Wind blows, fire burns, rain falls…

Posted on September 10, 2010 by Rob

There are times when a film comes about that can have a profound effect on the viewers. Sometimes it could simply be a single scene, for others the story itself carries the most weight. Whatever the reasons, when a person has fallen in love with a film, they’ll often do something to recognize these feelings. For the vast majority of people, simply buying a copy of a film, or viewing it multiple times is enough. Yet for others, simply owning a film isn’t enough. Which is why we see so many film inspired modifications. From tattoos to scars, film symbolism is fairly prevalent within the modified community. So it should come as no surprise that someone went out to get a small branding that reminds them of their favorite film.

5th element

If you don’t recognize the symbols, they’re from the film The 5th Element. Each square represents one of the four classical elements: earth, water, fire, and air (wind). When combined with the 5th Element, they summon Captain Planet. Or is it save the world from destruction? I get the two confused.

If you want to see who the arm belongs to, as well as some pictures of the branding taking place, just keep on reading, or head on over to the branding galleries.

branding

So do you have a favorite movie? Are your feelings strong enough towards that film that you would get a modification that would remind you of the film?

Team BME in the flesh

Posted on September 10, 2010 by Rob

It’s been a while since we’ve seen a BME logo scar up on ModBlog. This particular logo, if you’re not familiar with it, is the Team BME logo, which you can find pretty much all over the site nowadays.

IAM:Pineapple sent this one in, and it looks like it’s about as fresh as possible. Now it could just be the contrast, but the red of the blood really pops out.

logo

Hopefully Pineapple will be sending in more photos as it heals up, as it looks like it’ll be a really good scar. One of the great things about BME logos is that they’re more than just a product branding. While BME is a company, it is also a community, and it is that community that makes BME the place it is. All of the various logo designs created over the years have all come from within the community, and the Team BME logo itself represents not only a design from a hockey jersey, but all those members of the community that are part of BME4LIFE. These are people who believe strongly in this community as it has touched them in some manner in their lives.

The community itself is such a wide and diverse group of people, and has been there for the highs and lows of life for many people. How has the BME community affected your life? Did someone in the community make an impact in your life? Were you able to learn something about yourself or how you wish to modify yourself through BME?

Love Cubed

Posted on September 10, 2010 by Rob

Video courtesy IAM: JackeeLynn

Let me start with a quick thank you to JackeeLynn for letting me use the video of her solving a Rubik’s cube. If it isn’t obvious by now, this post is about the most famous puzzle cube ever invented.

Like LEGO fans, the Rubik’s cube has a loyal following of people who collect cubes. The majority of these collectors are also the ones who can solve a cube effortlessly because they know the special algorithms that make solving the cube easy. Now when I first got a cube I got frustrated and took off all the stickers to solve it. As I got older I found that smashing the cube and putting it back together worked much better. Did anyone else use these techniques, or was I the only one who couldn’t solve the cube at 4?

Now as much as Jackee loves her LEGO and her cube, the person sporting this tattoo may outdo her love for the cube.

The following image was sent in by SailorxDani as part of the Mutiny Tattoo mini-portfolio on BMEzine.com. I don’t know who the recipient is, but it’s clear they not only love Mr. Rubik’s invention, but they added a nice sentiment to go along with it. Not everyone is a perfect cube, and as long as you’re happy with yourself, that’s all that matters.

cube

Just in case it wasn’t clear, that isn’t Jackee’s tattoo, although you can see hers in this ModBlog post from back in February.

I’ve got one more picture from SailorxDani to share with you, but to save some space you’ll have to click the read more button. I must warn you, the image may bug you.

bug!

As far as palm tattoos go, that one is pretty awesome. Too bad it’ll probably fade out quickly.

Risk vs Reward

Posted on September 9, 2010 by Rob

When it comes to modifications, there is always an element of risk involved. Obviously with some there is more risk than others. Piercings can reject, tattoos can fallout, scars can get infected, the list goes on. These of course are all “what ifs”, but the potential for problems are present with every one. When it comes to the world of suspensions, the risks are higher, but the rewards can be greater. With people pushing the limits of suspensions all over the world, it’s important to remember to be safe. There are a number of resources and organizations dedicated to promoting safe practices when it comes to all types of suspensions.

