Nice Mail
Usually I just print the funny or insulting mail that I get. However, I get a lot of really nice, really heart-warming mail as well. It's this mail that keeps me inspired, keeps me working hard, and makes BME worth doing. Even if I didn't get a chance to reply to you, I want you to know how much it means to me to get messages like this. Thank you all.Following are a few messages that I've received recently. They are only the tip of the iceberg.
"let say that i am truly impressed with bme, thank you for creating this site bod mod enthusiasts can share experiences and such.""I just wanted to say that BME kicks ass. I found BME about 6 months ago, and Ive learned so much from your website. Also, youve answered all my questions with very helpful and professional answers. Your website is truly the complete body modification information center. Im glad that a thing like BME exists. Ive really "found myself" thru body modification, and if it wasnt for your website, it never wouldve happened."
"Thank you so much for my guest subcription. I am truly crying right now, thanks. I will send you some more pictures very soon. There is light at the end of the tunnel."
"I find it interesting and utterly educational"
"Just a quick messaage to say how impressed I am with your web site. It's definately the best I've come across (and the first decent site on tatooing and piercing that I've found at all!). The range and bredth of information and galleries is beyond expectation, so thanks a lot for a superb web site!"
"Just wanted to write and say how great your site is and how well it is expanding. You've done everything you could have done to provide the best information posable. I have learned so much from this site, and it's non-bias which is also very good."
"Hey there. I just wanted to write you another e-mail and tell you how much I enjoy your site..I frequent it a lot, and thanks to it, it pushed me to just go and get pierced. After reading the stories of people's experiences, my fear was diminished and I was super-excited to get it done. Keep up the good work, and I'll recommend your site to friends. Thanks Shannon!"
"As a 26 year old male body play adventurer, I appreciate the time and effort that you put into this compilation. Wow, I really have never seen modern pictures of men being castrated. Fascinating. I thought that I was a jaded scene player, but now I realize that I still have much to learn. Thanx again."
"I'd like to thank Mr. Larratt for helping me out in an oblique way. I had an endochondroma in my thumb that caused the carpal to explode. When it was to be removed, it would have to have a graft to fill in the hole. The choices my doctor gave me were grafts from a cadaver or a graft from a piece of my own living bone. That would have meant either serious risk of rejection or two injuries for the price of one. Thanks to BME, I am familiar with some of the work Steve Hayworth has done with coral. When I brought up the idea of using a coral graft to my doctor, he seemed stunned, but then agreed it would be the best solution. I asked him what the risks were with coral, and he said it was really just about as safe as living bone and safer than cadaverous bone. Without you guys putting that information into circulation, I would have had two injuries to recover from and perhaps some collateral damage as well."
"I felt that now would be the time to tell you exactly how I feel about your sight. It amazes me to no end. I have spent literally hundreds of hours on BME getting totally blown away by the whole mind behind body piercing and I have fell in love with the fact that BME offers a forum for people to express the love that they have for a modified lifestyle, regardless of societies standards of normalicy, which, if you think about it, is often corrolated to a persons desire to modify themselves in the first place. I have been totally inspired by BME. I came upon it without intention, and I was immidiately sure that body piercing was something that was really for me spiritually and physically. I am not stretched or sliced or inked. All of my 10 piercings are completely undetectable to people when I'm dressed and have my mouth closed, and I think that's what I like. If I'm having a first experience with a partner, it's like christmas morning for them, finding all of my piercings. When I look at myself in the mirror I see beauty unparalled, not just because of being able to see the piercings, but because of how the experience effects me, and how good I know it feels. I'm sorry to be so vague, it's hard to describe in words exactly what body piercing means to me. Maybe I'll give it another shot later. I just wanted to say thank you for opening my eyes to such an amazing form of expression and for giving me the opportunity to meet other people who have similar modification interests."
