BME: Body Modification Ezine

A tattooed person suspends from hooks, laying flat, one leg higher than the other. Their head is back, and they seem to be smiling, dark hair dangling like an anime character.

Celebrating body modification culture since 1994.

Author: Rob

  • The Travelling Gnome

    Written by

    Rob

    I’m sure most of us in North America have heard of the Travelling Gnome.  The idea is you steal someone’s garden gnome before you go on vacation, then take pictures of the gnome in places all over the world, which you send back to the person you stole the gnome from.  Then, when you return, you bring back the gnome and replace it as if it never left.  The result, you end up with a great story and experience, and the person who thought their gnome was gone for good gets a surprise in the mail (and their gnome back).  Of course over the years the gnome stories have spread all over becoming so popular that a travel booking website uses a gnome as its mascot.

    Well it seems the gnome is still on the go, and it looks like his latest spot was in Italy, paying a visit to IAM: Lady_FlameThrower.  You may remember her from a ModBlog post a while back about her Watchmen scarification piece.  You can see in the photo below that the photographer Alex Hen is featuring not only the gnome, but also Lady_FlameThrower’s surface bar and dermal anchors.

    gnome

    So has the urge to steal a gnome ever crossed your mind?  The idea of stealing a gnome is only scratching the surface of what travelers do for fun with their photos.  I’ve seen collections of people holding up cardboard cutouts of friends, other keepsakes from houses, and more.  Well ModBlog readers, have you taken a gnome or something else on your travels to document the  journey?

  • The Tell-Tale Heart

    Written by

    Rob

    But even yet I refrained and kept still. I scarcely breathed. I held the lantern motionless. I tried how steadily I could maintain the ray upon the eve. Meantime the hellish tattoo of the heart increased. It grew quicker and quicker, and louder and louder every instant. The old man’s terror must have been extreme! It grew louder, I say, louder every moment! –do you mark me well I have told you that I am nervous: so I am. And now at the dead hour of the night, amid the dreadful silence of that old house, so strange a noise as this excited me to uncontrollable terror. Yet, for some minutes longer I refrained and stood still. But the beating grew louder, louder! I thought the heart must burst. And now a new anxiety seized me –the sound would be heard by a neighbour!

    – Edgar Allan Poe – The Tell-Tale Heart

    Normally I would hesitate to post two images that as so similar this close together, but given the material presented, I couldn’t help myself given the connection between the two images.

    Below you’ll see a portrait of Edgar Allan Poe that Godsandmonsters uploaded.  Now because I was a lit major in university, tattoos tied to works of literature tend to catch my eye.  So when I saw Poe looking back at me, I knew I had to take a closer look.  One of the great things about Poe (aside from his writing) is that he always has a sort of haunted look about him.  Throughout his troubled life he was orphaned, served in the military, eventually started writing, married his 13 year old cousin who died still very young, became an alcoholic and eventually died in a bizarre manner.  You see, the night that Poe died, he was found on the street rambling about someone named “Reynolds”.  He was rushed to the hospital where it was discovered that he was wearing someone else’s clothes.  The eventual cause of death was determined to be some sort of brain trauma, although all records have since been destroyed.  In the years following his death, a jealous rival came into control over Poe’s literary holdings, and worked hard to destroy Poe’s reputation.

    But let’s take a step back.  While Poe was writing a good deal of his works dealt with death and loss.  These of course intensified after the loss of his wife.  Given his personal history, it was clear that his abandonment when he was a child, and the deaths of those around him contributed greatly to his works, but he also drew upon the works of others for inspiration.  In one specific instance, Keats’ poem “The Lamia” played a significant role in the inspiration of one of Poe’s sonnets.  ”To Science“, one of Poe’s earlier works, specifically refers to Keats’ poem (lines 229-238) in addition to using lines that echo lines from “The Lamia”.     The argument behind Poe’s sonnet is that as science is expanding it is taking away the mysteries of the world, and in doing so is ruining the world for poets as they look to the mysteries of the world for inspiration.

    So now look to yourself.  Do you think Poe ended up being right?  Did science and the modern age ruin the mysteries of the world?  Or is it still there, waiting to be discovered again by poets and artists all over the world?

    poe

    As for myself, I still think there is enough mystery out there, maybe not the same mysteries that Poe was searching for, but new ones for a new generation to discover.

