Tag Archives: tattoos

It’s hot outside!

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Oh hey! Just dropping in with a quick post to let you all know what a great time we’re having at Tattoo Hollywood! If you’re in the Los Angeles area, come on out. We’re open tonight until midnight and Sunday from noon until 8pm. Check out the amazing artists, book an appointment to get some ink and say hi to friends!

These are a couple of photos that I took earlier, we’ll have a more official post with contest winners and lots more photos coming up.

Clark North

Clark North hard at work

Horiren

Japan’s very own Horiren tattooing one of BME’s very own, Katie McShady

This land is your land, this land is my land

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What about your city do you love?  I know why I love Toronto, but I’d probably take up the entire length of the main page to go into details, so I’ll sit this discussion out.

Seriously, is there something in your city that makes you feel like it’s the best city to live in?  Or is there another city you’ve been to that you think is much better?

I’m asking these questions because it says something about a person as to what they value most in a city.  What that something is I have no clue, Sean is the pretend doctor for BME, not me (he is a shrink right?).  Think about some of the commercials for cities you’ve seen on TV.  They’re out there, although most are state driven, I can assure you that every major city has a department dedicated to promoting their city as the best place to live.  The reason for that is simple, more people = more tax dollars for the city.  While the people in the streets may be shouting to the rooftops about how overcrowded the city is, to a bureaucrat behind a desk, all he hears are the potential revenue dollars brought in by new arrivals.

All those reasons you thought of when determining if your city was a great place to live?  Well some ad agency has already gone over those and prioritized them to which demographic would be suited best by hearing specific points, while downplaying others.  Lots of schools is a great incentive to young families, but would be something that could potentially drive away singles and older couples.  It’s a delicate balancing act completely focused on one goal, making the city money.

So where do we fall into the equation?  Us modded types fall into every demographic.  Young/old, male/female, straight/queer, single/married, seniors/small children, and so many more.  What could possibly be a single point that could attract us to one city over another?

I’m going to guess most city planning departments don’t take us into account, or at least just lump us into a generic demographic without realizing that while we may be members of every possible demographic, we also consist of one of our own.  The one we choose.  The one that says to the world, we’re in control of ourselves.  So who is going to look out for us?  Make sure our needs are satisfied when deciding to relocate?  Well, for the most part, we have each other.  Part of what makes this community so strong is that we’re open with each other, we’re honest about most things (I’m talking generalities, not specific interpersonal dynamics).

Well, it looks like someone over at MSNBC decided to take a look to see if there was something that they could do to show (at least a portion of) the modded community that there are cities that could possibly be appealing.

Whether you approve of tattoos or not, some of the world’s sexiest men and women — from Angelina Jolie and Megan Fox to Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt  — sport ink. This made us wonder — where in the world do most of the tattooed bods in America live? To figure out which U.S. cities were the most tattoo-friendly, we perused chat forums and looked up every state in several public directories, including Yellow Pages, Google listings, Tattoo Yellow Pages and AAA Tattoo Directory, to find those with the most listed tattoo and permanent makeup shops. Then we looked up which cities in those states had the most shops listed per capita with populations based on latest U.S. Census numbers. We also took into consideration the city’s demographics and whether or not it hosted tattoo conventions, remembering that not all tattoo parlors were listed in the directories.

Now of course you’re wondering which cities made the top ten.  I could make you go read the full article, but instead I’ll give you just the listing of the cities.  If you’re curious as to why these cities made the top ten, head on over to MSNBC to read up on it.

So without further ado, “The Top Ten Most Tattooed Cities in America”.

  • 10.  Los Angeles, CA
  • 9.  Kansas City, MO
  • 8.  Honolulu, Hawaii
  • 7.  San Francisco, CA
  • 6.  Austin, TX
  • 5.  Portland, OR
  • 4.  Flint, MI
  • 3.  Richmond, VA
  • 2.  Las Vegas, NV

And finally, in the number one position… Miami Beach, FL!

Did your city make the list?

Actually, forget that last question.  What I am really curious to know is, now that you know these rankings, would they impact your decision to move to any of those cities?

Personally, I’m staying in Toronto.  We are the center of the universe after all.

It’s Friday, I’m in love!