"I was at a party last night where several of us ended up hanging around the computer. Most of my friends don't really know much about the internet and are very vanilla. We did some surfing off my own website and ended up surfing around your Body Modification Ezine. There were probably 8 women or so from about 25 up to probably 65 years old. They were all captivated and fascinated by the images I showed them. I can be pretty clinical about my explanations of things and I think that made everyone else feel pretty comfortable. We went and read the Gelding profile and one of the older women (the host of the party's Mom) mentioned seeing eunuchs in the Middle East. Considering I had a conniption fit when she appeared upstairs at first I was happy to see how interested she was in all she saw. I don't know if it is a Canadian thing or just my circle of friends but I was really happy to be able to take them places and show them images I know they wouldn't ever see otherwise. I was so proud that they were all so gracious and genuinely interested in all they saw. I was also pretty happy that it was me showing them such images and that I have faith in my ability to interact with vanillas in such a way that they still seem pretty comfortable with things they see. I feel it is a testament to how tolerance really should be handled in the world. I just wanted you to know what a positive effect your site has even if it is just we 8 women in Canada."
"I received my membership stuff today, and I jsut wanted to thank you. Since Extreme wnet to membership only, I had really missed it, so my catching up session at work this morning was pretty wonderful. I appreciate the resources and information BME has provided me over the past four years I've been reading it. Without PFIQ, and with such a large division between old school/ conservative mod practicioners and new school/ experimantal practicioners, the open, non-judgemental communinity provided by BME is priceless. Just wanted to say thanks!"
"Hi, I really love your site. I have my eye brow pierced and I'm gonna get my tongue pierced next week. I'm kinda nervous. It really helped being able to read all of the peoples experiences. I love that you have that on your site and the pictures are cool too. Well, I just wanted to say thanks for the experiences."
"I just want to thank you for always promptly answering my inquisitive e-mails, and for putting together such a wonderfully scary and wild site. You do a great job!"
"My congratulations on bringing the subject of body modification more out in the open. Thank you."
"I am a great fan of your site and would like to congratulate you on how thorough and well researched it is. Great site, keep up the good work."
"if it was not for BME, and the many stories and pictures, i would never have summoned up the nuts to get myself pierced. Always i wanted a piercing, but i thought, no, they will hurt. Thank you for a lovely ezine. And those people who come and insult should get their ass out the chair and get pierced, even if they don't put a ring or bell through it. Feel it! You'll like it! And if you don't, imagine what you would think if you did?"
"First and foremost, you guys run a kick ass site that has been very helpful in me choosing my piercings. Honestly, I can't kiss your ass enough for setting up and maintaining this site. IT'S FUCKIN' AWESOME!!!!"
"I like your pic on the "about BME" page. I really admire your web page, it takes a passionate person to really devote their time to people who admire Body Modification. I am not much of a "body modifier," but I can honestly say that I admire people in a sense, that do thrive off of their many different forms of body modification. I wish you the best of luck in the future..."
"i've been reading stuff from your page for about two years, infrequently but when i need information about something. i just wanted to say that the page looks better and better every time i go by. i always enjoy examples of how bod-mod people really ARE intelligent human beings, since the talk shows always try to make us look like such trash, and because people are often frightened by what they don't understand. You do us (as a group) proud but more importantly, you continue to provide an important resource to those of us who care to learn. sorry if i'm corny, but that's just me. i may write the same thing again, but last week your page (and a few others) just blew me away."
"Long live Body Modification Art."
"The bodmod community has a lot to thank you for. Consistent greatness being one of those things. =]"
"Thank you so much for your response. I think you have a great website. I was totally against my daughter getting her tongue pierced. However, after researching your site I changed my mind. Thanks again!"
"Thanks for all you do for the BME site - very professional."
"I have just recently entered the wonderful world of body modification. I did a lot of research before I had my (nipple) piercing done, most of which was done through your ezine. Thank you, thank you, thank you for putting this valuable information on the web! I would have never had the guts to go through with this piercing if I hadn't read so many great stories of others' positive experiences, and been so confident in the proccess' safety."
"Thanks for the words of wisdom."