    While we’re on the subject of artists, do you happen to have any art on yourself that you want to share?  BME is always looking for new submissions, and if you’re not a member yet, head on over to the main page and sign up.  Those of you who are members can also check out Godsandmonsters‘ story of getting tattooed.  While ModBlog shows of some of the great pieces submitted every day, there are hundreds more submitted all the time that are just as good, if not better.

  • Lycius and the Lamia

    Written by

    Rob

    Left to herself, the serpent now began
    To change; her elfin blood in madness ran,
    Her mouth foam’d, and the grass, therewith besprent,
    Wither’d at dew so sweet and virulent;
    Her eyes in torture fix’d, and anguish drear,
    Hot, glaz’d, and wide, with lid-lashes all sear,
    Flash’d phosphor and sharp sparks, without one cooling tear.
    The colours all inflam’d throughout her train,
    She writh’d about, convuls’d with scarlet pain:
    A deep volcanian yellow took the place
    Of all her milder-mooned body’s grace;
    And, as the lava ravishes the mead,
    Spoilt all her silver mail, and golden brede;
    Made gloom of all her frecklings, streaks and bars,
    Eclips’d her crescents, and lick’d up her stars:
    So that, in moments few, she was undrest
    Of all her sapphires, greens, and amethyst,
    And rubious-argent: of all these bereft,
    Nothing but pain and ugliness were left.
    Still shone her crown; that vanish’d, also she
    Melted and disappear’d as suddenly;
    And in the air, her new voice luting soft,
    Cried, “Lycius! gentle Lycius!”—-Borne aloft
    With the bright mists about the mountains hoar
    These words dissolv’d: Crete’s forests heard no more.

    –John Keats – Lamia

    I really love it when a picture is submitted that has such a rich back story behind it.  Tiffany George recently uploaded this image of a piece she had done.  The tattoo is a recreation of John William Waterhouse’s Lamia (on her knees).

    lamia

    Now, the story of the Lamia stems from Greek mythology, but it has its roots buried deep in many other myths.  The basics of the story is that Lamia was a beautiful woman, who had an affair with Zeus (I mean, who in Greek mythology hasn’t slept with Zeus?).  Well, from their little tryst, Lamia gave birth to children.  Hera, Zeus’ wife, wasn’t too pleased so she went and killed all of the children.  Lamia, so torn up with grief began roaming around eating children.

    From this point the myth diverges into many different stories, all depending on the time period that the story was told.  The tale itself began to travel and was adopted by many other cultures as a way to warn children about being bad.  Some of you may be familiar with the Baba Yaga story, or any other that involve a woman who lures children away to eat them.

    You’ll note the poem that I quoted at the top of this post.  Keats, one of the last romantic poets, told the story of the Lamia and Lycius.  In it the Lamia is a serpent who helps the god Hermes find an invisible nymph.  In return he restores her to human form, where she promptly falls in love with Lycius.  The two are set to be married, but right before the ceremony Lycius’ mentor reveals the Lamia for her true self, and Lycius dies of grief.  It is from this particular poem that the painter John William Waterhouse created a series of paintings depicting the Lamia, including the one that Tiffany tattooed.  One key thing to note in the image is the band of green around her arm.  In all of the paintings Waterhouse depicted the Lamia as a woman, yet had her draped in snake skins, which is what the green band is comprised of.

    So while we’ve established the myth of the Lamia, and the later romanticism about it, it’s interesting to also note the ties it has beyond a warning to children to behave.

    Now while you may not be familiar with the Lamia myth, you may recall the story of Lilith.  Now the Lilith story pre-dates Christian mythology by a few centuries, going back as far as 27th century BC Mesopotamia in the Epic of Gilgamesh where Gilgamesh encounters an early version of Lilith as a serpent in a tree and slays it.  In western civilization we commonly think of Lilith as being Adam’s first wife who refused to be submissive and ran away.  After her departure a number of different things happen to her, all depending on what version of the tale is being told.  In some she is pursued by the angels to return to the garden, and as punishment 100 children will die every day.  In others she runs away to marry the archangel Samael.  Regardless of the biblical related stories, the undercurrent is that Lilith was evil for leaving Adam, and at some point became serpent-like and was responsible for the deaths of children.  Of course in historical terms this meant the story was a reminder that women who seek power are evil in some form.