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Honestly.  I was shocked that nobody has said anything about my headlines this week.  I had this great idea last Sunday about using a Cure song for headlines, but I suppose I was the only one who thought it was a good idea.  Well, before I talk about the picture below, I’ll let Robert Smith and co. give you an earworm for the day.

Now then, where was I?  Oh yes, it’s Friday, although I’m not presently in love.

So where does that leave me?  Should I search high and low for the mythical “ONE”?  Or should I just sit and bide my time and wait for things to happen?  Or maybe a mix of both.

You know, this whole love thing, it can really get blown out of proportion.  Stay with me here, this isn’t going to be a cynical attack on the concept of love.  I think that people may spend so much time either looking for love, or working to maintain their feelings of love towards an individual that they can lose sight of things that they may love but not even realize it.

How often to you think about your family?  For some it’ll be more than others.  I’m sure at some point in your life (at least for the majority of people) they have had a family member love them unconditionally.  Of course things change over time, but those original feelings, can they really go away?  What about those of us with pets?  I know that I love my cat, and I know that as much of a brat as she is, she loves me right back.  Now of course some of you are thinking, “it’s an animal, how can you know if it loves you?”.  Well to you I pose this question, how do you know that anyone or thing loves you?

And that’s the thing with love.  As much as the word gets tossed around, there never is a way to really tell exactly how another person is feeling.  It’s because of that, that I think the concept of being “in love” is such a tricky thing to define.  Songwriters and poets have grasped at the meaning of love for centuries.  Blood has even been spilled all in the name of love.  Yet at no point could any of these people really come up with a set answer.  Of course I don’t have the answers either.  Although I do have a theory.

I thinking the state of being in love with another is more a statement of trust.  It is a state where you give yourself completely over to another without fear or hesitation.  I don’t want to add that you would do this with the hope of having the same feelings returned because to me that seems like it’s putting a condition on the state of being.  To truly and completely achieve the feeling of being in love, you have to surrender yourself physically, emotionally and spiritually to another.  You have to be willing to give up all that is you.  In situations where people are experiencing “true love”, that is when both people have given themselves up completely, without caring if the other truly feels the same way.

I bring this all up not because I’m pining after someone, but because the following picture made me think of just what we would call unconditional love.  To me, this image has captured a moment where no matter what, you know that both people in the picture love each other totally and completely, without any doubts in their mind.

baby

I suppose I’m in a sappy mood today.  Tell me a sappy story about a time where you first felt you were in love with someone.

On the front lines

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I’ve been where you are now and I know just how you feel. It’s entirely natural that there should beat in the breast of every one of you a hope and desire that some day you can use the skill you have acquired here.

Suppress it! You don’t know the horrible aspects of war. I’ve been through two wars and I know. I’ve seen cities and homes in ashes. I’ve seen thousands of men lying on the ground, their dead faces looking up at the skies. I tell you, war is Hell!

–William Tecumseh Sherman

Before I begin this post, I want to take a moment to address some criticisms that may occur in the comment section.  The following post is not meant as a political statement in any way.  Nor is it an endorsement of any armed conflict.  This is about those people who choose to do what they believe in, regardless of the thoughts of others.

I don’t think in any period of documented history that there has been a time where the entire globe was at peace.  Wars have been waged since the dawn of mankind, and will probably continue on long after everyone reading this is gone.  While the reason wars occur vary widely, there is one constant in every conflict: the soldiers.  The men and women who are either forced into service, born and raised in it, or volunteer for it, all have one thing in common.  These men and women all put their lives on the line for a greater cause.  Granted we have the luxury of looking back on the past and are able to place our own judgement on the validity of the causes, but in the moment, these people took a stand when ordered.

I realize that ModBlog has a global audience, but for the time being I’m going to be focusing on the US soldiers currently stationed in Afghanistan.  These brave soldiers have chosen to put their lives on the line for their country.  Whether you believe that the war is justified, or should be stopped entirely, for the time being, these people are out there facing death each day.  I know there are a lot of members (former and active) of the armed forces that read ModBlog, and hopefully some will be willing to share their stories with us.  The reason I say this is because TIME Magazine recently did a photo essay on a number of troops stationed in Afghanistan.  The one thing these men have in common is their love of tattoos.  I hesitate to claim they love other mods, simply because I’m positive military regulations prevent them from possessing certain modifications such as piercings, and there’s no way to ascertain their personal feelings regarding modifications.  That said, these men are on the front lines every day, and the shadow of death is constantly overhead.  Here’s how some of them cope with their feelings about the situation they’re in.

