Ink

RE DANIEL Cirucci's "Too much ugly ink" op-ed on tattoos: How did he get to be such an authority as to ask people to "cover up or have them removed"? And why print a picture of a homicidal maniac with the article, implying that those who have tattoos are criminal racists? A tattoo is a commitment, and while some people get them for the wrong reasons, I doubt half the people who have them regret it. Philadelphia has some of the world's greatest tattoo artists, but I doubt you took the time to talk to one of them.

DENVER - Jamie Moyer has agreed to terms on a minor league contract with an invite to the Colorado Rockies' spring training, pending a physical. The 49-year-old lefty didn't play last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his throwing elbow. Moyer has played 24 major league seasons, starting with the Chicago Cubs in 1986. He went 9-9 with a 4.84 ERA for the Phillies in 2010. Moyer, who was 56-40 in 4 1/2 seasons with the Phillies, is 267-204 in his career with a 4.24 career ERA.

IT'S absolutely appalling that you can feature on the front page a homeless man who's chosen his lifestyle (because of love issues, of all things) while losing nine servicemen in Afghanistan is on Page 11. Apparently no one at the Daily News has ever had a family member in the service, or you'd understand the importance of having a loved one serving his or her country. Mark R. Swipes, Philadelphia As a hardworking blue-collar man, your cover story about a homeless guy called the Caveman made me sick, not because I feel sorry for him but because you wasted valuable ink on his "sad" story.

Quarterback Doug Flutie signed a six-year contract with the San Diego Chargers yesterday and finally gets a starting job of his own. "I'm going into my 17th season of professional football, and for the first time I feel like I'm going to be the guy and have an opportunity to take a team as far as we can go," said Flutie, 38, who's joining his fourth NFL team in a career that also included eight seasons in the CFL. He spent the last three seasons...

The Pistons today will announce the signing of free-agent guard Chauncey Billups to a 6-year contract worth about $33.7 million, the Detroit Free Press reported. Last season, Billups enjoyed one of his best seasons, averaging 12.5 points, 5.5 assists for Minnesota, playing all 82 games. Noteworthy State police in New Jersey rejected a newspaper's request to turn over tapes of the 911 call made after a limousine driver was shot to death at the home of former NBA star Jayson Williams.

YU DARVISH, Japan's best pitcher, and the Texas Rangers agreed before yesterday's deadline to a $60 million, 6-year contract. In addition to the salary, the Rangers will pay a posting fee of about $51.7 million to the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters of Japan's Pacific League. The deal came at the end of a 30-day negotiating window that began Dec. 19 when the Rangers' bid to negotiate with the pitcher was accepted. Darvish, 25, had a 93-38 record with a 1.99 ERA over the past seven seasons in Japan.

The Wings have signed first-round draft pick Sean Greenhalgh for this National Lacrosse League season, general manager and head coach Lindsay Sanderson said yesterday. A forward, Greenhalgh was the third overall pick in the NLL entry draft. Terms of the contract were not disclosed. Greenhalgh was the 2005 Ivy League player of the year at Cornell. The Wings re-signed forward Rob Van Beek, who played in nine games last year before suffering a season-ending knee injury. Sanderson's team will open its season on Dec. 30 on the road against the Colorado Mammoth.

GOODBYE, 2007. Hello, 2008. Now is the time to wipe the slate clean and start anew. But what if that slate is your skin and the thing you want wiped clean is injected into your flesh with indelible ink? The tattoo boom of the early 1990s has given rise to tattoo regret, and an increasing number of hipsters want to get rid of ink that was soooooo last year, studies show. "It's all about growing up and time passing and your life changing," said Dr. Andrew Pollack, director of the Philadelphia Institute of Dermatology.

A state Superior Court panel was warned yesterday that it would be setting a dangerous precedent by allowing experts in ink dating to testify in the perjury case against a West Philadelphia physician. Luther Weaver told a three-judge panel that if the ink experts were allowed to testify it would open the door to "any type of opinion evidence" in perjury cases. And that, said Weaver, would be "dangerous at the least. " Weaver told the judges he was convinced that if they upheld a lower court ruling barring testimony by ink dating experts, the case against his client, Leonard W. Johnson, would dissolve.

Is a secret, 85-year-old formula for invisible ink an important tool in our war on terrorism? Apparently, the Central Intelligence Agency thinks so. It has persuaded a federal judge to keep secret classified documents describing World War I-era formulas for invisible ink. U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson ruled 10 days ago in Washington that he would not make the documents public. Several of the six documents from 1917 and 1918 contain German recipes for invisible ink. In his ruling, Jackson sided with the CIA, which had insisted that releasing the documents "would risk compromise of . . . intelligence methods.

