Master Bait

None of my trademark music this time, the clapping and laughing says it all..

Just a good old fashioned video of Damien suspending (vaguely reminiscent of this, no?) with The Hanged Man Team during a “Live Bait” in Melbourne, Australia.

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DivX download (111 MB) link for BME members: Extreme2 or Full members

Many thanks to Pete (The Piercing Urge) for sending the videos my way..

Kicked by Snark


So, i’ll confess that, upon seeing this tattoo, my initial reaction was something along the lines of, “Well, that’s … literal.” And then I noticed “xkcd” in the image information, and realized … I’m just a jackass. Context, after the jump.

(Tattoo by “The dude that lives in Thailand” at Wild Tattoo, somewhere in Sweden.)

See more in Cartoon Tattoos (Tattoos)

Sammy & Sid

Here’s another lovely (and thought-provoking) video courtesy of Shawn (more).. Read on Macduff!

“I dug this footage up when I was preparing a class I was preparing to teach on behalf of the APP; it features Sailor Sid Diller interviewing “Tattoo Sammy” from Frankfort, West Germany.”

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DivX download (233 MB) link for BME members: Extreme2 or Full members

“Sammy appeared in P.F.I.Q. #18 (1983) and #19 as the magazine’s first documented tongue piercing. This clip has audio and video glitches (that Roo was kind enough to clean up to the best of his ability) present in the original VHS; that’s why these are so important to share. Once the original masters degrade – this stuff could be lost forever. I hope you guys are enjoying these glimpses into our not so distant past!

Enjoy! – Shawn”

How Young is Too Young For Tattoos?


We at BME publish a lot of content that people don’t always agree with—we’re fine with that. Body modification, constantly increasing acceptance notwithstanding, can still be a bit of a touchy subject. Now, BME sometimes finds itself in a predicament, being that we want to promote body modification and see it flourish (and therefore showcase the best the community has to offer), but we are also an archive, and that role sees us documenting content that can cast body modification in an unfavorable light in the public sphere. Such is the duality of a Web site that seeks, simultaneously, to be the voice of a community as well a news outlet covering it.

So, when we got this picture, it gave us the cold sweats. What was more important? Should we keep a lid on it because of the negative light in which it could surely cast tattooing, or should we publish it because that’s what we’ve made a commitment to do? In the end, we decided to run it, albeit with any distinguishing features obscured, as you can see above. Hopefully, if nothing else, it’ll spark some intelligent discussion and we won’t be proven foolish for posting it.

Says the artist:

Okay okay we know people will probably FREAK about this but you have to accept you don’t know all the details!.. The boy grows up around tattoos, he loves them, always loved them, always wants his own – hey I know what that’s like! I did a small one his leg and he took it pretty good, strong kid, so what the hell? Made sure he got a good long sleep and had a big breakfast, and had a big bottle of warm milk to relax him before laying down for the tattoo (and some during too). He’s a champ!!! It’s something to grow up with and remember, and if dont “approve” then that’s your problem I guess.

… discuss.

Photoshopped!


So, when we got this photo from Matthias, something seemed a little fishy, a little off. Were his lobes fake? No, no. The white background brightened a bit too much? Nah. And that’s when we realized…tricky bastard Photoshopped urine in place of beer in that gigantic mug. April Fools! Really though, get off the Internet right now before that goddamn Internet worm finds you and molests the shit out of your computers.

See more in Ear Stretching (past 1/2″) (Ear Piercing)

Rumored to Exist


Sorry about the spot of downtime earlier, ModBloggers. Would you believe that a burglar broke into the server room and doused the machines with delicious maple syrup? No? Well … you’re quicker on the draw than I am. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me six times …

ANYWAY. How about this beautiful piece by Terry Ribera, who splits time between Avalon Tattoo II in San Diego and Daredevil Tattoo in New York? Nice and peaceful … and appropriate for bed time. Goodnight, ModBlog. See you in the morning.