Now with that all said, there are times when things may be set up safely, but if the suspension is inherently a risky one the potential for something to go wrong is still heightened. Heck, even when everything is set up perfectly for a suspension that would be considered “easy” by practitioners, that doesn’t mean the element of danger isn’t present and things should be monitored closely.

In the following pictures you’ll see The J-3-D performing one of the riskiest suspensions, the single point elbow suspension. I’ve gotten in touch with members of the suspension community that assured me that while everything is good with the rigging, this type of suspension is extremely dangerous to do, and should not be attempted unless there are a number of experts present. So have a look at these images to see exactly why this suspension is so risky.

elbow1

The rest of the images you can see by clicking the “read more” button.

elbow2

elbow3

As you can see, everything was set up correctly, although I was told the placement of the hook could have been a little better. From my understanding the suspension lasted around 1 minute, before he needed to come down.

This is where the risk element comes into play. While the reward for performing a dangerous suspension that not a lot of people have done is high, the risk is also very high. As you can see by this last image, with everything set up within safe standards, bad things can still happen.

If you can’t make out the details, what has happened is he has suffered a complete tear through his arm. You can see the full sized image by clicking on the picture, but if you’re squeamish, you may not want to. Then again, this is ModBlog, I don’t think we have too many readers who are squeamish.

You can get a better look at these images, and the rest of the photos from the suspension in the ritual galleries under “other suspensions“.

I want to mention again, that this type of suspension is extremely risky and should only be performed under the direct supervision of an experienced practitioner.

Geared up for a scar

Posted on September 9, 2010 by Rob

Earlier today we saw how the modifications on a young woman’s face really accentuated her beauty. I thought I should even it up for those who prefer to see modified boys. Now I’m not sure if the guy in the picture is a steampunk fan, a Gears of War fan, a mechanic, or something else entirely, but what I do know is that he really must like the gear design as that’s a lot of flesh that was removed for the scar.

gears

So what do you think? Does the scar on this guy work as well as the piercings and tattoos from the girl earlier today?

Aperture Science

Posted on September 9, 2010 by Rob

A wise woman once said, “we do what we must because we can.” While the woman may have been a homicidal computer bent on torturing and killing people, while promising cake for all, she does have a point. When it comes to what we do with our bodies, the sentiment rings true. We do what we must to ourselves because this is who we are, and we have the freedom to do what we can. There’s this inner drive to change our outwards appearance into what we feel it must look like, and thanks to practitioners all over the world, we can do what we need to do.

One of those practitioners, Sean Flinn from Stone Clover Artisan in Iola, WI, was able to give one young man exactly what he wanted.

aperture

The uploader (gonzofreelancer), is clearly passionate about photography. And thanks to Sean, he was able to do what he wanted in the way he wanted.

Playing with a corset

Posted on September 9, 2010 by Rob

So what do you do if you’re sitting at home with a big box of needles and a lot of string? Well if you’re like Mattoo here, you break out the camera and make yourself a corset on your arm.

corset

Over in the play piercing gallery you can see the steps that he took while crafting the corset, but to all the blood fans out there, he didn’t upload any after photos.

Based off the camera angles in all the photos, I think it’s safe to assume Mattoo did everything himself, which is pretty impressive considering there are over 20 points in the corset to pierce and weave with one hand.

So here’s your “what if” for the day. What would you do if you had a box of needles like the one in the picture, a large amount of string, and were by yourself?

Accentuating Beauty

Posted on September 9, 2010 by Rob

Occasionally I’ll get a message from someone requesting their image be posted about on ModBlog, but every once in a while I’ll get a note from someone requesting someone else’s photos be posted. Well, thanks to IAM: MoseZ, he was able to point out a couple of pictures in the galleries that I had skipped over.

