Alright, we’re at the end of another week of ModBlog posts, which means its time for the news roundup.  To start I’ve got a bit of BME news for you.  The BME Shop is having a sale on EVERYTHING!  Just use the code 30offbme when you check out and it will be automatically applied.  The sale won’t last forever, so take advantage of it while you can!

Now for the lead story today I’m going to be turning to Misty from Hooklife as she’s already summed up a lot of this issue already.  Basically the Springfield, Missouri chapter of AGRO have suddenly found themselves in the middle of a media circus after holding a small suspension event in a member’s back yard.

AGRO Springfield had selected what they saw as a private location to hold their monthly meetings; the back yard of co-director Kristen Atkinson. Their team chose to hang tarps along the fence to help block the view of neighbors as they suspended, but those in bordering yards were still able to see into the area if they tried. One neighbor, whose wife and daughter were able to see the suspensions taking place, chose to contact local councilman Nick Ibarra, state representative Melissa Leach, and other state agencies with his complaint about what he viewed as an inappropriate act for his family to be exposed to.

From that original interview and news clip, the situation seems to have escalated very quickly; in the last two days almost every news outlet in Springfield has contacted the directors of AGRO Springfield for information, photos, and interviews. It doesn’t seem to have stopped with local news either, ABC News took them time to contact them as well about what is taking place. Luckily for all of us, the directors of AGRO Springfield, with guidance from Rick Pierceall, are attempting to remain level headed and calm throughout this ordeal. They are currently trying to learn more about what the city council members might plan to include in the draft of possible regulations to be written, as well as looking more into what they can do to have a positive impact on this situation. I would like to note that their team did nothing wrong to cause this situation. They had a regularly scheduled meet, in a member’s back yard, where people nearby witnessed body suspension; this very easily could have been any of our teams in that situation.

Here’s the news story that Misty referred to:

Shane Shields can’t tell you exactly why, but he gets a rush out of being pierced through the skin with thick hooks and hanging by ropes in the air – a fringe art known as body suspension. The 29-year-old body modification artist runs a licensed tattoo facility as a day job, but on weekends, he joins other body suspension enthusiasts in a Springfield, Mo., backyard.  But one neighbor insists that Shields and his fellow body artists are traumatizing his children and has pledged to ban the practice so young onlookers don’t have to hear the screams and see bodies drenched in blood.  Aaron King, whose North Main Avenue backyard overlooks the meetings, says that his children should not have to be unwittingly exposed to the practice.  He isn’t opposed to others doing it — he just thinks his two children should not have to witness it, especially his 9-year-old daughter.  “She saw blood dripping from a shoulder blade area and what she said looked like holes,” King told ABC affiliate KSPR. “I don’t know why their right to do this should extend to public open space and force me to keep my children inside.”

“Why people do it differs,” said Shields, who co-founded the Springfield club. “For some it’s the spiritual sense and a kind of enlightenment and others just think it’s fun.”  But King thinks otherwise and has contacted his city counselors and several state agencies with his complaint.  City council member, Nick Ibarra said he agrees with King and told the Springfield News-Leader that he has asked the city’s legal department to draft an ordinance that addresses body suspension.  One child development expert said she stands firmly behind King.  “It’s the equivalent of taking a kid to an R-rated movie because of the violence,” said Dr. Ari Brown, an Austin, Texas, pediatrician and author of several books on child behavior. “But you don’t have a choice when it’s happening in your backyard.”  Young children might experience nightmares or anxiety after witnessing body suspension, according to Brown. “Kids have a little bit of trouble understanding this type of thing — it’s violent and painful and someone is going through something uncomfortable,” she said. “The visual leaves a lasting image in their memory and I don’t blame the parent for being disturbed.”

Now the scary thing about this situation is that it could happen anywhere.  All it takes is one overzealous parent and a politician to force suspension underground.  Keep an eye here on ModBlog as well as Hooklife for any further developments.

Alright, there’s more news to come after the break, including a couple of stories out of Houston, so Texas ModBlog readers, keep an eye out for them.

So next up is an editorial piece that I found in the SFWeekly.  It was published by a staff writer who credits the author as an anonymous tattoo artist in the San Francisco area.  The title is “Ten things your tattoo artist wants to set you straight on”.

