Nervousinthealley‘s tattoo, done by Wendi Ramirez at Golden Apple in Austin Texas. She writes, “It’s all about the duality in life. People always seem to expect one thing when they first meet me, and, for the most part, they never seem to get it quite right. Punks aren’t “supposed” to hang out around opera houses… but, maybe they do.”
Hey, I’ve gone to a few operas (Cosi Fan Tutti, La Travietta, and so on).
“KILL RIGHTY” — on a guy who I know more girls with crushes on him than almost anyone else, CJ, tattooed by Mike Tidwell at Obscurities in Dallas, Texas.
Oh, I am so stoked to be posting this tattoo. It’s the Red Cross child’s play logo, and it’s on a medical professional, done by Dustin at The Enemy Tattoo in Everett, WA. The reason I’m so stoked is that there are a lot of medical professionals that “don’t get” body modification*, either technically or experiencially, so I’m thrilled when I see things like this because I know that it’s a small step toward myself, my friends, and others having better and better experiences when we have to see a doctor. And I love the image in general.
As a point of trivia, to the best of my knowledge this is based on an “illegal” design that the Red Cross threatened to sue a t-shirt manufacturer over! The Red Cross logo is very tightly controlled by international law, and I believe the only symbol to be enshrined specifically into law.
* I want to be clear though that I don’t consider these bad or uncaring doctors when mistakes are made; they’re just inexperienced in this small realm.
Click the picture to learn more (about the painting).
This is on iam:xXMiNdFuCtXx, who’s paralyzed:
I really like where WhiteTrash is going with his take on Man’s Ruin — man’s real ruin — tattoo. It’s done by Kevin Adams at Danny’s Ancient Art in Charleston, WV. By the way, for IAM members, here’s a relevant link: IAM:Atheist.
My friend Joseph who tattoos at Visual Orgasm in Singapore got me wondering… Is this like the equivalent of someone getting an Attila the Hun tattoo just because you know he’s a bad ass or something? I really wonder what the meaning is in the context of Singapore…
After all, people get plenty of evil characters from fiction tattooed on them because it appeals to them on some level, even though they’re not endorsing the evil actions or anything… Is this different somehow because it strikes a more real and current nerve? I don’t know. That said, I can say with 100% certainty that I would never personally get a Hitler tattoo!!!!
Isidius writes, “three Agent Orange droplets, given to my father in Vietnam then passed on to me, my brother and my sister.” The tattoo was done by Amy at The Body Art Shop in — oh, no, not again — Adelaide, Australia.
As you may know, even linking to BME in Germany is illegal, and the German government has already successfully taken legal action againt Google there to have BME removed from the German version of their search engine. I recently received this letter from a friend in Germany:
Bad news for Bodymod Freaks here in Germany. The government decided to redesign our health system. As a part of these changes so called “risk groups” like extreme sports fans or bodymod addicts have to pay any medical treatment they need by themselves, given the trouble is caused by these activities. No [standard] health insurance will cover any kind of problem you could have after a body piercing or a tattoo, not to speak about heavier mods.
So if you should be so unlucky to need very expensive treatment, a surgery maybe, because something went wrong when you got something pierced, you will have to pay thousands of euros (1 Euro is about 1.20 US Dollars) by yourself. If you can’t pay it you’ve got a serious problem. Because no Doctor will help you then.
And they talk about human rights. Yeah. But only rich people are humans to them. Be grateful you don’t live in a country which is ruled exclusively by money bags.
I asked for a little follow up information, but this is a brand new change so there is not much yet:
There is a way to get a health insurance which covers these special risks — but you have to pay 25 Euro (30 US$) extra per month, in addition to your regular health insurance. No matter how much you earn, these 25 will always remain the same. The extra insurance is volontary, but if you don’t have it, it is like I said: No doctor will help you if you get an infection from a piercing or something like that.It would have been a lot better if they offered an insurance you can buy when getting pierced, so a piercing will become more expensive, but you are safe if something goes wrong. Maybe some private insurance company will have this idea some time later, but this will surely take some time.And do-it-yourself piercers, self-modders or people who got an illegal modification done at an underground parlor would be unprotected in this case either.
So currently it looks as if you’ll have to join this extra insurance-fund, paying 25.- extra per moth, if should ever want to get a piercing or try yourself at a BMX offroad bike. All so-called “self-accountable risks” are to be covered in this expensive extra-insurance. If you refuse joining it, you should not risk to do anything dangerous. And a nostril or belly button piercing, as every second girl has it, would be considered dangerous in this context. I don’t know about how they include the standard ear lobe piercings there. 98% of the female population have pierced ears, including many women over 70 years. But as I know German bureaucrats they will make no difference there. Politics and reality are very different things.
So most people, but espeacially the younger ones, will have to pay this extra fee. Everything else would be too risky…
What do you think? Should body modification fans have to pay extra to have healthcare? And if anyone knows more about these changes, please do post them in the comment forum.