Little seahorse, swimming in a primal sea

Posted on August 19, 2010 by Rob

Sometimes I like to get introspective and thoughtful about the posts I make here. Other times, I just like to post something that is just bright and cheery to liven up my day.

Foxmommy23 uploaded these images of her feet and the seahorses on them to the nature and wildlife tattoo galleries. From the description she provided, these are dedicated to her siblings, and I would assume the numbers are birthdates.

seahorse

There’s just something about these little guys that screams “CUTE!!!”. I know, I’m a guy, I’m supposed to like beer and monster trucks and tattoos of skulls and daggers. So what? So much of our lives are taken up by living up to others expectations. We need to perform as best we can at work, not because we love our jobs, but because that is what is expected of us. In relationships there are times where we need to step up and do something we may not want or need to do, just so we can meet the expectations of our loved ones.

Of course this doesn’t apply to everyone. I love my job because I get to share with the ModBlog readers things they may not have thought about in a given day. Sure I could just throw up a picture and say “Hey, look at this!”, but I think you guys and gals and others deserve more than that. Sometimes doing something for yourself can become the most satisfying feeling possible. Heck, looking at it from a mod standpoint, when we get modded we’re doing it for ourselves, and I’m willing to bet most of you get some degree of satisfaction by doing it. So, go. Be selfish for a day. Treat yourself to something, or do something no matter the consequence. Just do it for you.

Think about it, when was the last time you went out an exceeded someone’s expectations just for yourself?. You were given a task to do, and instead of just doing the basics, you went out and made it something that you love and something more than what could ever be asked of you. That’s what I want you to do, do something for you!

So, what are you thinking of doing?

The Body Image

Posted on August 19, 2010 by Rob

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With a positive or healthy body image, a woman has a real perception of her size and shape. She also feels comfortable with her body. With a negative body image, a woman has a distorted perception of her shape and size, compares her body to others, and feels shame and anxiety about her body. Being unhappy with your body can affect how you think and feel about yourself as a person. A poor body image can lead to emotional distress, low self-esteem, unhealthy dieting habits, anxiety, depression, and eating disorders. Developing a positive body image and a healthy mental attitude is crucial to a woman’s happiness and wellness.

–Womenshealth.gov

I had a conversation with an ex-gf last night. We were out with a group of old friends, and someone handed us a picture of the two of us from when we were dating. She looked pretty much the same, which is impressive as the picture was over 10 years old, while I looked substantially different. Sure my head is shaved now, I have a beard, and I wasn’t even modded back then, but the thing I noticed most was my body. I’m not an overweight guy, I’m a little on the big side of average, but nowhere close to being an unhealthy weight. In my mind, I’ve always been roughly the same size. It turns out, I’ve been wrong. You see, in the picture I was a stick figure. I started asking around, “was I really that skinny?”. I was holding a photograph of myself, and I still couldn’t believe it.

It really got me thinking about how we perceive ourselves by our body image, as well as how much we rely on others to judge us. While I don’t want to get too deep into a discussion about eating disorders and the like, I did want to talk about how we, as people who go to great lengths to modify our bodies, feel about the judgments and stigmas that arise when discussing body types.

We as a community are a very unique bunch. We all do things to achieve what we perceive as the way we want our bodies to be. We push the limits every day of what the human body can take in terms of modification. We stretch, pull, poke, cut, and more, all in the goal of getting self satisfaction.

So given all that, what makes us different from those with eating disorders? I’m not trying to make any accusations here, I’m just throwing some ideas out there to discuss. Think about it. To a person who has a negative body image, like the quote above describes, they are not happy with the way their body appears. These people will then go to extremes to try to force their bodies into how they believe it should appear. Crash diets, excessive exercise, eating disorders, all of these are what people (and yes this goes for men as well as women) go through to change themselves. The sad part of these behaviours is that often when the person reaches their initial “goal”, they will find something else wrong and continue the behaviour.

So where does the fault lie? Where do these people get the notion that they need to change themselves to fit a specific ideal? This is where the line gets very blurry. We as a community are continually changing ourselves. Some more than others, and some even feel the need to continually change as they can never quite attain their goals. Plus there are a number of modified people who also suffer from a negative body image, and do have the same problems that an unmodified person may have. I think the answer may lie in the motivations. With modifications we deviate from the “norm”. What may be considered unacceptable in some places, is celebrated here. We have bonds with each other where we can get together and discuss our progress. We talk about new techniques, new ideas, ways to make our changes even better than we could imagine. We have support.