    These myths eventually led to the modern interpretation of Lilith, where she is as seen as a mother goddess, or as a being of natural power.  Wiccans revere her, while those who hold true to the original myths see her as a pagan goddess of witchcraft, and a demon who will cause women to sin.  No matter what your personal interpretation is, it’s safe to say that at some point in your life you may have encountered some form of either the Lamia or Lilith myths.  Just take a look at movies and television, Lilith was a character on the TV show Supernatural, the Lamia was an evil spirit in Sam Raimi’s “Drag me to Hell”, the White Witch from the Narnia books is a descendant of Lilith (granted the Narnia books are all Christian allegories so this shouldn’t be a surprise), and in del Toro’s “Pan’s Labyrinth”, the Pale Man both eats children and can remove his eyes (another staple of the Lamia myth).

    And even if you can say you’ve never encountered any interpretation of the myths, now that you’ve seen the tattoo and read this post, you’re no longer able to claim innocence.

  • ,

    Tattoo Hollywood! This weekend!

    Written by

    Rob

    Did you guys know that BME has it’s very own convention?  Well it does, and it’s going on right now!!

    Tattoo Hollywood is this weekend.  The flyer below will give you the address and the dates (today through sunday) as well as a brief rundown of some of the many artists appearing this weekend.  To get a bigger list of the artists attending, check out the full listings on the Tattoo Hollywood website.

    If you’re going to be in the area and are thinking of attending, here’s a bit of info that will probably be helpful:

    First off, the show is family friendly. Kids are free with adult admission.

    The show hours are:
    Friday: 5pm-12pm
    Saturday: 12pm-12am
    Sunday: 12pm-8pm

    Ticket Prices: $20 a day, $40 weekend pass, $100 VIP weekend pass. Tickets are available at the door. VIP passes are extremely limited and include special event/artist access.

    The convention is on the fifth floor at Hollywood & Highland. There is tons of parking available. Tickets for the show are available at the door.

    The Grand BallRoom
    Renaissance Hollywood Hotel
    1755 N. Highland Ave.
    Hollywood, CA 90028

    Tattoo Hollywood 2010

    The show get started in just a couple of hours, so head on over after work if you can, otherwise come on down, the show is going on all weekend.

  • This land is your land, this land is my land

    Written by

    Rob

    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.

  • I like my coffee like I like my…

    Written by

    Rob

    [Insert witty joke here]

    So let me share a fun fact with you.  I have never had any form of caffeine in my system.  Ever.

    It’s true, I’ve never had a cup of coffee, a sip of tea, or even a drink of cola.  It hasn’t been easy, let me tell you.  When I was teaching high school, there were days when I came close to cracking.  Granted there were also days that made me want to take up drinking booze too.

    So why people drink coffee is a small puzzle to me.  I get that caffeine is a stimulant, and in the morning a shot of it can really get you going.  What I don’t understand is the motivation behind the first cup.  Do we as a society have a permanent need for it?  Have decades of conditioning by older generations taught us that we need caffeine to get moving in the morning?  Or has this all been a product of an overzealous marketing scheme that has worked so well people have a hard time considering cutting it from their routines?

    Now coffee isn’t the only stimulant that we enjoy.  In fact, I’d wager to say that the modified community probably has more sources of stimulation that the rest of the world.  We’re in tune with our bodies, we know what we can and cannot do to stimulate ourselves (and I’m not talking about sex, although that is a factor to some).  Heck, for some the absence of stimulation can act as a stimulant to some.  So when we see people all over the world reaching for a pot of coffee in the morning, are they going for it because they’re addicted, or is it some primal urge for stimulation that humans possess, but most cannot express?  The modded community has learned a great deal about stimulation over the centuries, and can tap into that base need in many different ways, and can even express their desires openly.  Yet to the majority of people, those who haven’t tapped into a deeper form of self-awareness, is caffeine their way of coping?

    I suppose this is all just food for thought.  Which I guess exposes where I get my stimulation from.  I don’t need caffeine because as long as my mind is active and engaged, I don’t need that extra boost.

    The bottom line in all this is that no matter my thoughts towards caffeine, there are those out there that genuinely love the rush that it delivers.  I think it’s safe to assume that the submitter of this photo, Ouza, is one of the many who just loves the kick of a good cup of coffee.

    caffeine

    So I heard you like your coffee crisp?  Am I wrong?  How do you like your coffee?  And if you’re not a coffee drinker, where do you get stimulation fix from?

  • It’s Friday, I’m in love!

    Written by

    Rob

    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.

  • Little seahorse, swimming in a primal sea

    Written by

    Rob

    Sometimes I like to get introspective and thoughtful about the posts I make here.  Other times, I just like to post something that is just bright and cheery to liven up my day.