"Just writing to tell you how awesome I think your the BME-site is. Faboulous work, it's helped and inspired me immensly and I'm looking forward to contributing to it sometime in the near future and, hopefully, gaining acces to the BME/Extreme and BME/Hard-pages so that I can be inspired even more. Keep up the excellent work!"
"I'm a swedish bodymod-enthusiast who've quite recently discovered the amazing BME-website. Over the last couple of weeks I must have visited your site about a million times. Unfortunately I haven't got a computer myself at the moment, but that'll change in a month or so, so I've only got access to the Internet at work at the moment. It's not very hard to guess how I spend my breaks is it... Anyhow, I just had to tell you what a great site yours is and how much I'm enjoying it. It's really been very useful to me and it's great to see that there are all these enjoying their bodies to the max, aswell as giving me quite a lot of ideas about forthcoming mods of my own. Keep up the good work!! BME rules!!"
"This email comes long over due, as I've been meaning to send you a nice email for quite some time. In the year or so that I've been reading BME it's never ceased to amaze and fascinate me what people are doing with their bodies. Reading other people's experiences is always enjoyable, as is sharing what I've learned so far on my own spiritual journey through body modification. There's a lot to be learned from our minds, bodies and spirits - want to thank you for providing such a treasure for myself, and thousands of others.. All those "yr sick man!" emails inspired me to write this one, so I hope this finds you warm and happy."
"I'm just writing to say thanks for your magazine... I'm almost 19 and have wanted to get my tongue pierced for at least a year now, but have never had the "guts" to do it. My friends are all pretty straight laced, and were all completely against this, trying to convince me by using stories about the pain involved and how it'll get growths and all this sort of thing. I accidentally walked into BME one day, and found the page about tongue piercings. It totally helped me to learn that it's not a painful experience but a self expression. So thanks."
"Take a moment and reflect on your achievements. As a frequent visitor to your website, I can tell that you work hard and that you have integrity. Keep up the good work."
"After reading the Flames, I figured I'd send you an e-mail giving you an enthusiastic Thumbs Up for your website. I know I'm not telling you anything you haven't heard before but your site is fantastic. For all the people who visit your site and don't get it, "Fuck 'em". They need to stay at Disney.com. Your site documents a segment of society. It isn't for anyone else to judge what we choose to do with our bodies. Your subscribers, such as myself are filled with the curious, voyueristic, those totally delved into the culture of BodyMod, and the casual BodyModder. Honestly, I don't personally don't have any bodymods other than your culturally accomplished circumsion, but I watch, learn and wait for the day that I'm ready to do it. Coming here reminds me that there is a great community of people who are into the same sorts of things. From this one can get peace of mind. Keep up the wonderful work on the site."
"i just think its wonderful that you did this, i love seeing so many different forms of body art and im just thankful there is someone like you to bring it all together on this wonderful page."
"Thanks for all the info. You are an invaluable source of information."
"Thanx so much Shannon. Once again, thanx for the bbs boards, they have been a real help."
"I don't have a subscription to BME, but can still get to some of the cool stuff your 'zine has to offer. I think your work is great, and it depicts the piercing practice and those who choose to modify their bodies in a very tasteful (sometimes entertaining) way. I dig your articles and chances to look into other people's reasons for having themselves modified. Keep up the good work!"
"I found your website so HELPFUL! It is the best on out there on this subject of piercing! Thanx alot for your help."
"About two months ago I got this crazy idea that I wanted to get a Prince Albert done. So I went on the net did a search on piercing and ran across BME. I read all the information and was pretty much at ease with everything. Without the helpful letters posted by other people, I would have never got this done. I got my PA early Feb. and have not regretted it all. Thanks. Now I am looking into another piercing somewhere. I am again using this site for ideas, even for a tattoo that I want to get. Now I got to find something that I will enjoy."