Yet when it comes to issues of weight and body image, things become slightly different. To discuss one’s modifications with other modified people is the norm in our community, to someone suffering from an eating disorder, talking to someone about it can be the hardest thing in the world to do. To talk to someone means that you first must accept that you have a problem, but then you have to do the unthinkable, which is go to someone and say out loud that you have a problem with your self-image and you need help. There is no stigma in our community towards getting modified, yet for some reason when a person chooses to alter their body shape, or suffers from an eating disorder, there is still a negative stigma attached.

When you look at someone who is overweight or obese, your first thought probably is “they should lose some weight”. Yet to many people they feel that they themselves must lose weight, even if by society’s standards they aren’t overweight or obese. There have been many studies and books written talking about how over time the media and society have crafted what would be considered the ideal standard, which to many people is an unrealistic standard. We’re now in a world where more and more people are doing drastically unhealthy things just to meet this falsified standard.

Which brings me back to us. Do we as a community hold a double standard when it comes to body types? We’re a global community that willingly welcomes people with open arms, regardless of what they look like in terms of their mods. Yet when we discuss body type and body image, do some of us forget how we’re all here because we are taking control of our bodies, which means accepting the way we look? The reason I’m asking these questions stems from an older ModBlog post that was brought to my attention. Last December IAM: Botexty submitted an image of her newest tattoo. She just sent in a healed image which I want to share with you now.

flattery

Going back and looking over the comments, you’ll find a mixed bag of reactions. Some discuss the tattoo, others compliment her on her ass, and some do the exact opposite. And while most of those people were chastised, I found it a little upsetting that readers of ModBlog, who are some of the most open-minded people I have had to privilege to know, can possess the capacity to judge a person simply on their body shape. Isn’t that part of the reason we’re all here. This community is built as a safe haven for those sick of being judged out in the world. A place where they can be who they want to be without fear of negative comments about their bodies.

I pose this question to you now ModBlog readers? Are we truly an accepting community, one that ignores the “faults” in others, or are we just a microcosm of the larger world where we have members that find it acceptable to pass negative judgement on a person’s body, while expecting approval for their own body?

Pulling through the pain

Posted on August 18, 2010 by Rob

“Death is a stopping of impressions through the senses, and of the pulling of the cords of motion, and of the ways of thought, and of service to the flesh.”

– Marcus Aurelius

The following image is one of a series of photos sent in by IAM: Bruisepresser

pull

As near as I can tell, this pull, and the rest of the images come from some performance or photoshoot that was done.

What strikes me most about this image is the raw emotions that were captured. You have this moment where the pressure of the pull is being felt, and the hands are back holding on for support, either physical or emotional. The moment where all the sensations are becoming overwhelming and her face is showing the emotional, physical, and spiritual feelings that are passing through her body. While she is in costume, and has a mask of paint on, you can see beyond all that. Beyond the physical action of the pulling. Beyond the costuming and makeup. You are able to see right into her being.

This is why we do the things we do. To reach a point in ourselves when we can truly see and feel what it is to be our ideal. Whatever mods you have, or activities you participate in, they’re all building to moments such as this one. When we can strip away all the trappings of the outside world, and bare our souls to ourselves. See what we really are, and what we want to become.

So thank you Bruisepresser, for sharing this moment with us.

Gotta catch’em all!

Posted on August 18, 2010 by Rob

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Raise your hand if you’ve heard of Pokemon. Good. Now if you’ve never seen the TV show, lower your hand. Finally, if you’ve never played any of the games (card or video) lower your hand. Those of you with your hands still up. You should probably put them down, people will start staring at you wondering why there’s a crazy person starting at their computer with their hand in the air.

Now if you raised your hand at any point, congratulations, you’ve been exposed at some point in your life to the cultural phenomenon that’s been going on almost as long as that documentary about Allen has been in existence. I think what is interesting to note at first, is that the first generation of kids that got into Pokemon are well into their 20s. So it should come as no surprise that Pokemon related modifications are becoming more prevalent.

When it comes to a pop-culture related mod, a lot depends on context. I know that if I had gotten say a River City Ransom or Clash at Demonhead tattoo 10 years ago, only people my age would have a clue as to what they were a reference to. Now with films like Scott Pilgrim coming out (seriously, best movie I’ve seen in 10 years, go watch it) you have this resurgence of classic pop-culture being exposed to a generation that wasn’t even born before the N64 was released. Now when it comes to Pokemon, you’re seeing a completely different type of generational culture attachment. Pokemon is still going strong today. We’re at a point with it where the kids who were part of the first wave of fans, are now sitting down with their own children to play the games. For someone my age it’s hard to imagine that occurring for me. While Pokemon is still popular with the young folk, the shows and games I grew up on are only getting a resurgence in popularity due to nostalgia. Some may argue that the exposure is still present, and while it may be, the children of my generation will only be able to watch the shows and play the games we grew up on if we were able to hold on to our childhood possessions. Granted, I personally thought ahead. If I ever have a child, when they’re old enough to play video games, the first game they will play will be Super Mario Bros on my original NES. When they want to watch a cartoon, I’ve got the full collections of GI JOE and Transformers sitting on a shelf waiting for them. So yes, the exposure to these classic pop-culture icons will essentially be forced, it’s nice to know that with the digital age those younger than me can enjoy the games they played as a child with their children, at it will still be culturally relevant.

