[HeraldNet] Oh boy, here come the waterworks. We realize there can be a tendency to be overly jaded at times when it comes to body modification and the ways in which it’s covered in the media, and that cynicism can bleed over into the ways in which we think about body modification in general—a quickness to criticize someone for being too impulsive or any number of other middling concerns aren’t uncommon. But sometimes, and probably pretty often, body modification is still an intensely meaningful act for many people, and something as simple as a tattoo can provide a person with motivation they might otherwise be lacking. Well, Debra Smith has written a truly touching piece here about a young man, Patrick Conley, who, knowing he was dying of cancer in his mid-twenties, made a concerted effort to, for lack of a much better term, start crossing things off his bucket list. Skydiving, off-road trucking, attending every sporting event and recital of his kids’ that he possibly could—he made all that happen. But because of his weakened immune system, the one wish he wasn’t able to fulfill was getting a tattoo.

By the start of this summer, Conley’s health had deteriorated so much, it didn’t matter. He made an appointment with a Seattle tattoo artist.

He kept the design a secret. A few days before his appointment, he climbed in his truck and made the drive to downtown Seattle to pick up a rendering of the design.

A few hours later, Conley arrived home gasping for breath. He staggered up the stairs of their townhome and planted the design facedown on his bedroom dresser, and headed straight for bed. Charity called the hospice nurse.

Patrick Conley died the next morning on July 16. His wife sat by his side through the night, heard his last words, held his head as he drew his last breath.

In the emotional tumult, no one gave much thought to Conley’s only unfulfilled wish.

Except the hospice nurse. And she knew just who to call.

I’d rather not spoil the end, but you may be able to see where this is going. Either way, this is something we actually like and well worth the read.

[Metro] Ha ha, this is more like it! Who needs “feelings” and junk when you can have headlines like, “Tattooed Gangster Forced to Look Like Tom Selleck”? Classic, right? So, the story goes, some alleged hoodlum had a gang tattoo on his upper lip and, after being chased by police, just got booted right in the kisser by a cop, apparently because this tattoo identified him as some sort of undesirable. He is now suing for $5 million, and his lawyer has made some excellent suggestions:

Pachecho has filed a $5 million legal claim against the city on behalf of the 24-year-old for alleged assault.

He claims that his client now suffers from headaches and blurred vision among other symptoms. Pacheco feared jurors would judge Rodriguez on his ‘Flores’ gang tattoo, inked on his lip.

So he has issued a digitally altered picture of his client “looking like [actor] Tom Selleck”, complete with bushy moustache – which he has positioned next to Rodriguez’s original police mugshot.

He will also grow hair to cover the tattoos on his shaved head. And he’ll wear a smart suit.

“People get past looks when you put on a suit and your hair is grown,” Pacheco said.

Honestly, they could have just said, “Grow a mustache,” but for some reason—to make the jobs of people me easier, I suppose—they went full-tilt with the Tom Selleck comparisons, and you know what? I thank them for that.

[Post Chronicle] And finally, the Chris Brown Public Image Rehabilitation Campaign continues with him, huh, trying to one-up the ex-girlfriend he beat the holy shit out of? Sounds like a solid plan. As I’m sure you all remember, last month, Rihanna made headlines everywhere with her daring attempts at becoming a tattoo artist, or something, and then caused some controversy because she was not licensed and therefore got tattooing banned in the state of New York. Well, her erstwhile shit-bag romantic consort is trying his hand at the ol’ needle and ink, too! Very exciting.

The ‘Run It’ singer has decided to mimic his ex-girlfriend – who he pleaded guilty
to assaulting earlier this year – by inking a design on celebrity tattoo artist Bang Bang.

‘Umbrella’ hitmaker Rihanna recently left a lasting impression on the artist – real name Keith McCurdy – by drawing an umbrella with an ‘R’ underneath it on his leg.

However, Chris, 20, has outdone his former girlfriend by creating his own design – a cartoon face with the word ‘Bang’ above it.

[…]

“He did a great job too. He’s a natural, which is funny because I said the same thing about Rihanna. She was really good the first time, but he was better.”

Without a hint of hyperbole or sarcasm, this is probably the most important news story of the last ten years.

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