Well it’s been an interesting week in the news, with the cyclone in Australia and protests in Egypt, so news on the modified world has been a little sparse.  The big news this week is that the Philadelphia tattoo convention is underway.

February 4th – 6th 2011
Philadelphia Tattoo Arts Convention
at the Sheraton Philadelphia City Center Hotel

Show Times
Friday 2 PM – 12 AM
Saturday 12 PM – 12 AM
Sunday 12 PM – 8 PM

Tickets Prices
$20 per day $40 for the weekend
Tickets are only sold at the show
Children under 12 are free

Rachel and I are here at the show filming interviews for BMEtv, so if you see either of us around, stop by and say hi.  You never know, you could end up being interviewed for BMEtv.

There’s more news on the way, so keep on reading to check it out.

A woman in New Zealand has come forward and is suing the Christchurch police department based on the actions of one of the officers.

A Christchurch woman is suing the police after she says they took to her with bolt cutters to remove her body piercings.  Her case has sparked others to come forward with similar stories – she says there could be dozens more.  Twenty-year-old Ben Hack’s lip piercing was cut from his face with pliers when he was arrested for disorderly behaviour in Christchurch.  “They just got pliers and then hailed off the ball and pulled it off. And it hurt, and they just pulled it all out,” he says.

The practice emerged when a woman sued Christchurch police for $150,000 for allegedly cutting piercings from her body when she was taken into custody.  A female officer used bolt cutters to remove about five piercings from her, including one from her groin area.

I’m not sure what police procedure is exactly in my neck of the woods, but taking a bolt cutter seems a little excessive.

A while back I posted a story about a young woman in the US who was kicked out of school for having a nose ring.  Well it seems that case has made the media pay more attention to these types of stories, as an Ontario girl was also removed from class for having a piercing.

Mikaela Gunning-Pereira, a Grade 9 student at Notre Dame High School in the upper-Beach area, learned on Monday that she was no longer welcome in her math class, or the halls of the school by a vice-principal.  “We just started second semester, I want to learn, I want to do well,” complained Gunning-Pereira.  The Toronto District Catholic School Board’s (TCDSB) dress code bans lip studs but permits nose piercing.  However, Gunning-Pereira insisted many other students have facial piercings.

And her mother, Paula Gunning, said she had no idea her daughter’s facial jewelry violated the school’s dress code.  “If I knew that was the case I certainly wouldn’t have paid $75 for her to have this,” said the girl’s mom. “Piercings aren’t okay, but those short skirts are?”

In this case the girl is attending one of the Ontario Catholic schools which are separate from the public school system in that they have their own guidelines, but they still have to teach the same curriculum as every other school.

In stupid criminal news, sometimes tattooing “Genius” on your forehead doesn’t always mean you are.

A man has been arrested for hitting a pregnant woman in the head with a hand gun.  Jerome Smith, 27, was arrested February 1st, however, the attack happened on January 29th. happened on the 29th.  The police report states a man with “Genius” tattooed on his forehead attacked Tiera Bryant, who is eight months pregnant.

Finally, in much more positive news, a tattoo studio owning couple in the UK are holding a fundraiser for the Oxford Children’s Hospital.

Paul and Carly Humphreys have invited body artists to their Evolution Tattoo parlour in Banbury Road, Kidlington, to raise cash for Oxford Children’s Hospital.  The John Radcliffe Hospital last month treated newborn Presley-Ray Humphreys after he was born with a twisted bowel.  He was delivered on December 12 weighing a healthy 9lb 2oz, but two days later started vomiting and was rushed back to hospital.  The twisted bowel had cut off the blood flow to his intestine and could have proved fatal.

Just 20 minutes into the three-hour operation, the couple got the news that Presley-Ray would be okay.

The proud dad has pledged to get a tattoo of Presley-Ray when he is two.  And Mrs Humphreys added: “I don’t think he knows anything about what he has been through. He’s got a scar on his belly, and I’m sure he’ll ask about it as he gets older.”  The February 27 event will include tattooing, an auction, music and children’s activities.

Just because it’s a slow news week, doesn’t mean that the famous people of the world have gone and done something modification related.

To start with, Pauley Perrette from the show NCIS, which I’m told is like CSI but with an added “N”, went on Letterman and talked about her tattoos.

On Tuesday night during an interview with Late Night with David Letterman, Pauley showed off some of her secret tattoos. Almost all of her tattoos are number based. Unique and definitely one of a kind, she designs the images herself and has them all over her body. Showing off a tattoo between her finger that wouldn’t be noticeable to the naked eye and even her arms, she had David Lettermen engrossed in her body art as she explained each piece.  ”Well most of mine are number based. I love math.,” said Pauley Perrette. “I have little secret number tattoos everywhere. I design them.”

And to conclude this abbreviated celebrity round-up, the girls who are auditioning for future reality TV shows on The Bachelor went and got rose tattoos while they were in Vegas.  I suppose that will help them become future stars of shows like “The Bachelorette”, “Rock of Love”, and “Reality show rehab”.

And thus concludes this week’s broadcasting cycle.  As always, if you come across a story you think should be included in the weekly news post, you can submit it right here.