It's official! Fox on Monday announced what we've all known for weeks: Britney Spears will be a judge on season two of The X Factor. The network made a big to-do about it, trotting out (like so much overpaid cattle) Brit, 30, and a second hire, multitalented youngster Demi Lovato, 19. They will join show czar Simon Cowell and L.A. Reid this fall at the judges' table. The gals uttered words such as excited and thrilled. (Brit better be happy: She reportedly will pocket $15 mil just for one season!

The Union has found a temporary replacement for injured midfielder Roger Torres. Through its partnership with 1899 Hoffenheim of Germany's first division, the Major League Soccer club announced on Monday it had acquired German forward Kai Herdling. Herdling is on loan through June 30 with an option to stay for the full MLS season. His arrival is pending completion of his visa and other paperwork, but Herdling could debut against Chivas USA, the Union's next opponent, on Saturday in Carson, Calif.

When local tattoo artist Shane O'Neill was crowned Ink Master Tuesday night on the finals of the Spike reality competition show of the same name, you may have heard the screaming of his family and friends all the way from his shop in Middletown, Del. O'Neill, 40, an Aldan native who has a second parlor in Willow Grove, has known the results for nearly nine months, since the contest finished taping in New York. He just has been contractually barred from sharing the good news.

Who: One of 10 tattoo artists competing for title of "Ink Master. " From: Aldan, Delaware County Now: Middletown, Del. Age: 39 Base of ops: Two Shane O'Neill Infamous Tattoo shops, one in Middletown, one in Willow Grove, 11 employees in all. Schooled: A grad of Lansdowne's Penn Wood and Philly's University of the Arts. Start: "I'd been doing illustration for a handful of years after I graduated. My brother and some friends wanted me to try tattooing, so I tried doing it for one week in a local shop.

Bradley Cooper, the screen idol from Rydal with the laser-blue eyes, has signed a two-year development deal with Warner Bros. Cooper, 37, who was named People magazine's 'Sexiest Man Alive' in November, will give the film giant first-look at any movies created by his production company, 22 & Indiana, according to Variety. Cooper's company name appears to be an allusion to the intersection in North Philadelphia where his father grew up. "We're very happy to take our relationship with Bradley to the next level," said Warners chief Jeff Robinov in a statement.

"I can see how the red ink may be perceived as abnormal. " - Nintendo Co. Ltd. president Satoru Iwata, in blaming a strong Japanese yen and competition for a reduced earnings forecast. "We don't want to be used for a PR event. " - David Roth, an "Occupy" protester at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on an offer to meet with forum organizers. "About two dozen customers have basically made me low-interest loans, so that we can restructure our loans, restock, and move forward.

SOMETIMES, a person's past - or future - is written all over his face. A particularly unusual police mug shot released in November showed Tracy Briscoe, a North Philly man with his face nearly covered with tattoos. Briscoe, 18, was arrested in a carjacking and shooting near his home, and is now in jail awaiting trial. What Briscoe and other knuckleheads who've made the same questionable, permanent decision may not realize is that a face splattered with tattoos only helps cops identify and find suspects, and it can serve as a bull's-eye on the street, police say. "It makes it easier for the criminal element to also identify you, and what you're about," said Lt. John Walker of Southwest Detectives.

DENVER - Jamie Moyer has agreed to terms on a minor league contract with an invite to the Colorado Rockies' spring training, pending a physical. The 49-year-old lefty didn't play last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his throwing elbow. Moyer has played 24 major league seasons, starting with the Chicago Cubs in 1986. He went 9-9 with a 4.84 ERA for the Phillies in 2010. Moyer, who was 56-40 in 4 1/2 seasons with the Phillies, is 267-204 in his career with a 4.24 career ERA.

YU DARVISH, Japan's best pitcher, and the Texas Rangers agreed before yesterday's deadline to a $60 million, 6-year contract. In addition to the salary, the Rangers will pay a posting fee of about $51.7 million to the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters of Japan's Pacific League. The deal came at the end of a 30-day negotiating window that began Dec. 19 when the Rangers' bid to negotiate with the pitcher was accepted. Darvish, 25, had a 93-38 record with a 1.99 ERA over the past seven seasons in Japan.

If you're looking to put an indelible Chinese character on your shoulder blade, or the simulacrum of a strand of barbed wire around your bicep, pretty much any tattoo parlor will do. But if you want a lifelike portrait of Polish military hero Tadeusz Kosciuszko on your chest, or a stunning recreation of comedy/tragedy theater masks on your forearm, you'll want to seek out master artisan Shane O'Neill at one of his two shops, in Willow Grove or...