Pregnant women will remain un-inked.
I know there are lot of hormones racing around around the body of your typical pregnant woman, but there are serious health concerns inherent in placing a tattoo on that glowing, expectant-mother skin. It’s bad for the baby. Yes, these women would sign a waiver, but we don’t have a waiver for that because we are caring human beings, not horrible, horrible animals.

We don’t sell tattoo equipment to amateurs.
You like tattoos, and you want to try out some Chinese numerals and smiley faces? Well, this isn’t Los Angeles, and we don’t sell to those not professionally trained. I’m not a jerk; I’m just a caring human being looking out for the future of you and your addle-minded friend’s epidermis.

No name-on-name action.
The first time you got “Richie” tattooed on your lower back was a bad idea. Getting “Pete”
tattooed over “Richie” is an absolutely terrible idea. That’s just two names on top of each other. What are you going to do when “Pete” bows out of the picture, and “Stan” steps in to take his place? I don’t even want to think about it.

No matter how many times you ask, your kid isn’t getting tattooed.
Your child is still prepubescent and wants a full back-tattoo of Mickey Mouse fighting Miley Cyrus. Too bad. It is punishable by prison sentence in the state of California to tattoo a minor, and as much as I’d like to lose my license, so your kid can have the Grateful Dead bear on his forearm, it ain’t going to happen. Even if you’re his dad. Even if I speak to your wife on your phone. I. Will. Not. Do. It.

You’ll have to read the article to see the remaining 6.

Although the list is only 10 points, there is an 11th one that should go without saying, but it seems some people need to be reminded.  If you don’t like the work the tattoo artist did on your girlfriend, don’t stab him!

A man stabbed a tattoo artist several times in the area of Columbus Avenue and Cedar Street Wednesday afternoon, then fled on a city bus, police said.

The victim said he did not know the man personally, but had done tattoo work for the man’s girlfriend. The man decided to stab the victim because the tattoo was no good, police said. The victim sought treatment for his injuries at Yale-New Haven Hospital.

Houstonites listen up, especially tattoo artists in and around Houston.  There’s been a rash of robberies taking place and the criminals are targeting tattoo shops specifically.

It’s not the cash resigters or even the electronics that are being targeted. It’s the pricey tattoo equipment. We’ve learned of several high-dollar bugarlies at Houston-area tattoo shops.  With a half a dozen artists now working for him, Rene Garcia, is living the American dream.  “I love the art,” Garcia said. “Open up your own business and try to survive.”  In January, he expanded Big City Tattoos to this space on the Gulf Freeway, and this past weekend, his dream was the source of disappointment.  “Having somebody take what you worked hard for, it bugs you, you know? It bugs you a lot,” Garcia said.  The burglar broke in early Sunday morning. Once inside, surveillance cameras caught his every move. When he can’t find the light switch, he grabs what’s close and carries it out. This time, he grabbed a tool box full of $3,000 worth of tattoo machines and supplies.

The break-in sounds very familiar to Cynthia Courtney. The shop she owned on the East Freeway with her mother and sister was hit in July. The loss was so great that their beloved business now has a for rent sign outside.  “If I had to add it up, $18,000 maybe, total,” Courtney said.  They were forced to close.  “We had no other choice, we had nothing left,” she said.  At least one other shop on Westheimer was burglarized this past weekend. A surveillance camera captured a car that looks a lot like the one seen during the Big City Tattoos burglary.  In all three burglaries, specialized tattoo equipment was stolen, leading Garcia to a conclusion.  “It has to be a tattoo artist,” he said.  With the video, he hopes he’s stopped.  “The tattoo game is really small in Houston and everybody know everyone in the tattoo game,” Garcia said. “People are going to recognize his face.”

Another story out of Houston this week involves a new program for juvenile offenders.  In the past we’ve seen programs offering free tattoo removal for gang members, mostly in California, however this program is targeting young offenders specifically.

As Preston walked away with bandages on his arms and leg, a contagious smile was visible. The bandages covered the 11 tattoos he started the process of removing Thursday afternoon, making him the first student from the Montgomery County Juvenile Probation Department to take advantage of free tattoo and scar removal services offered by Body Restore in The Woodlands.  Preston’s last name is not being used in this story because he is part of the Montgomery County Juvenile Probation Department.  “I’m sort of glad I got on probation so I got the opportunity to do this,” the 16-year-old said. “Otherwise, I’d be stuck with these my whole life.”  At age 13, Preston got his first tattoo “because my brother got one and I thought it was cool.”