"Gosh, the bme site is BIG. Its like a bottomless well, you throw in a bucket...... and out comes something new and special. You have truly created a real treasure for all of us who are modified in one way or another. I thank you for this special vision, this delight to all of us who sometimes feel lost and adrift in these sanatized, vannila times. With BME, we no longer wander in the dark, hoping that all those passions that drive our hearts down strange and lonely paths are not the faint wispers of insanity, but the music that we must follow to find our muse. Love your website!"
"Every time I come back here, it's different, and always well done. I really admire the time and work you put in."
"I get looked at as a weirdo. People don't realize that there are others out there more extreme than myself. I'm giving a speech for one of my college courses about body piercing in cultures around the world. Your site provided me with many images to use as overheads and gave me a knowledgable background. Thank you so much. Now if I can fit it all in five minutes. Thanx again."
"I'd just like to say that your site is the greatest site on the net... it has opened my eyes to many new things that i wouldn't have been able to see here in this tiny little shithole of a town {kamloops bc}. so thank you..."
"Well it's not just on, all your stuff is always the best around. I have never seen any better stuff available. While do so enjoy everything you always have, I do not have a source to provide anything to contribute to your site. Maybe someday I will find someone or someplace that can provide me with you quality of stuff so I can become a member at your site. Keep up the good work, when you do stop there will never be this sort of thing available as openly as you provide it. THANKS AGAIN!!!!"
"I always thought I was kind of wierd - kind of a nose in the book, and sitting in front of the computer kind of guy, until I discovered mods years ago. It's nice to talk to other people who are into the same kind of things I'm into. Don't get me wrong, i'm not saying that I don't have any friends, just not too many people can understand the things I do on the computer and to my body.."
"you've contributed so much towards my modifications and it really means a lot to me."
"I just wanted to let you know how wonderful I think your web page is. Not only do you provide great pictures, your page also gives accurate and important information about piercing. You emphasize the importance of knowing the risks and of being legal age. You have truly outdone yourself! Thanks again!"
"Hi, I'm sure you get TONS of these letters, but I wanted to send one anyway. I'm getting my tongue pierced in about a month (a present to myself for my 19th birthday) and I found your site EXTREMELY helpful...The sections on healing, jewelry and the FAQ's were also excellent."
"I have had my nipples pierced for almost a year, and have talked to my friends about them in detail. My friend Lisa decided to give it a try, and went to this horrible seedy place to get them done. Well when she told me and then showed me what the "piercer" had done. I was dismayed. It was one of the worse jobs I had ever seen. I sent her home with your web address. The next day she had told me that after reading the stories and seeing the pictures she took the ring out, and when she is armed with more information may give it another try. Thanks for putting this info out there."
"Yes, Good Job! on your e-zine. I recently looked at the page for new pictures of piercings and found on each exhibit, "Warnings." I read through it and I'm thinking of waiting a while longer before I get a visible piercing, either labret or even nostril. (I'm not one who considers other people's superficial opinions, but I'm graduating university soon so I think I should rethink these facial adornments.) But anyway. Thank you for this unique informative site and again, its very well done."
"I wanted to just drop you a line and thank you, first of all, for make all this information available to the public. I've been checking in on your site periodically and now find that I am limmited to the things i used find. I am intregued and excited by the possibilities of places and ways of peircing the body. Not only do i find it sexually exciting but spiritually pleasing. I know that sound corny but it's what it is."
Thank you for putting such a great site on the web. I have been into body mods for about 5 years, and I was getting sick off all the piercing sites on the web, that were into the fad part of it. Finally my piercer turned me on to your page. The way you touch on the spiritual side of it, and try to educate the more naive people is really great."
