Modblog news is back after a short summer hiatus.  This week’s news is jam packed with stories, so expect it to be a bit bigger than a normal news week.

To start this extra-large edition we’ve got a story about a Modblog regular, IAM: Jessestar.  As many Modblog readers will know, Jesse is no stranger to having his name appear here.  This week, unfortunately, the news is not mod related at all.  First, take a look at the story that was printed in the local paper the day the story broke.

A Tulsa man has bonded out of jail after he was arrested early Wednesday morning on a complaint of assault with a dangerous weapon.

Reading the article you’ll find just the facts of the case.  There is no mention, other than the picture, that would indicate Jesse is modified in any way shape or form.  This is what we like to call “good journalism”.  To those of you who have heard the news already, you probably saw the article on The Smoking Gun, or possibly one of the tabloid articles.

Police arrested oddball Jesse Thornhill who has a pair of HORNS implanted in his forehead.  The 28-year-old looks like a demon with his tattooed eyebrows and lengthened ear lobes.  He also has a line of silver studs running down the middle of the skull.  According to the arrest sheet which was later posted online, Thornhill, a heavy metal fan, had “horns, neck tattoos, implant ear rings on head”.

With the exception of Jesse’s hometown, every other news article online is focusing entirely on his modification.  To them it would seem that someone as heavily modified as Jesse, would naturally be a criminal.  The media circus around the case is further reinforcing the very false stereotype that modified individuals are the riffraff of society, and should be locked up.  I do want to add that I have no comment on Jesse’s case as it really has nothing to do with him being modified, and I hope the comments section will keep this in mind when discussing this story.  As for the media focusing on his modifications as “evil”, those are the people who you should be upset with.  (A quick thanks to all the people who submitted this story over the past couple of days, it’s submissions like yours that help make the Modblog news exist).

Now then, put your feet up, grab a cold drink and settle in.  This week’s news is just getting started.

In keeping with the theme of “the regular media is clueless when it comes to modifications”, we have a story from CBS news about a wide variety of modifications.

“For some it represents beauty, spiritual exploration – a modern primitive rite of passage. Others view it as disfigurement plain and simple, and some doctors suspect that it’s a possible symptom of a mental disorder.”

You read that right.  If you go out and get modded, then you may have a mental disorder.  While the initial story seems to side with the modified community, when you get into the gallery, the comments quickly shift to opinions chastising those who suspend, get scarred, branded, pierced, etc.  Stories like these lead to actions by local governments to put controls on the industry (beyond safe practice rules).  For example, in Chatham NJ, tattoo studios are now subject to the same laws as strip clubs.  Instead of focusing on if the shops are clean, they’re more concerned with where the studios are located and the hours they’re open.

“Adult entertainment as well as tattoo and body piercing businesses are also subject to several specific conditions that they must satisfy. Among these conditions is the age limit. These establishments may cater only to persons 18 years of age and up, can operate only between the hours of 9 am to 9:30 pm and are not allowed to serve alcoholic beverages.”

Thankfully not all news outlets are as biased.  In Phoenix, AZ a number of tattoo studios have opened up over the past few years and while there is the normal concerns by citizens about zoning regulations, the paper is more concerned with making people aware that the studios want legislation ensuring safe practices.  Over in Pittsburgh, the Post-Gazette dedicated a story entirely to people sharing their experiences about their tattoos.  Who knows, maybe by next summer more people will come to realize that we’re all modded for our own reasons, not because we all have a mental disorder.

Now, seeing as how we’ve been talking a bit about permanent mods, I thought it would be a good idea to see what’s happening in the world on non-permanent mods.  With the popularity of tattoos increasing people are wanting to get tattooed earlier and earlier in life.  So what’s a parent to do?  Why not get your kids a henna tattoo?  Well it turns out, that they may not be as temporary as one would think.

“Legislation that would prevent the sale of temporary “henna” tattoos that contain a chemical found to cause scarring and other disfiguring skin injuries was released Thursday by an Assembly committee.  Many black or blue henna tattoos contain phelylendiamine (PPD), a chemical that can cause severe dermatitis, eye irritation and tearing, asthma, gastritis, renal failure, vertigo, tremors, convulsions and comas in humans, according to  Assemblyman Paul Moriarty — one of the bill’s sponsors.”

