Everyone makes mistakes, right?

Posted on August 12, 2010 by Rob

ModBlog reader Brendan sent me this link of a news story NBC posted recently. It seems that a plastic surgeon has invented a “new surgery” that can reverse the process of stretched ears.

When Daniel Bocchino was 16, he started stretching his ear lobes, expanding them until he had an inch-wide hole in each lobe. But by the time he was 19, he was so over the piercing trend known as ear gauging. He removed the thick plugs from his lobes and slathered the holes with all kinds of weird ointments and creams, hoping the stretched-out skin would just shrink back up. But that’s not how it works — once that hole is stretched any wider than 6 millimeters, there’s no going back.

Glatt, a board-certified plastic surgeon in Morristown, N.J., says he’s seeing more people — mostly young people, and mostly men — who started gauging their ears as teenagers and are now joining the military, seeking a professional job or, like Bocchino, are simply over the fad, and are trying to figure out how to fill that hole back up. The surgery takes about half an hour per ear, and costs anywhere from $1,500 to $3,000, which Bocchino paid for himself with the money he makes as a tattoo artist. He says he’s happy about the results — the worst part of it all was probably telling his parents he regretted gauging his ears in the first place.

So it seems the good doctor, and the reporters at NBC have found a way to save all of the people with stretched lobes from the future embarrassment of facing the world when this silly fad is over.

Excuse me while I slam the palm of my hand into my forehead.

Color me shocked that a news outlet wouldn’t do research into a story before going to print with it. Aside from the obviously degrading language being used towards those with stretched lobes, there’s also the fact that the article is claiming that this doctor is the first person to figure out how to “fix” the lobes, and charges quite a bit for the reconstruction. It’s ok NBC. Everyone makes mistakes.

For those of you who don’t feel that your choice of modifications is part of a fad, then kindly enjoy this image of a woman who is obviously upset with her lobes and is regretting ever having stretched them. You can see the sadness in her eyes that tell the story of how the only job she can get because of her lobes is that of a cutlery rack.

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Seriously. That’s the saddest face I’ve ever seen. There’s no way I could make a mistake about that. Could I?

The mind can play strange tricks

Posted on August 10, 2010 by Rob

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The first thing you’re going to notice about this post is that the image is behind the “read more” button. There’s a reason for that, and I’ll get into it momentarily.

ModBlog readers and BME members alike are very familiar with the human body. Every day we see an image or hear a story about someone pushing their body to the extreme. The surgical and hard galleries are a prime example of this. It’s safe to say that the average ModBlog reader isn’t really the squeamish sort with it comes to modifications, which is why the majority of us have no problems looking at images of all sorts of mods.

The image you’ll see below would hardly be classified as an extreme image. In fact it’s pretty tame compared to most of the “Guess what?” images that get posted (especially today’s), but what the image lacks in it’s overt graphic content, it makes up for it the viewer’s mind.

What I suppose I’m getting at here, is that no matter what images we see on a day to day basis, the mind can always come up with something that goes beyond the content of the image. Often times the images on ModBlog are the “after” or “during” photos, where we get to see the process and the end result of the subject matter. In the image below, we’re seeing what is potentially a “before” image. It’s these images that the mind can have a field day with. You can see the potential outcomes, and it is your mind that fills in the blanks.

Like the image I posted last week of a girl moments away from suspending, this image has captured a moment in which the anticipation can be felt. The moment where you know something is about to happen, where you hold your breath and the adrenaline begins to flow. That is precisely what this image says to me. And while I look at images daily that would make a surgeon cringe, this is probably the first image I’ve come across that really made me put my mind in the place of the person who took the picture. I was right there, in the moment, and my mind went into overdrive producing exactly the type of reaction one would have in a moment such as this. I held my breath, and braced myself for what was about to happen. Of course it didn’t, but in my mind it sure did. Which of course made me want to share this with you, the ModBlog reader.

Now as you can probably assume by now, the image definitely has genitalia, so I’ve placed it behind a link so those of you browsing at work won’t get into too much trouble. So without further ado, the image in question…

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So as I said, the image itself is pretty tame compared to most ModBlog images, but the anonymous uploader has really captured a great moment in his frenum piercing play. It’s interesting because I know in my mind that if it had been any other object placed in the piercing, I wouldn’t have thought twice about it. With the scissors though, you can guess where my head (ha!) went.

What about you? Does the image do for you what it did to me? Or am I just a big wuss?