Now, seeing as how I may have exposed myself as a geek, let me distract you with a picture of one of those Pokemon fans that has grown up and gotten a scarification piece done of their favorite Pokemon, #38 Ninetails (I had to look that up).

ninetails

So, those of you who raised your hands, what was your favorite Pokemon?

Who knew saving the rainforest could be fun

Posted on August 17, 2010 by Rob

So picture this: You’re sitting at home, thinking to yourself, “Self, I think I want to save some animals today”. Now you’re stuck because it’s not like you can just run outside and physically protect an endangered animal, especially if the animal is one of those cute fuzzy ones that can rip your throat out in a heartbeat. So what can you possibly do?

Well, donating money is definitely a great way to help out, and heck, for most donations you get a tax write-off. So you should probably do that. But what if that doesn’t satisfy you? There must be something you can do that wouldn’t take you to a far away country living in the wilderness.

Well what about getting a tattoo? I’m sure one or two ModBlog readers have some of those. Actually I’d hope so, or else all the tattoo pictures I’ve posted are going to waste.

Back to the helping animals thing. It turns out two separate organizations on opposite sides of the globe have found a way to turn getting a tattoo into something that can help the planet.

First, there’s TATZOO, an eco-contest that promises free tattoos in exchange for help protecting endangered species! Fifteen finalists were selected on Aug. 5 based on their ideas for raising awareness about the leatherback turtle, California condor, or other endangered species local to the Bay area. Those tattoo-loving finalists now need to engage at least 100 people with their idea — for which they’ll be rewarded with a free tattoo of their endangered species, inked by locally famous tattoo artists.

And farther away in Melbourne, a three-day tattoo convention called Rites of Passage Festival calls all tattoo-loving environmentalists to enjoy art and music along with environmental education (via The Green Life). According to the website, the festival will showcase eco-friendly tattoo supplies — and raise funds for rain forests

In the case of the Rites of Passage Festival (not to be confused with the lovely boys and girls in the suspension crew), 100% of their proceeds go towards the charity. So if you happen to be in or around Melbourne at the end of January, head on over. You never know, you could save a spider monkey from being run over by clear cutting operation.

Personally, I’ve donated money to a couple of charities over the years. I know the WWF has a program where you can buy a stuffed animal with the money going to save the real version of the animal. I hope George “The Animal” Steele got the money ok. That green tongue of his won’t change color on its own. Do any of you have a favorite charity you help out when you can? Is there a reason why you chose that one in particular?

Tuesday’s grey…

Posted on August 17, 2010 by Rob

There’s something inherently beautiful about a greyscale tattoo. Especially one as well done as this lion that Metalmegan uploaded, which was done by Kyzer from Mainstreet Tattoo in Ohio.

lion

The shading, particularly around the mouth is incredible.

I think part of the appeal of a well done portrait/greyscale tattoo, is the ability to really capture the essence of the subject matter. It’s often possible to see a portrait done that appears to have been done with charcoal, and not a needle. Obviously in the close-up of the middle image you can see the stippling from the needle, but in the image on the right they’ve disappeared as it healed.

Now we’ve all seen those bad tattoo blogs where there’s the image of a portrait side by side with a picture of the subject and they look nothing alike, or worse, they look like the subject only made ugly. Thankfully this isn’t the case here. It does make me wonder though, what would happen if I got a portrait done, and it turned out horrible. As is the case with a tattoo like this, it really is in the hands of the artists to bring the image to life. It’s one thing to look at the stencil in the mirror and see it look like a perfect outline of the picture, but it all depends on the artist to really bring it to life. The shading and detail work are the things that really matter, and by the looks of the image, it’s something Kyzer has managed to pull off.

If you head over to the nature and wildlife galleries you can take a look at the full sized image, to get a closer look at some of the finer details.

Who wants to win something?

Posted on August 13, 2010 by Rob

As you probably guessed by looking at the big banner to your right, Tattoo Hollywood is happening next weekend (Aug 20-22).

Well, I opened up my inbox this morning and to my surprise I was given a sneak peek at some of the prizes being given out for the “Best of Day” tattoos. Now I was sworn to secrecy about the prizes, and I think there was some sort of non-disclosure agreement in there, but I skimmed over that part to get to the pics.

