This is kind of an old story, but I just found it now and I love it: As he was going to LA, David Beckham got a new tattoo that says “Let them hate as long as they fear.”

That’s not a new expression, of course- it goes back to ancient Rome. It’s the sort of motto attributed to all the worst tyrants, like that one guy who killed his nephews and fed them to his brother. The context is likely to have escaped Becks when he got the ink, but I’m glad the the scholars at the Times (UK) Literary Supplement have pointed it out and debated the implications.

In an unrelated development, Starpulse is reporting that TLC tattoo artist Kat Von D has broken up with her boyfriend, Steve-O. This story was also reported on a tattoo fansite in an entry dated from July, and on BuddyTV in August. The quoted message from Steve-O does not currently appear on his blog, although a different one from September 7th does mention that Kat has told him not to come around any more. Prank? Awkward revision? Publicity stunt? Not any more clear than the tortured grammar of an all-around stunt-man and professional jackass.

Tattoo pic