“This is a tremendous opportunity for these young folks,” said County Court-at-Law 5 Judge Keith Stewart, who oversees Montgomery County’s Juvenile Court. “I’ve seen in the last couple of years many kids come through who have made a decision that impacts them the rest of their lives. Unfortunately they made these decisions at ages 13, 14 or 15, with gang-related tattoos on their bodies. Without a program like this, most would not have the opportunity to get rid of them. Some kids have wanted to have them removed and couldn’t afford it. The fact that Tracie is willing to do this is a huge favor to our society.”  “It’s a way of me giving back,” Mann said. “These are young kids. They make decisions based on a picture they have at that time and that picture changes over time. We’re trying to help them make better lives for themselves.”  Mann, who’s been on her own since age 14, also offers free burn and scar removal to soldiers returning from war, abused children and human trafficking victims.  “I had a real hard life growing up,” she said. “I don’t want any other child to feel that. … People look at you differently depending on the type of tattoo you have.”

To finish off this week’s news we’ve got a couple of stories of people being offended by tattoos.  In the first story it actually led to an arrest of the tattooed individual.

According to reports, Colombian winger Juan Pablo Pino was arrested by the Saudi moral police when fellow shoppers in a Riyadh mall complained about the exposed tattoos on his arms, which include the face of Jesus and other religious symbols. Pino joined Saudi club Al Nassr on loan from Galatasaray at the end of August and apparently was not aware that showing his tattoos by wearing a sleeveless shirt in public would cause him any problems.

Gulf News reports that a Saudi Football Federation official “sent a circular to all clubs asking them to advise their professionals and players to respect Saudi traditions and not show their religious symbols in a way disregarding Saudi customs and traditions” after a cross tattoo on the arm of a Romanian player for Al Hilal caused controversy last year.  It’s unclear whether Al Nassr informed Pino of this in his short time with the club, but he’ll probably be investing in some long-sleeve shirts now.

The article goes on to state that Pino was released from police custody after a team delegate discussed the matter with the police.

The other story about offending tattoos is from the U.S. where parents are upset over the newest Barbie doll.

Parents in the US are furious over fashion doll Barbie’s latest reinvention, which sees her covered in tattoos.  The new “Totally Stylin’ Tattoos Barbie” comes with a set of body art stickers to be placed anywhere on her body.  The set also comes with a tattoo gun so kids can stamp designs on themselves.  Manufacturer Mattel says the tattoos for children are temporary and wash off.  But some parents believe the toy is not appropriate for young children and would not buy the doll.

Jenn Alcayaga, a parent from Sacramento, California, is against the message the new Barbie could send to young girls.   “It’s attracting kids too young to want to expose parts of their body to show off tattoos,” she said.

Mattel isn’t planning on removing the doll, despite the complaints.  Now I may be showing my age, but I could have sworn I saw a commercial for a tattooed barbie back when I was a kid, with the same hearts and flowers tattoos.  Anyway, it just goes to show that no matter what you do, someone, somewhere, will be offended.

That’s it for this week’s news post.  Keep sending in those articles, they’re a huge part of what gets included in the weekly updates.

It’s time again for the news, but before I start I just want to wish a happy thanksgiving to my fellow Canadians.  This week’s news is back to the normal size thanks mostly to the many links that were sent my way.  As always, if you come across a story you think should be included, just send me the link in an e-mail.

To get things started is a pretty significant story out of Delaware County, PA.  Within the next 2 week, if a law is passed, it will become illegal for anyone other than a doctor to perform anything they consider an extreme modification.  This includes everything ranging from scarification and branding to full penectomies.  It also includes all types of suspension, which will force any suspension teams in Delaware County to stop completely, move out of state, or break the law.

Delaware County residents planning to have extreme body modification — including tongue-splitting, castration or penectomy — done at a lo cal tattoo parlor had better have it done in the next two weeks.  The Delaware County commissioners on Monday approved the first reading of a new, tougher tattoo and body piercing ordinance that included procedures that local health officials maintain are more suited for a medical office than a tattoo parlor.  A final vote on the ordinance — proposed by the county health department — could come as early as the commissioners’ Oct. 17 meeting.