"shannon. what can i say. wow. competely stunned. one of the most beautiful things ive seen. i remember getting hold of a copy of modern primiyives about 8 years ago. in england most people thought i was a freak. bofy modification is not really anywhere in england. apart from patrick bartholomew not really sure if anyone else is experimenting. how would i get in touch with stve howarth. his work is remarkable. england is far too predujiced for this kind of work to get accepted. basic facial piercinf is still very small. would your cd get to england. or would our customs men get hot and bothered about it. thanks for opening my mind to the possibilies"
"I think It's great that you're providing a place for ppl to meet each other.. and best of all, they don't have to PAY for it... BME, EXTREME, PERSONALS, etc.... they're all amazing creations, and bottom line, if you ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE in them, they're all free!! Great job and keep up the great work!! I probly speak for everyone when I say "Thanks""
"I've been a regular reader of BME for 9 months and got a PA about 6 weeks ago after wanting one for several years(10g CBR at Wizard's Illusion in West Virginia). So far this is my only piercing but I want to have both nipples and more genital piercings done in the future. BME has been a tremendous help in my search for a more authentic and honest identity/lifestyle and I wanted to thank you for all the work you do on behalf of people like me. I enjoy reading the wacky e-mail you get but noticed positive and supportive stuff is primarily showcased in the piercing experiences people send in. At any rate I wanted to say thank you for BME and I hope to have my piercing story with photographs ready for you soon. I'm 48 years old, married, and fairly conservative looking. Happily, since getting pierced my life has been much more interesting and satisfying."
"thanks for having such a service. it's hard to find people like me in my location. i could use all the help i can get see'ns how there's no club's or anything catering to my interest's around here. thanks!!!!"
"...What I realized was that in our modern society, we have lost all sense of ritual and meaning in our lives...we have little to no rites of passage for our youth, there is no bonding between men, and in general our "melting pot" culture has become SO watered down that so many people feel lost, feel that they have no identity, feel that they have no place amongst society. Therefore it makes me so happy that people have options they can turn to when feeling lost and unattached, i.e. piercing, tattooing, etc. Without these things( and mind you these things are not for everyone) there might be a much higher rate of mental illness or physical abuse or suicide. Now mind you I am not saying that all manic-depressives should go out and get a tattoo and that that will solve their problems, but I do feel that there are those of us that are out there that these practices can benefit. I know that had I not discovered piercing I would probably still be floating in that proverbial tank of "what do i believe in, what matters most to me?"..... People cannot handle it when their fantasy becomes for real, out of their heads. So hears kudos to you for pulling these bastards kicking and screaming out of their little protective closets! And you know that there are plenty of us out here who back up what you do and what BME stands for.........oh for the day when closeminded people are stricken from this earth so that we may inherit it! keep up the good work!"
"You have to know, that I am engaged in an AIDS - Organization in Germany since I was 17, so I already had to learn about sexual practices as a teenager more than most adults ever learn ... And I really thought I could not be surprised anymore ...! But then I started reading on your page about amputations and and and .................! The reason why I am writing you: I want to say that even though some pictures scared the shit out of me, you have one of the most interesting pages I have ever seen! Every topic is dealt with extensively, with pictures and everything. I was already looking for that kind of information on nipple - piercing for a while, but I only found it on your page. The other things on your page I looked at only from curiosity, but I learned a lot. Whether one likes it or not, you have an easy to use and very professional webpage! I started surfing on this Memorial Day because I was so bored, and now I have a lot to think about. I will recommend your page to everybody who is interested in piercing and tattoo (people who are interested in the other things you deal with did not reveal their obsessions to me yet ...)"
"I just want you to know that I think your explanation of [heavy body modification] is amazingly accurate and helpful. I think it really addresses the issues. Of course most people just don't understand that there is a mindset that sees "reality" as impossibly contextual and linked to each person's individuality. I guess that's why they think that, somewhere, there is a kernel of truth to be found, and a line to be drawn between "sick" and "not sick," for example. I think one of the best things about BME is the sense of community that does come from having a common place to visit, even if only online. It reinforces the idea that bod mods can be and usually are a healthy, positive part of the lives of people who get / do them. In a society with such fucked up attitudes about body image in general, coupled with a basic fear of folks who are different or otherwise "outsiders," it is not surprising that those who are modified are met with hostility and disgust. In such an atmosphere, places like BME are crucial. I especially think that it is important to get the sense of community out to those who are otherwise isolated; you are doing this for people and I for one certainly appreciate it. Anyway, I wanted to let you know how highly I think of BME and your comments throughout. Thank you!"