Well, at least we can’t die from those lick and stick tattoos.  Right?

Of course the ban on some henna products could just be the result of some paranoid tin-foil wearing hat legislator, but I doubt it.  When it comes to the real conspiracy nuts, congresswoman Sue Myrick has an interesting theory when it comes to prison tattoos.

“The congresswoman’s evidence for this intricate plot is that some prisoners in California have tattoos that say “Hezbollah,” and other tatts written in Farsi, which, of course, is the language spoken in Iran.”

Is it just me, or does that seem like a lot of work just to end up in prison.  I mean, they’re traveling to Venezuela, learning Spanish, crossing the border into the US, then getting arrested so they can get a prison tattoo in Farsi.  You’d think that they could find a tattoo shop along the way that could do the job for them.

Of course, that’s assuming the congresswoman is right.  And if she is, well that is just one really dumb plan.  Actually, this summer is shaping up for a lot of really dumb plans.  Meet Geoffrey Ewart.  This young man got into a bar brawl several months ago.  When the police came to his door he claimed to be somewhere else celebrating his 21st birthday.  When asked for proof, Ewart provided officers with some pictures of him blowing out the candles on his cake in a dated photograph.  That’s when things got interesting.

“But detectives dug into his alibi and learned the pub in question had undergone a refurbishment – after the date of the street fight in Middlesbrough.   Ewart was also pictured sporting a tattoo on his arm – again added since the brawl.”

So a word of advice to everyone.  If you commit a crime and try to fake an alibi, make sure you don’t get a tattoo after you commit the crime then claim you’ve had it longer than you really have.

Speaking of dumb ideas, here’s one that unfortunately happens a lot more often than it should.  Police in Clover, SC have shut down a home based tattoo shop for tattooing children and operating without any sterilization equipment.

Finally in today’s list of dumb ideas, a police officer has been fired from his job for a mod-related stunt at a Christmas party.  I couldn’t find any pictures of the stunt in question, otherwise I would have turned this into a “Guess What?” article.

“A policeman who was sacked for opening a bottle of beer with his penis piercing – his ‘party trick’, apparently – is appealing to get his job back because he didn’t mean to offend anyone.  At his tribunal in Sydney, he claimed his colleagues had been ‘egging him on’ to expose himself and he went to the toilet to attach the bottle opener to his member.”

On the positive side, he has been offered a job with Puppetry of the Penis if he is unable to get his job back.

A few weeks ago I featured a number of stories that highlighted people’s dedication to things they love through their mods.  This week, we’ve got three more stories of people getting tattooed for the loves of their lives.  I realize this story is a few weeks old now, but it hasn’t been featured yet, and it is definitely something that should be.  When Kim Mordue’s son passed away after taking GHB at a club, the 50 year old mother was at a loss as to what to do.  After talking with her tattoo artist husband, she decided to mix his ashes into some tattoo ink and get a number of memorial tattoos done.

“Mrs Mordue said: ‘I’ve put Lloyd back where he started – he’s in my body again.  ‘As soon as I knew it was possible I wanted to have the ashes tattoos as a tribute to Lloyd.’  The designs across Mrs Mordue’s back show a cabala tree, an angel releasing a butterfly and a poem dedicated to her son.  Mrs Mordue said: ‘I spent a long time researching the tattoos – they and Lloyd will be with me for the rest of my life.”

As significant a tattoo this is to her, something creeps me out about the way she says “he’s in my body again”.  Maybe I’ve just watched Dead Alive too many times.

Now Katie O’Keefe doesn’t have anyone’s ashes tattooed into her skin, but she does have a commitment to the city she loves, Cleveland.  In this interview Katie talks about her thoughts on Cleveland, as well as the art she has on her dedicated to the city.  Josh Fleming on the other hand doesn’t sport any tattoos dedicated to a city, but he has gotten one dedicated to his favorite music festival.