Now from what I understand, each day will have it’s own “Best of Day” contest, in addition to all the other contests happening. The winners of the “Best of Day” will each get a prize. The tattoo artist will get custom built machine from Lucky Supply, while the recipient of the artwork will walk away with a shiny trophy.

Now I haven’t had a chance to see the trophies, but the e-mail that I was supposed to keep private happened to have some pictures of the tattoo machines. The question I’m now faced with is: Do I share the pics with ModBlog readers and jeopardize my job, or do I keep the pics hidden and have the ModBlog readers hate me for making a post talking about something, and not showing it.

Well seeing as how there are more of you, you guys win. Just don’t tell anyone I posted these. I don’t want to get in trouble.

8_5_10tall

8_5_10qall

8_5_10nall

8_5_10kall

So, if you’re in or around Los Angeles next weekend, definitely head on over to The Grand Ballroom at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel to check out the show. You could walk away with some cool swag. And who doesn’t like free swag?

Looking for a place to hang out?

Posted on August 12, 2010 by Rob

A couple of events are coming up in the next couple of weeks that you may want to check out.

First up, this weekend is the 15th annual South Florida Tattoo Festival. While I can’t vouch for the quality of their website the Sun Sentinel did a great summary of the event if you wanted to check it out.

It’s that time of year again, when the inked, pierced and earlobe-plugged gather to show off their bodily canvases. More than 30 tattoo artists will appear at this event, which will feature burlesque-suspension and fetish shows and appearances by Black Sabbath’s Vinny Appice, Iron Maiden’s Nicko McBrain, ex-WWE champs Titan and the Nasty Boys, and the Broward County Derby Girls. Proceeds will benefit the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital. On Sunday, check out the Hot Rod Car Show from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. It costs $25 to register a ride the day of the show.

Location: Deerfield Beach Hilton, 100 Fairway Drive Time: Noon-1 a.m. Friday-Saturday; noon-7 p.m. Sunday Cost: $15 per day or $30 for a three-day pass Contact: 954-343-5585 or Sofltattooexpo.com

Honestly, I’d be willing to drive down there just to see Knobbs and Saggs duke it out with some locals. Plus they’re giving their proceeds to a kids hospital, so you’d be able to help out some kids and have a fun weekend.

Now while you may not be in the Florida area this weekend, in a couple of weeks SuspenDC is having their get-together Sunday September 19th.

SuspenDC is a flesh hook piercing and suspension event. You can get to feel what it’s like to have temporary hook piercings. You can suspend from the piercings. You can watch or support others in their experience. Piercings are done by professional piercers and suspensions are rigged and performed by experienced suspension teams. hough the event is scheduled to run about 8 hours, space is limited for the number of flyers. If you are going to get hooked, be on time to the event to make sure you can reserve a time slot to be pierced/suspended.

Now I know that the term “hanging out” can be a little vague. So here’s an image of Iamdan showing you exactly the right way to hang out.

suspend

Today’s Iron Chef ingredient: INK!!

Posted on August 12, 2010 by Rob

I’ll admit that I love the Iron Chef. Both the original, and the US version. Heck I even watched the specials hosted by William Shatner. So it should come as no shock that I think this story is pretty cool.

While frat guys have their secret handshakes and makeout parties, the modern-day chef has chosen a little more permanent insignia of their brotherhood: tattoos. This distinguishing feature pops up on plenty of chefs both nationally and locally, bringing a touch of rock-star flare to the back of the house. Tattoos — whether used as a means to cover up scar tissue from years of kitchen work or a means to pick up chicks – are as much a part of today’s chefs uniform as a toque or an apron.

You can check out the rest of the gallery here.

The last time I was in Kansas City, I had dinner at a fantastic pizza place that had some great vegan pizzas. I can’t recall the name of it right now, but I’m sure someone in the comments section can enlighten me. If you do get a chance to hit up this pizza place, I highly recommend getting a pizza with mushrooms, garlic, and roasted potatoes. I’d drive down there again just to eat that pizza.

Any ModBlog readers chefs? Or just someone who likes to cook? Got any tips/recipes to share?

Can get by with a little help from my friends

Posted on August 12, 2010 by Rob

My favorite Aussie newsfeed submitter Botexty sent me in this story of a community pulling together to help someone close to them.

Mrs Hearnden suffered terrible injuries when she fell from a cliff in Dubrovnik, breaking both her arms, her jaw, hip and rupturing internal organs. Her kidney and spleen were removed and she faces many more operations. She and her husband, Gareth, were just a month into a five-month world tour when she fell 14m on to rocks last Monday.

This Friday, Tanya’s cousin and tattoo studio manager, Stacey Todd, has asked tattoo artists at 100 tattoo studios throughout the country to ask clients to donate the cost of a tattoo. She has asked tattoo artists to contribute designs to a book, the online sale of which will help pay the family’s expenses.