Noting that the county’s 1998 tattoo and body piercing ordinance was one of the first in the state, heath department administrator Joshua Williams said the revised ordinance adds “prohibited” acts that are actually surgical and medical procedures.  They include branding and skin peeling as well as other forms of scarification, tongue splitting, suspension piercing — in which a person is suspended by hooks — and nullification, which includes the voluntary removal of body parts. “Most commonly, this means castration (and sometimes penectomy) amputation of fingers or toes or, in extreme cases, removal of full limbs,” according to the ordinance.  “It’s trending farther from tattoo and heading to medical procedures,” Williams told the commissioners.

County Attorney Jack Quirk questioned how often nullification, for example, was requested. Health department inspector Christiana Mann replied that the actions covered in the ordinance are offered and “happening” in Delaware County.The commissioners approved the first reading of the ordinance.Sean Gillespie, manager of Dragon Slayer Tattoo and Body Modification, said extreme body modification sometimes happens but is not a big part of his shop’s business.  “As far as the ordinance that’s in effect right now, we like it and don’t have a problem with it,” Gillespie said.

At Collins Classic Ink, Miniear said he had “heard through the grapevine” that the county was considering a new ordinance.  “I’ve been practicing scarification for five years,” he said. “It’s not a high market. I don’t understand why it’s become a problem.”  Miniear said he has done suspension piercing performances in the past. “It’s more of a spiritual thing for me and a lot of people I know,” he said. “It’s not just a shock value thing.”

So Delaware ModBlog readers, let those around you know that this is being considered by the county.  In order for this to be stopped the state needs to be aware of how this will negatively impact the Delaware modified and suspension communities.

More news to come including a celebrity story that had me laughing so hard I had to break my own rule about posting celebrity crap.

Before we get to the celebrity news I just mentioned, there’s a lot of real news to cover first.

This week brings us yet another member of the “Don’t commit a crime if you have a distinctive facial tattoo” club.  This past week, convicted sex offender Michael Campbell was picked up for violating his parole by getting within 500 feet of a public swimming pool.  The reason he got caught?  He’s pretty easy to spot in a crowd.

Greene County, Missouri, deputies arrested a very unusual looking suspect over the weekend.  They arrested Michael Campbell, 36, a Colorado native and convicted sex offender. Deputies say he was busted for coming within 500 feet of a playground or public pool. Campbell was booked into the county lockup Sunday and later released.

Campbell’s face and neck are completely covered in tattoos. The art includes tattoos of Frankenstein, a spider and a bow tie. Previous mugshots from 2003 show only a couple of tattoos on his face.

Of course just because someone has facial tattoos it doesn’t make them a bad person.  But to this day people are discriminated against.  Even in New Zealand, where having a Ta Moko is part of the cultural history of the country, people still get discriminated against.  Just last week a bar in Christchurch asked a man to leave because of his facial tattoos.

On Saturday, Tunahau Kohu went to the Inwoods Rd bar with his partner.

He said he was approached by a staff member as he sat down to watch Australia play Russia in a Rugby World Cup match at 3.30pm and told to leave because the business did not allow people with facial and neck tattoos in the bar.  Ta moko is a traditional Maori tattoo – a visual language that connects the wearers to their whakapapa (genealogy).

Kohu said he had bought a drink and played the gaming machines before the game.  ”They said it is their policy that they don’t allow people with facial tattoos. I tried to explain that my moko isn’t a facial tattoo. Every line and circle has a meaning to it,” he said.  ”They said if I didn’t leave they would ring the police. They weren’t interested in my explanation of what it meant.”

Claims of racial discrimination were soon posted on the bar’s Facebook page.  Forsdick told The Press the after the bar’s recent refurbishment, he and owner Louis Vieceli had tightened the dress code, meaning nobody with facial or neck tattoos would be allowed in the premises. “Two or three people with facial tattoos were also asked to leave” the premises on Saturday, he said.  ”This is not a racial issue.  This is about making our premises and our environment be one that is welcoming for all clientele.”  Forsdick said the incident prompted some regular customers to leave, and Kohu did not explain the significance of his moko.  Had Kohu made that clear ”we would have taken that into consideration”, Forsdick said.

This afternoon, before watching media, Forsdick shook Kohu’s hand and said he was welcome back though the bar’s policy on tattoos remained.

