It’s time again for the news of the week.  I’ve got good news to share before I get into the stories, there are NO celebrity stories this week!  Seriously.  I know that this may be devastating to some of you, but I hope that you can pull through the disappointment and enjoy the rest of the news.  A big thanks to those who sent in stories this week, Egan, Botexty, Nexizydrate, and xrayspex.  If you find a story in the news that is related to body modification in any way, just click here to send me the link.

Well, to get things started is a news story that popped up in the past day.  I’m sure you may have already seen it already, but for those who haven’t it’s kind of a big deal.  Basically ABC news ran a shock and awe piece on ear pointing.  While they took the time to interview Steve Haworth, they spent more time mocking him and those who get the procedure done then reporting anything substantial.

The photos are pointedly striking – young adults who have intentionally cut their ears to appear like those of elves or Star Trek’s Mr. Spock.  The surgery is painful and irreversible. It’s one body modification change, unlike a tattoo or a piercing, that you can’t take back.  The unique and delicate procedure can leave you looking like one of Santa’s elves. Numerous photos online show aficionados who appear to be thrilled with the results.

But doctors “GMA” talked to warn that sculpting cartilage is dangerous.  “The real risks are one – major deformity of the ear, which is very easy to have happen and two, infection of the ear,” said Dr. Arthur W. Perry, author of “Straight Talk About Cosmetic Surgery.” “And if infection occurs, it can destroy the ear within days.”  “It’s very difficult and often it’s not possible to fully reconstruct a nice-looking ear,” he said.

I love how they constantly claim that it’s “kids” and “teenagers” as the only ones doing it, oh and how Steve “calls himself a body modification artist”, as if it’s not a real thing.  This story is only going to accomplish two things, expand the popularity of the procedure, as well as possibly bringing negative attention to Steve and other artists.

There’s more to come, so grab a cup of tea and pull up a chair.

We’ve got another story from ABC news this week, this one about a man who got so drunk he didn’t realize he tattooed his 3 year old son’s shoulder with “DB”, for Daddy’s Boy.

Eugene “Stonner” Ashley, 26, pleaded guilty Monday to giving his 3-year-old son a tattoo on his shoulder in 2009 that said “DB” — short for “Daddy’s Boy.” Ashley pleaded guilty before the case could be heard by a jury.    George Hawkins, the boy’s uncle, has custody of the now 5-year-old child.  “He’s doing good. He’s got his problems with losing his family,” Hawkins said.  Eugene Ashley is not allowed to see the child and the boy’s mother, Amy Ashley, struggles with drug addiction and also lost custody, Hawkins said.

Eugene Ashley told police that he was drunk and didn’t remember tattooing the letters, WSBTV reported.  The little boy still remembers getting the tattoo, Hawkins said.  When asked if the tattoo hurt, the boy says “a little bit,” according to Hawkins

Of course the question arises, what else has dad been doing while blackout drunk?

Getting the news every week constantly reminds me how many negative stereotypes the news attributes to the body modification world.  But every once in a while a story comes along from a well known news source that doesn’t apply any negative bias to the story.  Take this article about suspension from UPI.com where they interview Vancouver’s Russ Foxx.

Body suspension originates from ancient Native American and Hindu cultures. Suspension experts who maintain www.suspension.org write that the practice has been going on for thousands of years as rites of passages, healing rituals and as a means of leaving the body and entering the spiritual realm.  Those who have never tried it often don’t understand the appeal, and though each individual suspends for various reasons, Foxx gets a lot of people suspending for the sheer adrenaline rush.

The body undergoes several stages of pain between preparation and suspension, said Dr. Sekhar Upadhyayula, a pain medicine specialist.   There’s a certain amount of residual pain taking place after the hooks have been inserted into the skin, Upadhyayula said, along with a quick burst of adrenaline. But as soon as there’s traction applied, the nerve endings in the skin’s stretch receptors respond, adding another burst of pain.   “Then what we expect to happen chemically…is a secondary release of endorphins,” Upadhyayula said. “(This lasts) a lot longer than the pain and that’s the sensation that they’re looking for. That’s when they get the euphoric effect.”

