through earthquakes, the bed-shaker should be able to do what the prospect of a date with you hasn’t — get your BF or GF moving.

7) Man/Woman Remote Relationship Control

Have a hard time speaking your mind? These talking remotes could do wonders for the state of communication in your relationship.

Just push a button, and you can launch any one of a number of instant retorts, iron-handed commands, or inappropriate sound effects.

“What about my needs?”
“What were you thinking?”
“Zip it!”
“Feed me!”
“I’m outta here!”

For $17.95, you’ll get hours of entertainment and push-button verbal combat.

Make sure to specify whether you want the “Control Your Woman” or “Control Your Man” unit, or get both for $29.95, plus shipping and handling.

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LEGO Turns 50

Student Loan Girl — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 21:49:00 GMT

LEGOs have entertained millions of children and adults, spawned tons of knock-off brands, and even inspired a series of LEGOLAND theme parks. And now, LEGO just celebrated its 50^th birthday on January 28, 2008.

The LEGO brick, which was honored with the “Toy of the Century” award by Fortune Magazine and the British Association of Toy Retailers, stands as a symbol of creativity and the power of simplicity.

Play Well: A LEGO History

The LEGO legacy has its unassuming beginnings in 1932, when Ole Kirk Christiansen opened a tiny wooden-toy factory in a small town in southern Denmark. Christiansen invited all his employees to enter a competition to find a name for his company, only to come up with the winning name himself: LEGO, coming from the Danish words leg (“play”) and godt (“well”).

Fifteen years later, Christiansen bought the country’s first injection molding machine to begin manufacturing plastic toys. Two years after that, in 1949, Christiansen developed the brick design that would become the LEGO prototype.

There have been slight tweaks and adjustments over the years, but the basic LEGO brick of today still fits the bricks of 1958.

Now with over 2,400 brick varieties, LEGOs are sold in more than 130 countries.

The company maintains a commitment to environmental responsibility, melting down unsold LEGO products to create new bricks.

The Michelangelos of LEGO

As a tribute to 50 years of LEGO ingenuity, here are some truly impressive LEGO brick creations.

LEGO Volvo XC90
Constructed by LEGO Master Model Builders, the elite team that designs, creates, and maintains the thousands of LEGO brick models at LEGOLAND California, this LEGO replica of Volvo’s award-winning SUV is the official vehicle of LEGOLAND California.

LEGO Harpsichord
Built by Henry Lim, this 150-pound, 6–by-3-foot harpsichord, with the exception of the strings, is made entirely out of LEGOs — more than 100,000 of them.

LEGO Difference Engine
Charles Babbage’s 19th century difference engine was the first computer. This LEGO replica built by Andrew Carol can solve second- and third-order polynomials and may possibly be smarter than you.

LEGO Pinball
After spending 300 hours building it and using over 20,000 LEGO bricks, Gerrit Bronsveld and Martijn Boogaarts unveiled this fully functional pinball game at the 2005 LegoWorld exhibition in Zwolle, Netherlands.

The next three LEGO sculptures have been created by Nathan Sawaya.

LEGO Man Opening Himself Up

LEGO Man with Reflection in Mirror

LEGO Replica of the Iwo Jima Memorial

Sawaya was commissioned to build this replica for permanent installation at the National Museum of the Marine Corps. The sculpture uses over 100,000 LEGO bricks.

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