"Bitter"

http://www.bmezine.com/tattoo/A51012/high/bmepb147728.jpg

苦 means "bitter", "hardship", or "suffering".

The three exact emotions this guy is going through right now.


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GQ magazine Nov. 2005 Issue

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Etch a Mac

http://www.etchamac.com/powerbook.php

I would like know why someone would voluntarily pay $35+ ($35 for 3x3, $70 for 4x4 and $100 for 5x5 inches with purchase of a Powerbook) to have “All Rights Reserved” (版權所有) in Chinese etched on their Apple Powerbook.

Does having Chinese characters etched on the Powerbook would make it any more unique than the next Joe Schmoe’s Powerbook with the exact same Chinese phrase? Also, does the potential customer even know what the phrase really mean? It could easy be "pretentious douche bag", although that would be a much entertaining choice than "All Rights Reserved".

(Disclaimer: I don't think Apple computer users are douche bags)

Couldn’t they come up with some creative or inspiring phrases? I mean there are literally millions of Chinese literatures to choose from.

Here is one suggestion I have: how about just etch the owner’s contact info in case the laptop has been snatched from their local hot spot.

Ps. Thanks to the "cult of mac" for sending it in.


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The Seven Sins

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Whole-Hearted Devotion

http://www.bmezine.com/tattoo/A51022/high/bmepb152472.jpg

誠心誠意 is an old Chinese idiom that meant "in all sincerity", "with one's whole heart", or "whole-hearted devotion".

Ironically, neither the tattooist nor the client has devoted enough effort to make sure the tattoo was done correctly.


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SNL - Tattoo Removal

video: 5.16 MB mov

Jujutsu

http://www.bmezine.com/tattoo/A50910/high/bmegl129515.jpg

One of the basic principles many martial arts share is not to flaunt. Unfortunately many students have completely disregarded this important teaching, rather brand themselves with superficial gibberish.

Does getting 柔術 (Jujutsu or Jujitsu) tattooed on your body really enhance your martial art skill and help you to find your inner peace? Perhaps getting the correct characters tattooed would help.

Regardless, you are now the laughing stock at your dojo (道場).


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The Four Seasons

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"Colorful Rat"

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Upside Down "Beauty"

http://www.bmezine.com/tattoo/A51012/high/bmepb147957.jpg

This young man is proudly displaying his newly done tattoo. Too bad the first character 美 (beauty) is upside down. Perhaps the young should get 鄙陋 (superficial) as a cover-up tattoo.


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"Robert"

http://www.bmezine.com/tattoo/A51012/high/bmepb149567.jpg

This tattoo is the Chinese phonetic translation of the name “Robert”. It is very poorly done. All characters are disproportional and missing strokes.

Although sometimes the clients are the ones bring in ugly or incorrect designs, I can’t imagine any respectable tattooist would display this in his/her portfolio.


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"Where To?"

http://www.bmezine.com/tattoo/A51012/high/bmepb149670.jpg

Due to the tattoo’s poor penmanship, it is very difficult to determine what the client’s original intension was.

The tattooed character could either be 何 (what, why, where, which, how) or 向 (direction).


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Big Mistake

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Dragon and Characters

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"Knowledge" Lacking

http://www.bmezine.com/tattoo/A51003/high/bmegl144560.jpg

I don't remember if it is "good news travel in pairs" or "bad news travel in pairs", but these two have the exact same mistake in their tattoos.

識 (recognize, understand, knowledge) in both are missing a dot at top right corner.



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French Tattoo Flash Mistakes

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"Body Cavity"

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Cannabis Love

http://www.tattooflashs.de/_private/chin_kal/thumbs/gallery_china2.htm

The next time you decide to toke up some dope and get a tattoo in Germany or Europe in general, make sure your tattooist did not purchase his flash from one of these vendors shown above.

愛 is upside down and the correct character for cannabis is 蔴 or 麻, not the one shown on their website.


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Excrement

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"Forever Family Reputation"

The entire phrase 永遠家名誉 was tattooed upside down, plus the character 名 is missing a dot.

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"Mountain Bike"

http://www.oma-sk.tripod.com/Tattoo_-_vaden.jpg

單車 means "bicycle" and 過山單車 means "mountain bike". Perhaps both the client and tattooist had too many concussions resulted from mountain biking accidents.


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Firefly's "Electricity Caution" Sign

http://barneygumble742.tripod.com/firefly_xp.htm

Reader Norman emailed me this screen capture. The second character 電 (electricity) of this caution sign in the show Firefly is mirrored. It is also interesting to point out that in the future, spaceships will run on Microsoft Windows and don't lose those device driver disks.

Update: I saw the movie Serenity last night. Although there were some Chinese inconsistencies throughout the movie, overall it was very good. I have to say it was definitely one of the few good Sci-Fi movies that I have enjoyed in long time.