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lara flynn boyle’s shamrock tattoo

Lara Flynn Boyle (born March 24, 1970) is an American actress born in Davenport, Iowa, and raised in the working-class inner-city of Chicago, Illinois. She is well known for her television roles, which include Twin Peaks and The Practice.

Iran’s latest secret chic: Tattoos

TEHRAN — It’s an undercover movement — literally: Tattoos have become a fad among many young Iranian women who proudly display them in private but must keep them under wraps from authorities.

“This is the tattoo generation,” said Milad, a 24-year-old artist who does body art as a sideline in his Tehran studio. He gave only his first name, fearing police might crack down. “It’s the new sign of being hip.”

It’s a select, largely female clientele, mostly teens and 20-somethings in Tehran’s most affluent and style-savvy districts. But these have been the birthplaces for nearly every limit-testing trend since the strict dress codes of the Islamic Revolution began to erode in the late 1990s. It began with nose jobs, then moved on to makeovers, body-hugging jackets, funky sneakers and head scarves that leave more hair exposed than covered.

As the Islamic coverings shrink, the next fashion frontier appears to be what’s underneath, and it’s catching on with men, too.

But officials don’t yet seem ready for tattoos, and even block access to tattoo Web sites.

Maryam, who is 20, wears a fish-shaped tattoo on her shoulder and won’t give her full name.

The tattoo wave is so new — and with such high chic appeal — that few people have paused to think much about the consequences of being marked for life, said Milad. The only real plan for the future is that some girls pick intimate spots that only a spouse would see.

Throw a party, popular culture racks up another victory. When we think of the word subversive it has a negative connotation, but being subversive isn’t always a bad thing. Thomas Paine’s essay Common Sense was considered subversive in its day, and it probably still is to some. One of the greatest weapons that western culture has against fundamentalism, whether its Islamic or Christian, is popular culture like tattoos, television, movies, and the “internets”. Precisely because pop culture is easy, its something that everybody can relate to. A dangerous thing to people of any country that are culturally conservative. Given a chance at access everyone loves music, movies, and McDonald’s french fries. The culture police have a hard time fighting back things that are relatively harmless for the sake of preserving values that are old and repressive. Not to say that all old values should be tossed out, but that the old has to make peace with the new. Marriage is a perfectly good institution for instance, but the practice of arranged marriages is still practiced in  many places and is considered an outdated old world value by most in the west. Tattoos and pop music make people question having customs for the sake of custom, does a tradition really have any practical use anymore. Pop culture our secret weapon against oppression.

GM to show off fuel cell-powered car 

General Motors Corp. has achieved a milestone in its quest to bring a hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicle to market, announcing that it now has a drivable version of its Sequel concept car.