IAM: Jay-Z has sent in quite a few images over the past couple of months, and each one is better than the last. This first image appeared in the galleries back in June, and it gives us a sneak peek at this beautiful woman.

closeup

What MoseZ pointed out, and what I agree with completely, is that her mods really accentuate her beauty. Aesthetically the piercings and tattoos seem like a natural extension of herself. So while she may have been attractive before getting tattooed and pierced, it seems like adding the mods is like putting the rest of the pieces back into place. An unfinished puzzle that needed completion. But of course, beauty is subjective. The things one person may see as attractive, another person may see as ugly. It all depends on our own personal perspectives in life to determine what we find pleasing to the eye. You may not agree with MoseZ and I in that her modifications accentuate what she already had, but what I think we can all agree on is that the piercings and tattoos are very well done, and she is comfortable with how she looks. Which is really the most important factor in all this. Sure people pass judgments on others all the time based on their appearance, but what matters most is how we feel about ourselves, and doing what we feel is important to our bodies to attain the external vision that we wish to project.

What do you think? Do modifications accentuate what is already there, or are they just a natural extension of a person, to be seen as part of the whole? Or do you think something else?

I’ve added a couple more images after the break which should give you an idea of how the rest of her looks.

Just at a glance I can see both stretched lobes and large gauge cartilage, large labret, medusa, septum and notstrils, and of course the facial tattoos. The man responsible for the medusa is IAM: Bhaileon aka Cheyne Truitt.

To protect the world from devastation…

Posted on September 8, 2010 by Rob

…to unite all peoples within our nation.

A few weeks back I featured an excellent scarification piece of a Pokemon by the name of Ninetails. After seeing so many people chiming in on their love of all things Pokemon, I knew it was only a matter of time that I’d see more Pokemon related images in the galleries. What I wasn’t expecting was this image sent in by IAM: Dead Filmaker.

pokeball

As the self-professed “biggest nerd ever!”, Dead Filmaker had these implants inserted underneath his Pokeball tattoos a mere 5 days before attending the 2010 National Pokemon Championships. I can only imagine how fun it must have been to have Brian insert the one closest to his wrist from an opening up by the elbow. Not seeing any other sutures I’m assuming that they were all done using the same point of entry.

Now I’ll admit I was never a huge fan of Pokemon, at least nowhere near as big a fan as Mr. Filmaker there, but I did enjoy the games and show. I only had the original gameboy game, so I never got to see Team Rocket appear in the games, but Jesse and James were easily the best thing about that show. It’s a shame they always failed so spectacularly, the show would have been so much better if they had won much more often and Ash and co. were the ones screwing up trying to get their Pokemon back.

You can check out more photos like this, including more work by Mr. Brian Decker, in the 3D implant gallery.

Fallout Love

Posted on September 8, 2010 by Rob

It’s always nice to see a couple happily in love. Of course with every relationship troubles can arise, it’s just how you deal with these that will get you through them. Being prepared also helps. Knowing each other well enough to get you through the toughest of challenges can make a relationship even stronger. I’m not talking about fights between the couple, although those would be included, I’m thinking of the big life problems that can arise, sometimes when they’re least expected. Loss of a job, unexpected pregnancy, nuclear fallout, basement getting flooded, car breaking down, and more are all the things life can throw at a couple at any time. This is why it’s always nice to appreciate the little things. Those little moments you share with your partner when the rest of the world doesn’t matter. Sometimes it could be something as simple as a shared love of something. Take this young couple, it’s obvious that they love each other, but they’re showing just how prepared they are for what life can throw at them, even if it’s a nuclear winter.

masks

So while we can all hope to not have to live through a scene from the Fallout series of video games, it’s nice to know that if the world is coming to an end, that the love these two have for each other will surely carry on. If anyone knows who the happy couple is, please let me know so I can give them the proper credit.

As for their tattoos, you can get a better look at them in the new skool tattoo gallery

Update: The photo is of IAM: NickFriederich and his lovely wife Chae. Head on over to Nick’s IAM page to take a look at the rest of the pictures from the photoshoot.