However, Kohu later said that despite accepting the apology, “I don’t think he deserved my handshake”.  “I wish I didn’t give it now.” NZ Hospitality Association chief executive Bruce Robertson said bars were entitled to eject “anyone they wish” as long as their decision was not based on ethnicity, gender or disability. This would breach the Human Rights Act.  Asked if mokos should be treated in the same way as other facial tattoos, Robertson said it depended on the moko.  “It depends on the nature of the moko, its authenticity and whether there were other issues involved.” He added he did not know enough about this incident to comment specifically.  The Human Rights Commission confirmed it had received a complaint about the incident.

I’m sorry, I’m not from New Zealand but even I know that a Moko isn’t just a random facial tattoo.  Unless there’s some element I’m missing out I would assume that most New Zealanders would know that.

Moving on, the Android app marketplace came under fire earlier this week for selling an app entitled “Is my son gay?“  The app asked a series of 20 questions, one of which was “Does he piercings in his tongue, nose or ears?”.  Because you know, if you have piercings, that must mean you’re gay.  After a number of complaints were made, the app was removed from the store.

When it comes to sports there isn’t normally a lot of body modification related stories, well this week 2 different articles focused on athletes that are visibly modified, and both were very positive.  In the first article pitcher Ryan Roberts from the Arizona Diamondbacks was interviewed by Yahoo Sports.

Ryan Roberts of the Arizona Diamondbacks said he appreciates when people ask him about his many, many tattoos. The subject never gets boring to him — which is fortunate, because he is covered from neck to toe in ink, his nickname is “Tatman” and he fields lots of questions about all of it.

“I can’t say they shouldn’t [ask],” Roberts told Big League Stew. “When I first started getting tattoos, I never expected to get a lot. Over the course of my life, everything started happening for a reason. If people want to know why, I’ll definitely explain the reasons behind them. If someone’s interested, I’m honored to tell them.”

Roberts, who turned 31 in September, said he gets tattoos in order to show what inspires him: his Christian religion, as it relates to family and his other life experiences, including baseball. The first tats others probably notice are the Japanese characters for “family” on the left side of his neck. And there’s a whole lot more where that came from.

If you check out some of the other photos in the article one of them looks like he may have a scarification piece on his ribs, although it could just be white ink.

The second story is from ESPN and features roller derby star Suzy Hotrod.  She was one of a number of athletes chosen for 2011′s “Bodies We Want” feature.  Tara e-mailed me the link to this story and had this to say:

ESPN’s “Bodies We Want” issue came out today. The idea behind the gallery is to showcase the human athletic form, not nakedness, but the two seem to come hand in hand. In the middle of the gallery there’s a photo of Roller Derby’s own Suzy Hotrod – full colour, with ink.  Being a derby player myself, I wanted to share the story – but I also think it’s amazing that with 20ish naked people in a row, she was the only one with immediately visible modifications.

Unfortunately ESPN uses flash so in order to see the photos and read what they had to write you’ll have to head on over to the site.Alright, it’s time to bring back (hopefully just for this week) the celebrity round-up.  My apologies in advance, but this was too funny not to share.

Pop star Ke$ha has apologized to rocker pal Andrew W.K. after her attempt to tattoo him resulted in an infection.

The rocker recently invited Ke$ha to try out her skin art skills on him, but he was left requiring medical attention when the ink effort turned bad.  He told Spinner.com, “It got infected. It’s an unfortunate aftermath and my body ended up rejecting the ink and I had to go to the doctor. But it actually left a nice scar which was, in fact, cooler than the tattoo that’s in the exact shape of the tattoo.”

Now Ke$ha has offered up an apology of sorts on Twitter.com – although she insists it wasn’t her fault.  Addressing the tattoo mishap in a tweet on Wednesday, she writes, “Not my fault. His safety pin. His pen. But at least it looks cool. Party.

So you see, it wasn’t her fault he got an infection from her because she used his pen and safety pin when she tattooed him.  To be fair, it was his fault he asked a pop singer with an unpronounceable name to jab him with a pin when they were both drunk after a show.

Well that’s it for this week’s news.  I am going to leave you with a couple of things to enjoy over the weekend.  First is a photo gallery from this year’s vegetarian festival in Phuket, Thailand.

And finally here is the first in a series of three videos by Dabe Alan and Tony Touch.  The videos are all stop motion of the sleeve that Tony is tattooing on Dabe.  Watch the related videos for the other parts.

Have a great weekend everyone!