I wanna do bad things with you

Posted on August 10, 2010 by Rob

I’m 100% positive I’m not the only True Blood fan that reads ModBlog, as evidenced by the following photo uploaded by Gabriel Cece. I just finished watching last Sunday’s episode when I saw this image had been uploaded to the fantasy tattoo galleries, and I immediately had the urge to re-watch the entire series from the beginning all over again.

trueblood

I have a feeling that the comments section will probably be filled with comments about the show, so while I can ask that nobody posts spoilers from the most recent episode, I can’t guarantee it won’t happen. So consider yourself warned.

To those of us who have also read the books, what are your thoughts on the differences between them and the TV series?

Just a little old fashioned flaying

Posted on August 9, 2010 by Rob

“Mr. Burton, if you have an influence over your youthful friend, you better exert it now. Otherwise I will send both of you to the hell where people are skinned alive! It’s that simple, understand?” – David Lo Pan (Big Trouble in Little China)

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The idea of removing large sections of a person’s skin is hardly a new idea. It’s been used as a form of torture for thousands of years. But rarely does it look this clean. I really like the little veins mixed in with the muscle and it makes me want to go and watch that episode of Buffy where the guy is flayed alive.

That or Big Trouble in Little China, simply because Jack Burton is about 15 different shades of badass.

Justinstattoos uploaded this image the other day, along with a collection of similar images you can see in the tattoo galleries.

As if Farmville wasn’t enough

Posted on August 6, 2010 by Rob

Now you can lose even more productivity at work by playing Tattoo City! No seriously, I wish I was making this up. Some company has decided to create a Facebook game in which you customize your character, then manage and operate your very own tattoo studio.

The goal of the game is simple – create the biggest and best tattoo parlor in existence by tattooing your customers and earning money. The game requires more actual interaction on your part than other Facebook games, as you’ll earn money by taking “shifts,” which are active periods when your Tattoo Parlor is open.

Now if that doesn’t seem addictive enough for you, it looks like the game has additional mini-game, and all sorts of other things designed to make you keep playing. I’m sure there’s an option in there that will let you spend money on things to make your shop the best digital shop around. Don’t forget you’ll also have something else to flood your friend’s walls with, so you may want to cut back on some of your other game.

Now of course, it would be interesting to walk into a studio one day and see the staff all working away in the virtual studios, although come to think of it, I do know a couple of shop managers that probably will get a kick out of this game. It is interesting to think that a company put a lot of development time into a game that for the most part would only appeal to a very niche audience. Then again, after that story earlier in the week about the parents getting their children tattoos for going back to school, nothing should surprise me.

Just keep in mind, that if you do decide to play this game, you will be giving the company that owns it free access to all of your information, as well as any public information your friends may have that you have access to. There’s your obligatory paranoid non-endorsement of the game.

So, is anyone playing this? Is it enjoyable, or just another farmville clone?

Up, up, down down, left, right, left, right, B, A, start

Posted on August 5, 2010 by Rob

I like to think that when it comes to video games, I was born in the perfect year. You see, when I turned 8, the Nintendo Entertainment System hit stores in North America. I was definitely the target audience the marketers had in mind. Two years prior I had gotten hooked on G.I. JOE and Transformers, this year, Nintendo owned my soul. As kids my age grew, so did the video games. 8-bit became 16-bit, then 32, 64, and so on.

Today there is an entire generation of people who were raised on Mario and Link. They in turn are now raising their children in a world where owning multiple top of the line gaming systems is almost the norm.

So it should come as no surprise that when we feel nostalgic, we think back to our favorite NES games. Personally, River City Ransom will always hold a special place in my heart. Which probably explains why I’m so fired up to see the Scott Pilgrim film.

For those not familiar with Mr. Pilgrim. The premise is simple, boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, boy must defeat girl’s seven evil exes to win girl’s heart. Ok, so maybe a little more complicated. What really drew me in (aside from the fact that it’s based in Toronto) was the entire series is jam-packed with NES references.

Now because I’m looking forward to the film, I decided to see what our geek tattoo galleries had in terms of 8 and 16 bit tattoos. I was not disappointed at all.

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So fess up. What was your favorite Nintendo game? I know you all have played with a Nintendo at least once before.

Upcoming events in a galaxy far, far away

Posted on August 4, 2010 by Rob

So let me tell you a little story. I enjoy Star Wars, as a great many others do. Now, I’m not exactly a poster child for fandom, but I enjoy the films and can geek out with the best of them when I see a Star Wars reference pop up unexpectedly in an image or film. It should come as no surprise that I have friends who also enjoy the films, some of whom are a little more dedicated to the fandom than I am.

Now, with all that being said, something strange has been happening to me the past couple of weeks. Artists that I know seemed to be focusing on Star Wars quite a bit. Lots of images popping up, discussions being held, references being made, etc. I don’t know if it was my subconscious picking up on things that always seemed to be there, or if it was something else.

It turns out it was something else.