“Fleming, 22, had the image of a Craven Country Jamboree wristband — like those issued to all attendees as access passes for the festival — tattooed on his right wrist in February.  The grey-coloured tattoo doesn’t represent the wristbands from any specific year, noted Fleming, who, including this year, has attended the festival six times, ever since the format switched back to country music.”

I wonder if anyone has a Woodstock ’94 bracelet tattooed on themselves.

While we’re on the subject of commitment, it seems that video game developer Electronic Arts has convinced someone to commit themselves to changing their entire exterior in honor of the launch of a new game.

On Monday 5th July, www.thehumanavatar.com will go live as will community voting on the first stage of the activity: the identity of the Human Avatar. Throughout the weeks to follow, members of the public will be responsible for shaping the subject’s appearance, starting with the hairstyle and subsequently where they are pierced, where they are tattooed and finally what clothes they wear. No faking. The Human Avatar will be a real person undergoing a very real transformation.

The tattoo session video has just been posted, so the only voting left is for his clothing style.  I’m just glad the voters so far have enough sense not to make the poor guy dress like a juggalo.

With the human avatar project underway, it’s interesting to think that our civilization has come to a point where video game avatars are considered bad-ass if they have some form of modification.  While ours is a digital age, the idea of the warriors of a culture being tattooed/pierced is hardly a new concept.  Yes I realize it’s a flimsy analogy, but in western civilization the average person will never be engaged in some form of warfare, nor will they need to hunt for their food with only simple weapons.  Video games now provide people an outlet to do things they never would be able to do, and part of that is changing their appearance.  Of course elsewhere in the world, tattooing and piercing are still required rites of passage for many tribes around the world.  The process is slowly starting to fade away though, as this article from China shows, the native tribes of Taiwan have all but lost their tattooed rituals.

“The Atayal tribe, who used to hunt and farm in the mountains of central and east Taiwan, had a custom of facial tattoos as rites of passage, identification, female beauty and pride for hundreds of years. Mostly the tattoos were on the forehead and cheeks. But, in the eyes of Taiwan’s dominant Han ethnic people, tattoos have long been symbols of barbarity.  ‘Atayal facial tattoos are not only designs, but a set of rituals and etiquettes. Today, our tribal structure has collapsed and facial tattoos have lost their original meanings and functions. I would not like to see the tattoos become superficial decorations.’”

Did someone say superficial?  I guess that means it’s time to wrap things up with the celebrity round-up.  Supposedly some reality TV show guy with a lot of kids got a tattoo with his girlfriend’s name spelled wrong, but because I was afraid of seeing a picture of his ex-wife I couldn’t be bothered to actually go to the links.  The ones I did go to sure didn’t disappoint.  Shockingly Angeline Jolie got another tattoo and somehow the world needed to come to a screeching halt to find out what it meant.  Lebron James seemed to make people angry with a tattoo recently.  Somehow people in the city that he moved away from for more money are upset that he has a tattoo that says “Loyalty“, and want it changed.

The final Harry Potter films have finished shooting and are coming to theaters in a few months.  If you remember, the actors from the Lord of the Rings trilogy all went out and got a commemorative tattoo for the time they spent together filming the Fellowship of the Rings.  I guess the sentiment rubbed off on one of the Harry Potter actors.

Tom Felton has revealed he tried to get the Harry Potter cast to have the boy wizard’s lightning bolt tattooed on their bottoms.  The 22-year-old – who plays Harry’s arch-enemy Draco Malfoy – has filmed the last scenes of the final movie, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, and wanted his fellow actors to have a lasting memento of their time on set.

And finally, in my favorite kind of story, you can now thank celebrities for giving everyone the idea to get Latin passages tattooed on their skin.  Heck, it’s not only tattoos either.  Kids with names that have Latin roots, and kids taking Latin in schools can all thank David Beckham and Angelina Jolie for starting this trend.

Well, that’s it for this week.  Unless I disappear into the wilderness again the news should be back to it’s regular weekly schedule.  I hope everyone is having a great summer!

Well Modblog readers, I am still alive.  After a brief scare in the Grand Canyon, this week’s news is coming to you from Sin City itself, Las Vegas.  With that in mind, I thought this week’s news round up should kick off with a tattoo dedicated to someone who is no stranger to corruption.