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Sergeant Paul Williams, 20

During a recent embed with Marines in Marjah, Afghanistan, photographer Mauricio Lima asked the men to share the stories behind their tattoos. Williams’ back features two bulldogs, animals frequently used to represent “Devil Dogs,” a nickname commonly applied to the Marines. The words on his shoulders are from the Dire Straits song “Brothers in Arms.”

Like I said earlier, no matter your personal feelings towards the current conflict in Afghanistan, there are men and women out there choosing to put their lives at risk for what they believe in, and for their friends and family back home.  So take a moment to think about these soldiers, the people, who are standing up and living their lives how they want to.  The way I see it, these soldiers are not only modifying their bodies to be who they want to be, but they’ve taken things a step further than a lot of other people who modify themselves; they have completely transformed their bodies and minds to become their own ideal.  The way I see it, even if you don’t agree with the war, these soldiers are brave in not only standing up for what they believe in, but also for taking extreme steps to modify their minds and bodies.

Just a little old fashioned flaying

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“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)

arm

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.

Come sail away..

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Browsing the newest images uploaded to BME is always a treat.  Especially when I get to see a new piece uploaded by Fabrizio Divari.

sailaway

Looking through his gallery on BME you’ll find quite a few pieces like this.  The coloring of the sky and ocean looks painted on, rather than tattooed, and the detail in the ship’s rigging is incredible.  I’m actually at a bit of a loss for words when looking at it, it’s that beautiful.

Keep submitting those photos ModBlog readers, there’s a lot of wonderful work out there that I’d love to see shared with the world.

Much ado about Mucha

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Several months ago we featured a story of art thievery that happened to include a backpiece that included a very well done Mucha tattoo.

While browsing through the galleries last night I stumbled upon this image submitted by md373…

Mucha - The Blonde

I’d have to say, given the placement on the body, the artist did a great job manipulating a wide Mucha piece to fit on the recipient’s ribs.

You can see this image, as well as the step-by-step photos of the art being created in our tattoo galleries.

Also, if you have a story, image, or just something you think would be great to see on ModBlog, feel free to send an e-mail my way.

Could this really be the “World’s First Human Centipede Tattoo?”

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This tattoo claims to be the “The World’s First Human Centipede Tattoo”, and I am tempted to believe it. Has anyone else gotten a tattoo inspired by the, not really a hit, movie “The Human Centipede“? If so let me know, we can check up on dates, cross check references and determine once and for all if this tattoo by  Jimmy Knuckles at Shaman Modifications in Austin is rightfully declared the world’s first “Human Centipede” tattoo!

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Jamie’s 15 minutes

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Most of you modblog regulars remember Jamie from the recent post showing the gaping wound in her arm being fingered. Well, aside from her interest in creating new orifices to fondle, she’s also fond of body modification history, as she made evident with her quick and flawless answers to my trivia questions.

As the winner of the trivia, she get’s another 15 minutes of modblog fame. So without any further ado, here’s Jamie!

jamiemain

For several more pictures and some words from jamie, Keep on keeping on.

I’m Jamie Mayhem. I’m part of the suspension team called Ritual Arisings, we’re based out of the Detroit, MI area. I’m also into performance art and modeling. Turn-ons include- boys and girls with lots of mods, latex clothing, medical devices, zombies, riot grrrls, and people that look good covered in blood.

Most of my tattoos were done by Chris McNeill, who now owns Rebel City Tattoo in Cleveland, OH.

Some of the photos here are suspension pics, some are modeling pics that showed some of my ink. The forearm suspension is from Dallas SusCon, it’s what led to the pic of the hole in my arm that was recently Modblogged. The tandem suspension is with BIOHAZARD.

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Everywhere I turn all the beauty just keeps shaking me

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It’s been several years since I was in Israel but after viewing the massive amount of photos submitted to BME by Kipod Tattoo Studio in Tel Aviv, I have to say, I hope I get back there! And to Michael, just one of the talented tattooists at this studio, I say this, you’re on notice buddy! If I get back to Israel, I’m coming to see you!

One more after the jump, just because.

See more in the Kipod Tattoo Portfolio.