I was visiting my artist, Rev. Matt Ellis, a few month ago and he mentioned that he was working on a Star Wars skateboard as a piece for a show. I didn’t think too much of it, as he’s always working on something. When he finally finished the board, he posted an image of it on facebook, and needless to say it was awesome.

After that, I also was hearing complaints from the lovely Lexci Million that her partner in crime was spending all his time drawing Star Wars images. At the time they had just gotten a new TV so I figured he’d just been watching the movies a lot.

So this week, when I was looking for some upcoming events, I came across an article about Celebration V. For those that aren’t at one with the force, the Celebration events are pretty much Mecca for hardcore Star Wars nerds. It turns out this year, in addition to all the major events of the weekend, there will also be a tattoo pavilion featuring a skateboard art show. Yep, while reading the article I found the exact same image that had appeared on my facebook page not 2 weeks ago.

The skateboard art is just one event going on in the pavilion. Over the course of the weekend, there will be a tattoo competition, a gallery of Star Wars tattoo art, live art competitions between artists, and of course, a large number of tattoo artists on hand who will be available all weekend to get work done.

To find out more about the pavilion, as well as what artists will be featured there, head on over to theforce.net to get all the information.

Now if you live on the other side of the planet and can’t make it to California for the nerd gala, you may want to think about heading over to Doncaster in the UK. This weekend is the annual Tattoo Jam, and the goal this year is to set the Guinness record for most people tattooed simultaneously.

Currently the record for the most people tattooed simultaneously stands at 178, set last year at The London Tattoo Convention. But Tattoo Jam has lined up more than 300 artists from around the world who will all be in action at 2pm on Saturday in an attempt to set the new record for more than 300 people.
Organisers are appealing for 13 members of the public to act as stewards for the occasion and ensure the event runs smoothly. Volunteers must be available to be at Doncaster Racecourse from noon on Saturday. Everyone who helps out will receive a memorabilia T-shirt and certificate to mark the occasion.

There will also be the chance for Doncaster residents to become part of the record bid by going under the needle as part of the attempt.
Anyone interested must make a 2pm booking – either in advance of the event or early on the same day.

So if you’re in the neighborhood and you want to get your name in the big book of records, just swing by Doncaster and you’ll have the chance to do it.

Have any events coming up? Send me an e-mail so I can put the word out.

Toronto: The Vinaayagar Chariot Festival

Posted on August 4, 2010 by Rob

I’m a big fan of my hometown. Those of us that live in Toronto will probably tell you the same. While the rest of the country gives us grief for calling ourselves the center of the universe, we just go on about day with the knowledge that if something awesome is going to happen, it will be in Toronto.

Last week, a Toronto Star photographer took a series of photos at the Vinaayager Chariot Festival. An annual event at the Sri Varasiththi Vinaayagar Hindu Temple, located just north of the city. While major events such as Pride and Caribana get a lot of press coverage, it’s great to see that our city has more than just the major events going for it.

Now you may be asking yourself, why is Rob talking about this on ModBlog? Well the answer is fairly simple. Part of the festivities include ritual piercings and suspensions. I’ll let some of the photos explain for me.

You can see the rest of the images from the festival over at the Toronto Star

ModBlog News of the week: August 3rd, 2010

Posted on August 3, 2010 by Rob

If you recall, last week’s news was fairly long, so this week will be just a short update. I want to start off this week with an e-mail I received from Scott at Inkfliction Tattoo in Sioux City. As you may recall, a few months ago I posted a story about Scott’s studio running a charity tattoo drive to raise money for cancer research. Here’s what Scott had to say about it:

hey rob, this is scott magnetti, owner of inkfliction tattoo in sioux city iowa….1st of all i would like to say thanks for the article…we had an amazing amount of support not only from that article, but from the entire Siouxland community…we did that event as a way to raise awareness for cancer..its a disease that is non discriminatory..it affects women, men, children, etc…when we were approached to see if there was a way we could help, we new we could do something special. Kevin, ( my business partner) and myself were extremely busy that month…we set our goal at 1000.. not only did we hit our goal, we raised close to 8000…we did that at 25 dollar tattoos( cancer ribbons in any color), as well as a walk that we participated in at 35 dollars a person…we cannot say thank you enough to everyone that helped making this event a huge success…and the money raised went to some very worth while org….once again i would like to say thank you and from the crew here at Inkfliction, we deeply appreciate not only what you did for us but what everyone did…we look forward to 2011 so we can do this event again

So a big thanks to all the ModBlog readers who helped spread the word about this event to make it as successful as it was. If you know of any mod-related charity events going on, please submit them, so we can get the word out to those who may not know about it. Speaking of charity events, Twiztid Ink in Alvarado TX is holding it’s quarterly clothing drive next month.