Jeremy Scheuch has got style. Chicago style. And Rod Blagojevich style.  The 31-year-old event planner spent three hours Tuesday night honoring the city and the on-trial-for-corruption former Illinois governor with a large tattoo on his upper right thigh.

I will admit, it does look a LOT better than the Sarah Palin tattoo I posted about a couple weeks back.

For the rest of this week’s news, including a number of tribute tattoos, as well as some great information about tribal modifications, click the little “read more” link.

Tribute tattoos are a mainstay of the culture.  Sometimes they’re dedicated to a lost loved one, or maybe to a favorite band.  What about a tribute to a road?  And what if that tribute tattoo was only one of many dedicated to the same stretch of highway?  Well to Ron Jones, Route 66 means a heck of a lot to him.

Ron “Tattoo Man” Jones has 85 tattoos in total and 84 tattoos dedicated to sites along the 2,448-mile highway. His body pays tribute to Waylon’s Kuku Burger in Miami, Okla.; a former zoo that once housed mountain lions in Two Guns, Ariz.; even the Santa Monica Pier arch in California, where Route 66 ends and the Pacific Ocean begins.

While Ron has dedicated his body to his favorite stretch of road, Brandon Perry from Perth has covered his arm in symbols of his beloved homeland.

Now it features a Vegemite jar, a Hills Hoist clothes line with Bonds Y-fronts, a pink lamington and a meat pie with tomato sauce spread into the Triple J insignia.

I’ll be the first to admit that beyond Vegemite, I have no clue whatsoever as to what the other images are of.  Any Aussie readers out there care to fill the rest of us in?

As readers of Modblog know, I do like to post stories that explore modifications from tribal cultures all over the world.  I’ve touched on how the Maori shrunken heads were finally returned from a museum in Paris, and now this week I was lucky enough to come across a pair of articles that delve into a little bit of detail describing the history behind both Moko tattoos, as well as Apatani modifications from northern India.

“Apatani women were often abducted by the neighbouring Nishi tribesmen for their beauty, so to make themselves look unattractive, they tattooed their faces and wore huge circular nose plugs,”

Sticking with news from the southern hemisphere;  The Red Cross in Australia has recently updated it’s rules with regards to when a person can give blood following a tattoo or piercing.  They re-evaluated their policy and decided to reduce the wait period from one year down to six months.  While this is a decent step forward with regards to the modified community, the organization has come under fire for not changing it’s rules regarding gay men.

The fact the Red Cross is willing to review its current donor guidelines for people who have piercings and acupuncture and tattoos, but not review guidelines when it comes to gay blood donation, really does suggest the Red Cross is, at best, engaged in some fairly arbitrary decision-making, or at worst, is just downright homophobic

According to the rules, if a male has engaged in same sex behavior, he must wait at least one year before donating blood.  Personally this pisses me off to no end, as the Canadian Red Cross has similar policies.  I have a good friend who has been in a committed relationship with his partner for over two years.  He is unable to donate blood as he has sex with his partner.  At the same time I have another friend who tends to sleep with as many women he can find in a given month can donate all he wants.  Tell me, which of my friends poses a greater health risk?

Speaking of dumb ideas, it seems that a tattoo artist in Edinburgh thought it wouldn’t be a problem to tattoo a 13-year-old.

Stewart also admitted tattooing five teenagers under the age of 18 – three were aged 15, one aged 16, and one aged 13 – between January and February of this year.  Defence agent Stephen Mannifield said: “He wasn’t completely familiar with the legislation.  “He has learned his lesson and will certainly know for next time.”

At what point does it seem alright to think tattooing a minor wouldn’t be illegal?

Then again, the dad in Fresno who tattooed his son with a gang sign was just acquitted.  Maybe the artist in Edinburgh should move to California if he wants to keep tattooing children.

A few weeks back I posted an article about the guinness record holder for the most tattooed woman.  Well this week there has been a new record set, the world’s most expensive tattoo.  To be fair, this isn’t actually a legitimate tattoo, but bedazzling yourself with over $900,000 worth of diamonds does warrant a little attention.

