Well, that’s all for today. You may see more from other writers in the next little while (and of course videos from Roo as always), and if I’m needed over the next few weeks you may see a few more entries from me as well. I really do hope this transition can go smoothly. BME (as in the main site) is in the process of updating in the next 12-24 hours.

As much as BME is absolutely a large-scale community project, for a decade and a half the output has been under my creative guidance and very much flavored by my own personality, politics, and interests. I’m sure there are people who are hoping that character will stay the same, and I’m sure there are people who are hoping it will change radically, and of course there’s value in each path. I am very much looking forward to seeing how things are expressed through a new prism, and I hope everyone gives it a chance.

Either way, I’m also looking forward to being able to get back out to the East Coast — maybe I will bump into John P at Peggy’s Cove, since his ear lends evidence that he’s been there.

On some levels, nicer than a traditional portrait, and at least from my point of view, about a gazillion times better than a cross with initials and some dates on it! This bingo-playing memorial was done by Dave at Marked for Life in Warren, Michigan. No, this does not count as a Biohazard post, haters.

Cute and simple, Rachel’s hearts were done by John Deweese at Great American Tattoo Company in Shelbyville, Indiana. I get a kick out of all these tattoos that are inherently linked to youth culture — in the previous generation of tattooed seniors, most people had military tattoos and sailor stuff and the general iconography of adulthood, but it’s going to be different this time around, with most people wearing the iconography of youth…

Since people seem to like the large-scale text tattoos (like the recent Kerouac tattoo, a typo-ridden ‘If’, a Bukowski poem, A Tale of Two Cities, and this big script piece), here’s another… This poem that Avonchorda wears was written by herself and tattooed by Alex at Las Calaveras Body Modification Studio in Cholula, Puebla, Mexico, where she lives. You can see it in full on her IAM page.

Secret South got the “32″ on his thirty-second birthday, followed by another friend who got his on his 36th birthday, and then another during her 33rd year. Finally, his lover got hers this past Sunday for Mother’s Day during her 34th year. I can make some guesses about their personalities from their individual choices of fonts, but the only thing I can deduce for sure is that Secret South is mature and prefers the company of people older than himself.

I liked this CT scan from Jason Hinchee, who’s got a stretched 5/8″ septum tunnel in place. The CT scan was done for some upcoming surgery on his ear, so he was able to keep the septum in place… More images of others after the break.

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Can you guess what her tattoo says?

This was done by Timb Wilton at Third Eye Tattoo in Melbourne.

See more in “Misc. Cuttings“ (Scarification)

Now, I saw good ol’ Giles cheering that ModBlog might soon be ruled under an enlightened era of feminism, while I saw other people opining, oh please, please, where will we get our boobie shots? Now, don’t worry… If my guesses as to who some of my replacements are going to be, I can tell you that they’re real sleazes, and you won’t have to worry about getting your fix. But, until a new era of shallow excuses starts, here’s a nice photo of Dagon taken by Greg Gabelman in Vancouver, with the chestpiece being done by Shawn O’Connor.

But, as they say, the devil is in the details.

Yeah, I wish. Anyway, to give the new writers some time to get rolling on posts of their own, which hopefully will start quite soon, I’ve been asked to post a few more entries before I take off for the long weekend… It’s Victoria Day here so I’m looking forward to fireworks.