    Foxmommy23 uploaded these images of her feet and the seahorses on them to the nature and wildlife tattoo galleries.  From the description she provided, these are dedicated to her siblings, and I would assume the numbers are birthdates.

    seahorse

    There’s just something about these little guys that screams “CUTE!!!”.  I know, I’m a guy, I’m supposed to like beer and monster trucks and tattoos of skulls and daggers.  So what?  So much of our lives are taken up by living up to others expectations.  We need to perform as best we can at work, not because we love our jobs, but because that is what is expected of us.  In relationships there are times where we need to step up and do something we may not want or need to do, just so we can meet the expectations of our loved ones.

    Of course this doesn’t apply to everyone.  I love my job because I get to share with the ModBlog readers things they may not have thought about in a given day.  Sure I could just throw up a picture and say “Hey, look at this!”, but I think you guys and gals and others deserve more than that.  Sometimes doing something for yourself can become the most satisfying feeling possible.  Heck, looking at it from a mod standpoint, when we get modded we’re doing it for ourselves, and I’m willing to bet most of you get some degree of satisfaction by doing it.  So, go.  Be selfish for a day.  Treat yourself to something, or do something no matter the consequence.  Just do it for you.

    Think about it, when was the last time you went out an exceeded someone’s expectations just for yourself?.  You were given a task to do, and instead of just doing the basics, you went out and made it something that you love and something more than what could ever be asked of you.  That’s what I want you to do, do something for you!

    So, what are you thinking of doing?

  • The Body Image

    Written by

    Rob

    With a positive or healthy body image, a woman has a real perception of her size and shape. She also feels comfortable with her body. With a negative body image, a woman has a distorted perception of her shape and size, compares her body to others, and feels shame and anxiety about her body. Being unhappy with your body can affect how you think and feel about yourself as a person. A poor body image can lead to emotional distress, low self-esteem, unhealthy dieting habits, anxiety, depression, and eating disorders. Developing a positive body image and a healthy mental attitude is crucial to a woman’s happiness and wellness.

    –Womenshealth.gov

    I had a conversation with an ex-gf last night.  We were out with a group of old friends, and someone handed us a picture of the two of us from when we were dating.  She looked pretty much the same, which is impressive as the picture was over 10 years old, while I looked substantially different.  Sure my head is shaved now, I have a beard, and I wasn’t even modded back then, but the thing I noticed most was my body.  I’m not an overweight guy, I’m a little on the big side of average, but nowhere close to being an unhealthy weight.  In my mind, I’ve always been roughly the same size.  It turns out, I’ve been wrong.  You see, in the picture I was a stick figure.  I started asking around, “was I really that skinny?”.  I was holding a photograph of myself, and I still couldn’t believe it.

    It really got me thinking about how we perceive ourselves by our body image, as well as how much we rely on others to judge us.  While I don’t want to get too deep into a discussion about eating disorders and the like, I did want to talk about how we, as people who go to great lengths to modify our bodies, feel about the judgments and stigmas that arise when discussing body types.

    We as a community are a very unique bunch.  We all do things to achieve what we perceive as the way we want our bodies to be.  We push the limits every day of what the human body can take in terms of modification.  We stretch, pull, poke, cut, and more, all in the goal of getting self satisfaction.

    So given all that, what makes us different from those with eating disorders?  I’m not trying to make any accusations here, I’m just throwing some ideas out there to discuss.  Think about it.  To a person who has a negative body image, like the quote above describes, they are not happy with the way their body appears.  These people will then go to extremes to try to force their bodies into how they believe it should appear.  Crash diets, excessive exercise, eating disorders, all of these are what people (and yes this goes for men as well as women) go through to change themselves.  The sad part of these behaviours is that often when the person reaches their initial “goal”, they will find something else wrong and continue the behaviour.

    So where does the fault lie?  Where do these people get the notion that they need to change themselves to fit a specific ideal?   This is where the line gets very blurry.  We as a community are continually changing ourselves.  Some more than others, and some even feel the need to continually change as they can never quite attain their goals.  Plus there are a number of modified people who also suffer from a negative body image, and do have the same problems that an unmodified person may have.  I think the answer may lie in the motivations.  With modifications we deviate from the “norm”.  What may be considered unacceptable in some places, is celebrated here.  We have bonds with each other where we can get together and discuss our progress.  We talk about new techniques, new ideas, ways to make our changes even better than we could imagine.  We have support.