So we have the world’s most expensive tattoo, what about the world’s most “disgusting” tattoo?  One of the projectionists at the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin has gotten a tattoo to commemorate the horror film, “The Human Centipede“.  Personally, I think it’s pretty awesome that he got that done, although I would have preferred if he put a bit more detail into it.

Talking about detail, the developers of the upcoming video game, Call of Duty-Black Ops, spent a lot of time trying to get the in-game tattoos the character sports as realistic as possible.  Unfortunately for them, someone was even more detail oriented, and wrote them a nice article explaining why the tattoos in the game are unrealistic.

Now before I get into the celebrity “news” portion of this week’s roundup, I wanted to share this story about modified mommies.  With Father’s day coming up I was hoping you, the loyal reader, would be so kind as to find some stories about modified daddies.  Sure the alliteration isn’t there, but the big dad for fathers is coming up, and it’d be nice to send some love their way.

Without futher ado, let’s see what foolishness the rich and pampered have been doing this week.

Gemma Arterton, star of the Prince of Persia, has gotten herself her first tattoo.  When asked about the pain, she said, “All the men warned me in advance it would hurt a lot. It wasn’t that bad, though. Try having your bikini zone waxed, guys. Then you will know what real pain feels like.”

Katy Perry and Russell Brand have taken a big step in their relationship, one that superstitious types would say is the kiss of death to a relationship.  They went and got matching tattoos.

I do have a question for our readers, especially those who believe in the matching tattoo superstition.  When getting a tattoo dedicated to the person you’re dating, is it bad luck if you’re not actually dating the person yet?  The reason I ask is because one of the contestants on The Bachelorette decided to get a tattoo dedicated to the bachelorette in question, while the show is still going on and she’s fooling around with several guys at once.

Seriously, you can’t make this stuff up.

Oh, and this week’s final celeb story is probably my favorite.  Coolio, as you may remember from such hits and Gangster’s Paradise and umm..  that other song, has gotten himself a new tattoo to show how happy he is to be taken on tour with his new buddies, ICP.  Unfortunately for Coolio, he wasn’t informed fully about the Juggalo culture, and ended up getting Juggalo spelled wrong.

So that’s it for this week.  I should be near an internet connection again in a few days so the next update will be a bit sooner.  Thanks to Botexty and Valentine for the submissions this week.  And don’t forget everyone, Father’s day is this weekend, remember to pick the old man something special.

This week’s news is coming to you from Chicago.  As the first stop on my trip around North America most of the time has been spent getting ready with my road trip buddy for the coming months.  Just because I’m on the road, doesn’t mean the news is going to stop.  So, with that said, let’s see what has happened in the world since last week’s update.

We’re going to start this week by taking a look at how modified people are making a positive impact in their communities.  Be it through their art, setting an example for others, or taking time to help out those who can’t help themselves, all these individuals have taken their modifications and used them for something positive.

First up we have Wafaa Bilal, an Iraqi artist who is using his skin as a canvas to bring attention to the continuing loss of life in the war with Iraq.

Over the next 24 hours, they would be barraged by dots of ink, thousands and thousands of them — each representing a casualty of the Iraq war. The dots are tattooed near the city where the person died: red ink for the American soldiers, ultraviolet ink for the Iraqi civilians, invisible unless seen under black light.  “We are talking about 100,000 Iraqis who have died and 5,000 American soldiers,” Bilal says. “They’re not visible. Many people don’t even know the number.”

Continue reading to hear about more people like Wafaa, as well as some followup to stories from the past few weeks, some interesting perspectives on religion and body modifications, and the return of the celebrity roundup!

In New Hampshire Steve Manchini, a high school drop out, has returned to school and is proving to his community that heavily modified young people can succeed when given the opportunity to.

Manchini wears glass earrings that are nearly 3 inches in diameter. His first piercing came at age 14. He has six tattoos. And no matter the weather, he wears flip flops.  Despite quitting school his sophomore year, Manchini will graduate this month with honors, placing him closer to a goal of attending medical school. He wants to major in neuroscience, the study of the brain and nervous system.

A little south of Steve, in Ashville NC, Freaks & Geeks Tattoo Sideshow is holding their annual “Tattooing Paws for a Cause” event this month.