The shop owner, addressed only by Twiztid, said he is holding his quarterly gathering giving back to the community. His latest event, Twiztid Ink Coverage, is a clothing drive that will be open to anyone who wants to join him bringing housecoat-style robes, slippers, socks or other clothing items on a trip to Alvarado’s Nursing Home. Twiztid said the facility is home to about 100 residents with about 60 being women and 40 men for whom he would like to offer the clothing. The Twiztid Ink Coverage clothing drive Saturday, September 4 begins at 9 a.m. with donuts and coffee at the meeting place. Patrons are invited to join in the ride at 10 a.m. and deliver new or gently used, cleaned clothing for Alvarado seniors at Alvarado Nursing Home 101 N. Parkway. Following the delivery, everyone is invited to spend a few minutes or a few hours sharing stories with seniors.

Not only is Twiztid helping out the nursing home by bringing the clothing, he’s encouraging participants to come along for the drop off and spend some time with the seniors. My grandmother, before she passed, was in a nursing home for a couple of years, and I know the highlight of any day would be getting a visitor. Now, in something completely unrelated, take a look at this find sent in by quinnnchick:

To find out the rest of the story, continue reading The article above, and the rest of it which you can find right here, is from the LA Times in 1905. It turns out a man had gotten a doctor to implant a bar into his scalp, to which he could affix horns, as well as replace two of his teeth with caps that allowed for tusks to be fitted in. I’ve always thought that sideshow workers had an affinity with the modded community, I just didn’t realize that transdermals were an option back then. To go back even further in time, scientists are realizing that the Nacurrie skeleton, discovered in 1948, may very well be the first documented occurrence of skull manipulation.

The shape of his cranium suggests Aborigines practised body modification, manipulating the contour of the skull, he said. The skeleton of Nacurrie suggests his skull shape was modified by subtle means, probably by massage from his mother’s hands. Several other skeletons found in the Murray-Darling area also had modified skulls. Cranium manipulation has been common throughout different cultures. By some reports, it was the most popular type of body modification after circumcision, said Professor Brown, whose findings are published in the Journal of Human Evolution.

As interesting as this is, I wonder how accepted this practice would be in today’s westernized world. I’m sure Conehead fanatics would be ecstatic about this. There are still Conehead fans out there right? While we’re on the subject of fanatics, I happen to know a couple of people who are very dedicated to their LEGO collections. I’m sure they’ll get a kick out of this next story.

A Lego person is a couple of inches tall on a good day, so it’s not exactly easy to draw a dragon, skull, or Harley Davidson logo on the arm of one. Seemingly, that’s just what Barcelona’s Grey advertising agency did to promote a line of Pilot’s extra-fine tipped pens.

Now I’m not a LEGO collector by any means, but if I saw these guys on the shelf, I’d be sure to pick them up. Too bad they’re probably just a clever photoshop.

This next story was submitted by AmberLilith, and it surrounds a somewhat troubling situation in the UK. I say troubling because I know that there is a community built around DIY modifications. I would definitely be interested in hearing their thoughts on a potential ban on DIY tattoo kits being sold online.

“The sale of tattoo equipment online is not regulated in any way, and well known internet auction sites, who are not prepared to sell items such as knives, are prepared to ignore the welfare of people and the risk of spreading diseases. These results are a big burden to those who do everything they can, to work in a safe and hygienic environment and in accordance with local health and safety laws.”

In addition to the kits being sold to unlicensed individuals (who go on to tattoo others), the kits don’t contain any form of instructions, or directions on proper sterilization. There actually isn’t even any proof given that the materials have been sterilized prior to being shipped. I’d like to believe that the people buying these kits will do research into safe practices, but with so much bad information floating around the internet, I’m a little worried that I’m going to be posting a story soon about an outbreak of hep from someone who didn’t bother to sterilize their equipment.

Well, that’s it for this week (I warned you it would be a short week), but I’ve got some great stories to feature later in the week so look forward to those.

Waiting in suspense

Posted on August 3, 2010 by Rob

I really enjoy photographs capturing a moment in time that almost can’t be described in words. This image is one of those. Sure you can describe the situation as a woman is getting the final checks on the rigging before a suicide suspension, but it’s what’s going on between the two of them that really speaks the loudest.

This is that moment, just before she is to be lifted off the ground. The quiet intensity of both the suspender and suspendee. The final preparations right before some goes through a potentially life defining moment.

The image was submitted anonymously, but I really would like to know the story behind it. Was it her first suspension? What was going through her mind at that moment?

Then again, part of the allure of the image is in not knowing. So I’ll just leave it here for you to enjoy.

suspension

To see the rest of the images in this series and others like it, check out the suspension galleries.