Granted they did file it under “Odd News”, but it’s better than having the reporter claim that the people suspending are crazy.

Now while this doesn’t exactly fall under the normal umbrella of what the news post covers, it did take place in a tattoo studio, and it was just too incredible not to share.

According to Orlando police, Gay entered Ace’s Tattoo Shop and the tattoo artist told him to look through some books while he finished with a customer, CBS affiliate WKMG reports.  While the artist was giving the customer a tattoo, Gay came around a corner holding a long sword in one hand and a guitar in the other and struck the artist in his shoulder with the sword and hit him in the back of his head with the guitar, according to an arrest affidavit.  Gay said he was going to kill the two men and went after the customer, who was getting a tattoo on his chest, the affidavit said. The customer then jumped off a table and defended himself, the affidavit said.  As the fight continued, the customer picked up a glass table top and hit Gay over the head, cutting him badly, the arrest affidavit stated.

If they didn’t have a mugshot, I would swear that they ripped this story from an action movie, or possibly a wrestling storyline.

Moving forward, Hispanically Speaking News sat down with María José Cristerna to talk about her wide assortment of modifications, including tattoos, implants, piercings, and fangs.

Her body, tells her story. Every tattoo, piercing and modification tells a part of her story, of the things she did and changed to provide for her four children.  Using her body as a canvas, and her voice to reach other mistreated women and empower them to not take abuse from anyone, Maria José is certainly an example of persistence, overcoming adversity and courage.

Despite her frightening appearance and her turbulent life story, María José sees herself as a normal person.  “I am a normal stay at home mom, a woman also dedicated to tattooing, body art, I do suspension shows, but at the same time I try to help and empower other women who have been abused, because I come from domestic abuse”  she says.

Again, a positive story with no negative slant.  Who knows, maybe the world is finally calming down a little.  Well, at least towards the modified community.

Last week we saw a story about how Ecko is offering a discount of 20% off everything they sell for life if you have an Ecko tattoo.  Well because the story came out on April 1st, a lot of people were suspicious.  It turns out that it wasn’t a prank at all, and Ecko is standing by their announcement, even releasing photos of people who have gotten their tattoos already.

Because of the timing, some people (including us) wondered whether Ecko’s widely publicized deal where customers can receive a 20% discount for life by having the company logo tattooed on their bodies was an April Fool’s prank. Marc Ecko Enterprises reached out to media outlets to assure us that no, it is not, and sent along some photos to prove their point.

I suppose if you really love Ecko, this is great news for you.

Ecko isn’t the only company getting into the tattoo business.  A UK man loves his Tetley Tea so much, he got those lovable tea guys tattooed on his back.

Andrew Blamires, from, Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire, already has one of the Tetley tea folk tattooed on his arm.  But now work has begun on a tattoo featuring all seven of the famous cartoon characters.  He said: “I had been thinking for years about getting a tattoo on my back and I thought I might as well have my favourite characters on there.”  With a nickname of “Tetley”, Mr Blamires, who reckons he drinks at least 10 mugs of his favourite brew a day, said his latest tattoo was a logical step.  The father-of-three said: “I do drink a lot of tea and I already have two tattoos of ‘The Gaffer’ on my arm.”

Anand Gandesha, marketing manager for Tetley tea, said: “We have some major tea fans working here but certainly no-one who is willing to tattoo themselves in honour of the tea folk.  “Andrew is simply one of Britain’s undisputed tea fans who has gone the extra mile to show his admiration of the tea folk is definitely skin deep.”

So that’s all there is for this week.  Have yourselves a great weekend, and if you happen to be in the Baltimore area this weekend, stop by the Baltimore Tattoo Arts Convention.