The centerpiece of the campaign is a 12-hour pet paw print tattoo and body piercing marathon from 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday, June 27, at Freaks & Geeks. During that day, patrons may choose from four paw print tattoo designs for the deeply discounted price of $40. Diamond Thieves Body Piercing owner Daron James will provide above-the-neck and belly button piercings during the daylong event for the reduced cost of $15. All clients will be taken on a first-come, first-served basis. Proceeds from the marathon will benefit the Humane Society, which will have a number of pets up for adoption on site during the event.

In addition the shop will act as both a donation center for people looking to donate to the Humane Society, as well as providing information regarding adoption.  If you’re in the area and have some time, swing on by and either get some work done, or make a donation.

Finally we have an interview with Dawn Kasper, an LA based artist that incorporates branding and scarification into her performance art.

In one performance, she branded the word “love” onto the skin of her inner bicep. (She followed with “truth” on the other bicep several years later.) In another, she carved the shape of a heart into the middle of her chest, an unsettlingly visible expression, one could say, of wearing her heart on her sleeve. The scars of both remain.

June also appears to be a good month in the news for artists that incorporate tattoos into their work.  In Hammonton NJ, the Noyes Museum is hosting an exhibit entitled “The Art of Tattoo”, featuring not only photos of tattoos, but also original sketches and paintings.  Melbourne tattoo artist Jessica Swaffer, is featured this week in on thevine.com.au.  Jessica’s watercolors are a modern take on late 1800s pornography, mixed with classical tattoo imagery.  Over on the west coast, OCWeekly has done a photo essay on local chefs and their body art.  And really, who doesn’t love good food mixed with a splash of color.

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago about how three Canadian provinces have no regulations in place when it comes to any form of body modifications.  Well it seems that those provinces aren’t the only places that are looking at doing something with regards to regulations.  In Florida, governor Charlie Crist signed into law new legislation dealing with age restrictions, as well as health standards.

Gov. Charlie Crist signed into law Friday a bill that bans children and teenagers younger than 16 from being tattooed and requires those 16 to 18 to bring a parent to give permission before they get inked. The law (HB 729) also regulates tattoo artists for the first time. They must get a license, take an infection control course and pass an annual test.

The only downside I’m seeing to this is that the law doesn’t take effect until January 2012, which means for another year or so Florida will still be following the old rules.  While Florida is taking steps forward, it seems California is digging its heels in and not making any progress.

Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, D-San Francisco, who was born with hepatitis B, stepped in, introducing a bill to codify the standards.  Supported by health officers, blood banks and the body-art industry, it sailed through the Assembly and Senate in 2009 with virtually no dissent. But when it landed on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s desk, to the astonishment of all, he vetoed it, saying he didn’t see the point.

There currently is another bill pending, being supported by even more groups, so hopefully the Governator will allow it to be passed instead of arbitrarily vetoing it again.

Taking a quick look at some of the stories that I mentioned in the past, the student that was assaulted by his classmates and forced to have his ass tattooed has relocated and plans to finish out the school year at a new school.  The jury has begun deliberations in the case of the father who tattooed a gang symbol on his seven year-old son.  While the prosecution has presented the case as a straightforward assault/child endangerment suit, the defense is claiming “the jury has to find Gonzalez and Gorman not guilty if they are not willing to convict a parent for piercing their kids’ ear or getting them circumcised”.  Now I can’t recall if I mentioned this story before, but Curtis Allgier, who has been charged with killing a prison guard, is asking for permission to cover his extensive facial tattoos while in court. so that he can get a fair trial.

In certain cultures and religions, body modifications are frowned upon, and in some cases considered a sin.  This week I came across two articles about modifications and religion, that surprisingly don’t take a negative turn.  In the first article two Rabbis answer the question “What should I do about my tattoos before converting?”

Moreover, the tattoos condemned by the original ban were carried out either as a form of self-harm as part of excessive grief over a bereavement, or they were a religious rite belonging to a pagan faith.  These are not in the same category as the ones you bear, which were probably done for decorative reasons. I also assume they are permanent and cannot be removed, otherwise that would be an easy solution.  Still, by definition, the act of conversion implies both “turning away from” a certain lifestyle and “turning towards” a new path. You cannot undo your past, either the visible bits or the invisible aspects, but what counts is the person you are now and who you wish to become.

