A Tucson man with a penchant for scooters will get some television time on the brand new A&E series "Tattoo Highway."
"Bald John" Sokolowski, a graphic designer, medical photographer and co-founder of the club Go-Go-Rilla Scooters, was accepted to appear on the show last year after answering a Craigslist casting call.
He drove to Phoenix to get body art done for the program on a tour-bus-turned-parlor dubbed the "Ministry of Ink."
Sokolowski requested that a gorilla riding a Vespa scooter, the insignia of his club, be etched on his back.
"They didn't want to do a small tattoo," said Sokolowski, 41. "That was a concern. Every tattoo I've gotten in the past has hurt. I was worried about committing to a huge one."
Driven by the desire to promote his club, Sokolowski finally agreed to it.
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The end result took about a day to complete and covered most of his back. That's no small feat considering he is 6 feet 4 inches and weighs a good 245 pounds.
"Some of my tattoo-artist friends on the East Coast who have had the pleasure of tattooing me in the past will find it funny," he said. "Big tattoos take time. None of them thought there was any way I could last for more than a couple of hours."
Sokolowski will be featured later in the season. The bus hits several different cities over the course of 13 episodes. The show debuts at 10 p.m. Wednesday.
Arizona Public Media takes another fascinating look at war through the eyes of city residents on Thursday as it presents the latest installment of its "Tucson Remembers" series.
Whereas the previous three "Remembers" focused on World War II, the new special sheds light on local veterans of the Korean War, a conflict that killed more than 36,000 Americans over the course of three years.
The documentary covers a smattering of subjects, from life in Tucson at the time and events leading up to the war to major battles, the United Nations and combat medical units.
Ruben Moreno, Raymond Bentley, Paul Borden, Eddie Rios and 11 other Tucsonans, all members of different branches of the military at the time, share their stories.
The documentary airs 8-10:30 p.m. Thursday on KUAT-TV, Channel 6.
That's not all that Arizona Public Media has up its sleeves this week.
On Tuesday, the PBS affiliate will host Ray Suarez of the syndicated program "NewsHour." Suarez will show highlights from the series "Blueprint America: Road to the Future," part of a multiplatform look at America's aging infrastructure.
The evening begins at 7:30 p.m. at Crowder Hall on the UA campus. Tickets are $25. Call 621-1162.
The still-developing Fox sitcom "Sons of Tucson" has taken the next vital step toward getting on the air.
Fox reps announced in a press conference on fall programming last week that the show will debut as part of its 2010 midseason lineup.
The series, featuring Gary Busey's son Jake Busey ("Home Fries," "Enemy of the State") and Tyler Labine ("Reaper" and "Invasion"), follows three brothers as they hire a con man to fill in for their dad while their real pop is in prison.
For whatever reason, it is being placed smack dab in the middle of Fox's "Animation Domination" Sundays, amid cartoons like "The Simpsons" and Seth MacFarlane's "American Dad," "Family Guy" and "The Cleveland Show."
No word yet on Tucson's role in the show.