"There are people who term you a freak, a voyeur, or a pervert, but I must just send you my sincere thanks on your website. I feel quite lonly sometimes, as I live in a quiet country town where mostly I'm looked on as some sort of freak. Through your pages, and talking to my Tatooist and Piercer I have met so many more people than I thought possible, who feel as uncomfortable in their body as I do. Once again thanks for all your hard work, it is very much appreciated."
"Great site. BME has proven to be the best site on the net for fans of tattoos and piercing's. Well worth the subscription price!"
"i've been viewing this page 4 awhile it just gets better and better ! graphics everything a tip of the hat to you BIGTIME KEEP ON KEEPING ON"
"Well thanx so much for the really excelent website, you are totally uniting all the modified people in the world to one community. And this is also a vast source of reliable information. If it wasn't for BME I would have walking into the piercing studio a very naive, and vulnerable individual. Thanks"
"I just want to say thank you and keep up the excellent work. I have learned a lot and enjoyed much more while I have been privileged to be a member. I hope to be back in the future."
"just wanted to drop a note to say thank you for your site. the information available is extremely usefull and it really helps to get a straight answer. the personal stories are great too -- always to know what someone else experienced before you do!"
"Just thought I would send a quick THANKS for your terrific site. So much helpful information and entertaining reading."
"Very interested after finding the site by accident! As a couple we have always concidered ourselves "on the wild side" both having had various tats and main stream piercings, this has introduced us to a new world, simply from a voyeristic view point, but never the less very enlightening. Thankyou."
"I just wanted to tell you thanks for having the idea to create BME, & for maintaining it so well. The submissions sent in by other visitors & the aftercare pages linked to your site have been a great help to me in my decisions to get various piercings, as well as getting them to heal properly. Keep up the good work!"
"i think BME is the best site on the web. It is defintaly the most informative and very well put together. You did a great job! Just wanna let you know you are appreciated."
"Just wanted to say that this is the BEST site on the net...thanks so much for all of your candour and availability...luv all the shit on this site, and I will definately be suggesting this site to all of my friends.."
"I would also like to inform you that your site has helped a great deal of people including my self."
"I just wanted to say thanks for providing a web-page with the information I was looking for. I have decided to go trough with my PA thanks to the free info found on your sight. You diffently provide support and info to upcomming "freaks" like me."
"I've been an on/off reader of BME for a couple of years now. BME, to me, is like a specialized version National Geographic. And just like Natty Geo, you have gathered alot of information - I mean, a guy could spend weeks reading through all the documentation you've gathered... But I'm sure you already know that... Whether you realize it or not, BME is a significant body of work documenting modern anthropology - and it deserves to be preserved as reference."
"I just wanted to take this opportunity to tell you how much I love your e-zine. Even though I had seen piercings and tattoos before I encountered BME, I wasn't really aware of the gigantic impact it would have on my life. I have always had the desire to be pierced, even when I was 13 and I saw guys my age get their ears pierced but BME opened me up to the variety of Body Modification. Although my parents are against my piercing and tattooing myself, I have been subtly stretching my ears (which are now 2gauge) and plan on getting many other piercings. Keep up the good work. Your E-zine is groundbreaking and will hopefully will expand and draw even more people that are not regularly exposed to BM."
"I just have to say that BME rocks! This is simply the best site I've stumbled upon. I check back at least every 2 weeks to see all the updates. Anyone who says this site is sick just needs to open up their minds a little bit. People do not have the right to condemn others for their actions just because they don't approve of it. People generally have reasons for their actions, no matter how "radical" they are."