The second story is about a Christian church in Springfield MO that has taken a significantly different stance on body modification than the majority of Evangelical churches.

“In the lobby of the south-side Springfield church, one wall is covered with photos of members proudly displaying their tattoos.  “

The church has taken the position of embracing the modifications of it’s parishoners as something to be celebrated, not condemned.  For me personally, this sounds like a great step forward and hopefully more churches follow suit.

Now I know everyone’s favorite section is the celebrity roundup, but I’ve got two more stories to go before we get to the good stuff.

On Judge Judy recently a tattoo artist was being sued by a former employee.  Unfortunately he made the mistake of trying to tell Judge Judy how to do her job.

In my favorite article I found this week, an author holds nothing back in describing his feelings towards tattoos.  I’ll just let him speak for himself, I’m sure you’ll have some choice words for him by the time you’re finished reading it.

And now ladies and gentlemen, the moment you’ve all been waiting for, the celebrity roundup!

Well, it turns out that all of us tattooed Modblog readers have gotten our ink because we’re following the trend set by pioneers such as Megan Fox, Angelina Jolie, and something called a Justin Bierber.

Speaking of Megan Fox, everyone’s favorite toe-thumbed, robot fighting, motorcycle riding, starlet has gotten herself tattoo number nine (I know I shouldn’t be shocked there are people keeping count, but really?)

When I say the words “rugby player” what are the first things you think of?  Maybe it’s Matt Damon in Invictus, or is it the sterotyped image of a huddle of the toughest guys on the planet beating the shit out of each other.  Well, it turns out some of those guys just aren’t that tough.

A new tattoo is understood to be behind Jake Friend’s latest brush with the law, with the Sydney Roosters hooker arrested for possessing two valium tablets without prescription after being searched by police in Coogee on Saturday night.  The Herald was told Friend had the tablets to relieve pain from tattoo work done last week, as well as help with anxiety, and will plead not guilty to the charge.”

Supposedly there’s some books about vampires that have gotten popular in the past couple years.  I’m not entirely sure what they’re about, but I think glitter is involved.  Well, I guess these books have gotten the actors in the films based on the books famous.  So famous that the fans are getting themselves tattooed with their autographs.  After looking at the pictures, I just have one question, isn’t that Shark Boy on the right?

Finally, it turns out that a rock star getting tattooed is news.  I know, I was shocked too.  Well, thanks to twitter, we can all see Courtney Love‘s latest pieces of art.  Also, the rock and roll lifestyle has taken it’s toll on Metallica’s James Hetfield.  After getting his latest tattoo, he’s looking to make himself the new poster boy for the straightedge movement.  Any straightedge types have any thoughts on this?

So that’s it for this week’s news.  Next week I should be somewhere in Colorado, so once I get to a wifi hotspot, you can expect to see the latest collection of mod related news from around the world.

Thanks again to Botexty for the Aussie submissions, and if anyone else comes across a story you think should be on Modblog, feel free to submit it here.  Have a great week everyone, and take care.

Well, June is just around the corner but there’s just enough time for one last news post before the end of May.  I want to start by giving a big thank you to this week’s news submitters:  ArtieKGB, Botexty, piratevicious, and nexizydrate.  The more stories people submit in, the better a job I can do to bring these stories to our Modblog readers.

With last week being a banner week for negative stories in the news, I thought it would be good to take a week and focus on some of the less violent stories that made the news.

To start, we have a marine stationed in Afghanistan who decided to get a tattoo of “the hottest cougar in the Republican party“.

“On the way back, I decided I wanted to get a tattoo that reminded me of Alaska, because we really had a good time,” said Lepping, currently attached to India Company, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines. “I decided, ‘What could be better than getting a tattoo of the hottest cougar in the Republican Party?’”

Tigers, taxes, tattoos and Texas are all still ahead, so keep reading!