    Yet when it comes to issues of weight and body image, things become slightly different.  To discuss one’s modifications with other modified people is the norm in our community, to someone suffering from an eating disorder, talking to someone about it can be the hardest thing in the world to do.  To talk to someone means that you first must accept that you have a problem, but then you have to do the unthinkable, which is go to someone and say out loud that you have a problem with your self-image and you need help.  There is no stigma in our community towards getting modified, yet for some reason when a person chooses to alter their body shape, or suffers from an eating disorder, there is still a negative stigma attached.

    When you look at someone who is overweight or obese, your first thought probably is “they should lose some weight”.  Yet to many people they feel that they themselves must lose weight, even if by society’s standards they aren’t overweight or obese.  There have been many studies and books written talking about how over time the media and society have crafted what would be considered the ideal standard, which to many people is an unrealistic standard.  We’re now in a world where more and more people are doing drastically unhealthy things just to meet this falsified standard.

    Which brings me back to us.  Do we as a community hold a double standard when it comes to body types?  We’re a global community that willingly welcomes people with open arms, regardless of what they look like in terms of their mods.  Yet when we discuss body type and body image, do some of us forget how we’re all here because we are taking control of our bodies, which means accepting the way we look?  The reason I’m asking these questions stems from an older ModBlog post that was brought to my attention.  Last December IAM: Botexty submitted an image of her newest tattoo.  She just sent in a healed image which I want to share with you now.

    flattery

    Going back and looking over the comments, you’ll find a mixed bag of reactions.  Some discuss the tattoo, others compliment her on her ass, and some do the exact opposite.  And while most of those people were chastised, I found it a little upsetting that readers of ModBlog, who are some of the most open-minded people I have had to privilege to know, can possess the capacity to judge a person simply on their body shape.  Isn’t that part of the reason we’re all here.  This community is built as a safe haven for those sick of being judged out in the world.  A place where they can be who they want to be without fear of negative comments about their bodies.

    I pose this question to you now ModBlog readers?  Are we truly an accepting community, one that ignores the “faults” in others, or are we just a microcosm of the larger world where we have members that find it acceptable to pass negative judgement on a person’s body, while expecting approval for their own body?

  • Son of a bitch, I’m sick of these dolphins.

    Written by

    Rob

    Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go on an overnight drunk, and in 10 days I’m going to set out to find the shark that ate my friend and destroy it. Anyone who wants to tag along is more than welcome.

    – Steve Zissou – The Life Aquatic

    zissou

    Oh Bill Murray.  Is there anything you do that isn’t brilliant?  (For the record I choose to believe the Garfield movie doesn’t exist).

    Seriously.  I grew up with Bill on the big screen on a regular basis.  I was a bit too young to catch his SNL stint, but by the time Ghostbusters came out, I was 6 and ready to see it.  I can remember being terrified by the scene in the NY public library, laughing at slimer and Rick Moranis, and thinking Dick getting melted marshmallow dumped on him was the greatest thing ever.  Of course it wasn’t until I was older that I was able to go back and watch Ghostbusters and truly appreciate the brilliance that went into making the film.  Seriously, go back and just watch Bill.  Every line is delivered perfectly.  I highly doubt any actor could have pulled that role off as perfectly as he did.

    Of course, as time went on, Bill’s star began to fade.  By the 90s most of his films are forgettable, with maybe the exception of Groundhog Day and Rushmore.  Speaking of Rushmore, I’d say that was when he rose like a phoenix out of the ashes of his career.  Somehow Wes Anderson was able to reach back in time and yank the Bill Murray from 1984 and place him in the body of Bill Murray 1998.  Since then, he’s had a string of brilliant films where he’s been able to showcase his ability to act, as well as his comedic skills.  If you have any doubt about it, go watch Zombieland.

    Now as strong as my appreciation for Bill is, IAM: fist_intheair definitely has me beat.  Nikko Hurtado from Hesperia, CA. did this piece on him recently, and I was floored when I saw it.

    Regardless of your current feelings towards Bill, you must have some fond memory of at least one of his performances.  Was it his turn as Ernie McCracken in Kingpin?  Or maybe you’re a bit older and prefer him in Meatballs (fun fact:  I went to the camp across the lake from Camp White Pine outside Haliburton, ON, where Meatballs was filmed).  Obviously fist_intheair prefers Steve Zissou, so what was/is your favorite Bill role?

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