"I just sent some of my pics and realized I never did ride your site as much as I wanted to before. I must say I am sorry for not noticing earlier, but you guys have really got a great sight!!! You have some of the best articles, stories, and picture archives I ever seen online! Thank you for providing such an important site. I used to tell my customers to check out your site for the stories of first timers, so that they get a broad spectrum of experiences, but now I know to also tell them that this is THE site! I have added a link to your site and hope maybe to make your site with my pics, hope you don't think I'm kissing ass, but you guys really do have a great site."
"I just wanted to let you know that I am very impressed by your E-zine. It is put together very well, is very informational, and for the most part gives people who are not living a "vanilla" lifestyle the chance to speak out, or to speak with each other. Your magazine gives people the information to make an educated decision about piercings and other modifications, while also allowing piercers who are isolated in backward areas to speak to other like-minded people who can offer alternate solutions to whatever problems one might have, as a piercer or a piercee, etc. Basically, I just wanted to let you know how impressed I am with your online publication, and wish you the best in success."
"I have been interested in bod mod for about five years now. my piercings, however, are pretty recent because of my age and position in my househld (as the eldest child, i have been expected to set an example for my younger brother. my parents are very strongly against bod mod needless to say, our ideas of a proper example are extremely different, but, machts nichts). but now that i am on my own and in college, i have finally been able to free myself to the form of expression that suits me the most: body piercing. at the moment, i have both my nipples pierced, my tongue pierced twice, my navel twice, and my ears multiple times. eople ask me all the time why and, living in a hicksville of a place, if i'm gay. rather close minded, but i enjoy answering them because of their blunt curiosity. however, most of them don't appreciate my answers. i have read many (read:most) of the articles in the reg. BME and have passed the information on to friends who have become interested in such forms of self expression as piercing and tattooing. i highly recommend your page to anyone who is looking for reliable information concerning bod mod."
"Hi Shannon, I just wanted to shout out hey and ramble on a little about your website. I am incredibly impressed with the knowledge and organization of this site. I have found a wealth of information on peircings which are becoming very helpful (in attempts to convince my dad a tongue ring isn't THAT bad!). I love peircings, tatoos etc as a form of body art. Sometimes I think things are a little too extreme for me, but that's just my taste, and I don't have to read anything I don't want to, right? Anyway, I just wanted to compliment your work, you're doing an incredible job and I'm just going to keep coming back, I can't get enough of this! :)"
At 55 years old, I have watched for something like this. I have several piercings done a long time ago. You have done a great job. Keep up the good work."
"Oh my god your a fucking legend . You have created the best Body Modification/Body Piercing / hardcore shit , web page in the world . "
I was fascinated to read some of the experiences of people who have been 'inked'. I hope tattooing never goes out of fashion and that there will always be respect for those prepared to go under the needle. Tattooed people are different."
"Thank you soooo much to BME for all the information on tongue piercing. I had wanted it done for AGES but my parents wouldn't let me...they said after i got my belly button and tragus pierced..no more piercings! After talking to my dad...and he said i had to pick up on my grades at school i could get it done. My mum really didn't want me to get it done....and my mum is the easiest to get past...so i knew that i had my dad so i had to get my mum...which was a breeze. I showed her your awesome Healing section...and she changed her mind. And after reading a few stories about it."
"I know your busy w/ regular life and constant attention to your website and constant e-mails so i will make this short. I just hope you know on how good of a job you do w/ your site and that you have given millions of people great info and guidance. I've been using your web site as a reference for about 3 years or so and have pointed many people w/ different body mod questions to your site. I look at your site on a daily basis for updates and i am very impressed w/ how well you do maintain your site w/ not much of a budget or man power. Coming from a IBM Midrange Engineer i must say you have done an exceptional job. After reading your interview and exploring practically every corner of your site that IM aloud to, it was cool to see someone w/ such a open mind and dedication to supplying important info to many different body mod practices. I hope you intend to keep your site open for many years to come, i know there are still many more people you can help out there. I just now started supplying pictures and experiences to your web site and i intend on doing much more. I know i will continue to get info from your site mainly because businesses are starting to relax a little and are allowing almost anything, so slowly but surely IM achieving the look that i want and IM sure others will do the same. Ive always wanted to e-mail you but i guess because of how impressive you are to me ive never wanted to bother you. I could go on and on about what you have done for me and others, but IM sure you always receive that. So congratulations, not only on a great website but for just being a great person w/ a obvious open mind and love for people."
