TATTOO
However, according to a new study by researchers at Rice University and the University of Houston, people with birthmarks, scars and other facial disfigurements are more likely to receive poor ratings in job interviews, which mean looks do matter. Similarly, people with tattoos, can be judged by stereotype. In Macao, a tattoo may refer to rebellious, mob or even gangland persons. “I have been yearning for the street culture in America, the choice for freedom, since I know tattoo, I just fell in love with it,” Sai Hong, a restaurant owner said in the branch opening of Brick’s Burger in Fai Chi Kei. The tattoo has been a Eurasian practice for at least 2000 years, and nowadays the tattoo culture in advanced countries like in America and Japan is pretty mature. But what is the tendency in Macao? As Sai Hong said, the tattoo doesn’t prevail in Macao. As far as he is concerned, he has loved dancing and other street cultural activities since he was a child, he has built up his own business, as his branch store opened in a larger space, he also wants to promote some subculture about music, food, etc. By chance, he invited Taiwan’s famous tattoo artist WanBao to perform the art piece with local graffiti artists in his store opening in the evening on March 25. He also mentioned, when customers have a meal in the restaurant, they can also enjoy every displayed tattoo art piece on the wall. “The more they see and know, they are more willing to accept this culture,” he said. However, he has to accept that his family would never give approval for his tattoo although he has made his career successfully. Also people may think someone who has tattoo as a bad guy; he still wants to give teenagers a culture shock, an environment of subculture, especially in the North Macao where people have lower level of literacy. “I know in Macao, there are a lot of tattoo lovers, but only a few tattoo artists with limited tattoo designs,” WanBao said. “In Taiwan, the tattoo has been highly accepted by locals, they are more willing to try and do some research, they will compare each tattoo design and think about what they really want. There are for sure some people who only do it for fun so they just randomly pick a tattoo artist, but the percentage has changed to a healthier way, the environment for tattoo is well accommodating nowadays in Taiwan.” In addition, the age group is mostly from 20 to 30. In Taiwan, the legal age for tattooing is 18, however, if a child gets a tattoo, people will not blame the tattoo artist, they are more likely to consider it as the child’s own problem, said WanBao. Nevertheless, WanBao emphasized that he has his own moral standard, he will avoid to give tattoos on the head or on the face, and he elaborates the tattoo feature itself, as the tattoos on his arms, every design has a “why”. For example, “the gun” represents power and tattooing is his power; “the sandy clock” tells him that the time is limited and it runs out of time; “the snake” covers the gun and his right hand which means his right hand is important to make tattoos and the tattoo has been a part of his life. Both Sai Hong and WanBao regard tattooing as art, moreover, Sai Hong hopes to see that one day the tattoo culture in Macao can be as mature as that in Taiwan or Hong Kong, and become a life attitude. A popular feature of Turkish, Middle Eastern and Indian cultures for centuries, shisha has not only experienced a revival in those countries over recent years, but also exploded worldwide, particularly in the United States and Europe. Shisha was known as kalyan in Persia, around the same time tobacco from the New World arrived and not long after coffee from Arabia had become accepted by the populace. Today, in most major urban centers and university towns where there is an international population of students, you’ll find one or more shisha lounges catering largely to students who are eager to incorporate this stimulating trend of flavored tobacco cooled by water into a lifestyle of lattes, laptops and Wi-Fi access, but shisha also appeals to tobacco users and curious suburbanites alike. Typically, such places offer a wide array of water pipes to rent, flavored tobacco to choose from and assorted smoking paraphernalia to purchase along with coffee and other nonalcoholic drinks, and perhaps light food. Like Altira Macao 38 Lounge, there’s a bar for shisha. The atmosphere and décor are typically evocative of Middle Eastern culture, travel posters, backgammon and satellite TV broadcasting Egyptian soap operas and music videos all in an exotically collegial atmosphere. What is behind this youth-generated global revival, and what challenges are faced by shisha lounges at home? Jafar Alborzi is a 25-year old Persian who had lived in Beijing since he was six and moved to Macao at the age of 10. He owns a Persian carpet shop in Macao and he is a shisha lover. He used to smoke shisha with coffee or orange juice. He tells us that shisha can relax him as he has lots of workload in his life. “Shisha gives me a lot of pleasures, as a culture in Middle Eastern countries, I think shisha should spread to Asia, like Macao, I like to smoke it in MP3 Bar or 38th Lounge in Altira, Macao,” Alborzi said. An individual is unique, stereotype can be ruthless, tattoo can be artistic, shisha is more than addiction, it is better to know someone before judging.