"Ever since i was around 11, I've been really intrigued by modification, and BME has been the source of all my information, and really made my interest grow. I've been inspired by BME for the past year and a half, and I hope to have a few things done when im older, once I'm sure of what I want (im 14 now). I could go on, but I'm going to stop now, this is getting way too long. I just wanted to give my opinion on the show, thank you, and tell you how cool it was to see BME on TV.."
"I would just like to say that I really appreciate BME. IMO I believe your site is the foremost authority on bodyart. I've looked for research on various piercings (historical and social research, usually on my own mods) and cannot find much elsewhere. What little I do find is already in your site. Your collection is very thorough and helpful. Once again, thank you!!"
"hey shannon. ok i'm just writing to give my praise to you on BME. it's got to be the best website i have ever been to. i've been into piercing for about a year now and i don't think i could have ever gone through with all of it if it had not been for BME. i mean all the pics, experiences & info has helped a bunch. i've even linked the BME site on my homepage. Keep up the great work on BME."
"Just surfed in one day and found your site (and what a sight it was!!). It's great - informative, educational and I love hearing about people's first hand experiences. I consider myself to be well educated (2 degrees and 1 masters) and feel that I am only expressing my true self in a unique way."
"I wish to thank you for the hard work that you have done to make this web site as nice as it is. I have been piercing for some time as well as tattooing, Your sit is the best I have seen. Information you have is important to both artist and customer."
"One comment is in order regarding the other Tattoo and Piercing mags that are going on-line: Don't lower yourself to 'compete' with them, you are so far ahead of them that the best thing to do is keep up what you've been doing, and let them keep trying to catch you. You set the direction and the standard, consider their 'competition' to be flattery."
"your bloods worth bottling. best regards"
"Hello, I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoy your work, It must be a monumental task keeping up with all of this information. Well I just wanted to commend you on your recent article that was published in Bizarre magazine. I really liked it and I love the sense of humor that you distill in it. Well time to go, and thank you for creating BME, it seems like i do nothing else but hang out here all day..HA!"
"hey- u guy's have gave me a lot of information on the subject of body modification and i find your site very informative and interesting. And i have also used it to get my friends information on several peircings."
"i`m writing this email just to tell you that bme is my favourite website, and starting page also, since i got a connection to the internet. keep it going!!"
"I am an 18 yr old christian in China and though some stuff is too wiered for me to handle I really congratulate you on sharing your knowlege with others. I mean, for those people who are interested on a "I wanna get that done" level, then I just thank you guys, on their behalf for having a place where others can learn , see and share experiences :)"
"Speaking of "extreme," I have to admit that a lot of what I see isn't my thing, but I am nevertheless inexplicably drawn to them. I do not always understand the motivations of the participants (I wish I understood, for example, WHY the Dave gave Ryan his arm), but the beauty if body mods is that I don't have to understand the motivations. People own their bodies, and can do with them anything they please. Thanks for putting all this information out there. Keep up the great work."
"You must get this kind of fanmail all the time so I'll try to keep it short. Thanks to you, I now feel like a more complete person, I feel so much healthier now that my body is changing to what I think it oughta be. You have broadened (is that a word?) my view of life and helped me to understand better the nature of man. Your work is very precious, even more precious than many of us think. I wish you the best of luck."
"I just wanted to tell you your a guy I look up to. Seriously."
"Friends often ask me questions about piercings, and I always tell them that the only reason I know so much is from going to your site, and I also remind them that most of what I know is just knowledge, not experience, because there is a difference between the two.... everyone experiences things differently and for different reasons. Again, thank you so much, I'm not sure you know how much this site is appreciate."