I want to you think back to the last time you were in a tattoo studio.  Think of the decor, how did the studio look?  Were there pictures of flash on the wall?  Maybe paintings by the artists.  Possibly trophies on a shelf from conventions long past.  What about the four full grown tigers in cages?  No?  Well if you had visited a studio in Gary, Indiana recently you may have had the chance.

“Federal agents seized four tigers from a tattoo artist who kept the animals in pens at his business, saying the big cats were being mistreated.  Last month, though, inspectors said one tiger’s perimeter fence was in disrepair and three tigers were in poor health.  ‘One is excessively thin with hip bones showing,’ inspectors wrote. ‘The three tigers housed indoors all have hair loss and areas of irritation.’”

Now I don’t know if the tigers were being used as some form of business display, or whether the guy keeping them just wanted them close by, but what I do know is that he probably won’t be doing any PETA tattoos in the near future.

If those tigers were being used as some form of promotion, I wonder what the artist will do now that his source of advertising has been taken away.  If he is anything like Tasha Nilsen, the owner of Independent Tattoo in Ocean City, Maryland, a little thing like that won’t be a problem.

“The employees at the shop were discouraged when Ocean City refused to run their ad – featuring the company’s name and phone number, a pink flower and stylized swirls – because officials said they did not feel a tattoo shop was the right kind of company to promote in a family resort.  The Selbyville tattoo business has turned the ad they wished to run on the bus into large magnets that employees and supporters have stuck to their cars.”

So while the city buses might not have the ad, more and more people are getting the magnets and driving around.  In the end, I think not getting the bus ad may have helped them more.

This week was big week in Modblog news for Texas.  First, the government of Texas is looking to impose a sales tax on tattoo work done in-state.  While the story focuses on other aspects of the proposed changes, Texas Modblog readers may want to make their bookings for appointments soon if they want to get in before the new taxes take effect.  While the tax rules are being looked at, over in Arlington a mother of three was denied entry to Six Flags because her tattoos violated the park’s dress code.

“Samantha Osborn, a Texas girl through-and-through, has two six-shooters surrounded by yellow roses tattooed on her chest.  ‘We tried to enter, one employee grabbed me and said my chest tattoo was offensive and that I may not be allowed into the park,’ Osborn said.  ‘I was flabbergasted.’  ‘She said it was as offensive as a swastika and that she would sell me a $5 shirt to cover myself up and that they didn’t let people with swastikas into Six Flags, and that my tattoo condoned violence’.

They eventually were able to get into the park through a different entrance and Six Flags did e-mail them an apology, but with summer here we can probably expect to hear more stories like this as self-righteous theme park attendants try to impose their thoughts on modified people.

An interesting followup to this story is that several days later a professional body piercer went to the park, and with the assistance of the staff, set the Guinness record for the most hugs given out in one day.  I wonder if his modifications would have been considered as offensive as a swastika if he had tried to enter the park on a different day?

Now I normally end the week’s recap with a couple of fluff pieces about celebrities.  This week I thought I’d change things up and look at some stories that made it to the mainstream news this week about modified people and the positive things their modifications have brought about in their lives.

First we have Julia Gnuse, who many people know as the Guinness record holder for “Most Tattooed Woman”.  What many people don’t know about her is that she originally started getting tattooed because of a rare skin condition.

“The Californian woman started tattooing her legs after developing porphyria, a condition which causes her skin to blister when exposed to the sun.  The tattoos do not prevent her skin from blistering but they do prevent the scarring caused by the blisters from becoming visible.”

So when she was presented with the option to take medication that may leave her blind, or start getting ink, she opted for the colourful option. (Yes, like Jen, I too am Canadian).

This article from India poses some interesting questions with regards to both the younger generation getting tattooed with religious symbols, as well as the traditional ritual tattoos done by some of the remote cultures in the country.

An Oakland Tribune columnist got in hot water earlier in the month when he described tattoos as making a person look like a freak.  Well it turns out the photo attached to his editorial was of a husband tattooing the image of his daughter onto his wife’s back.  Sure enough, the couple wasn’t pleased with becoming his poster children for “tattooed freaks”.

When Tanya saw the column and photo, she broke down in tears, then e-mailed me, pointing out that ‘what’s on my skin does not make me a freak.’ ‘I try to do the right thing every day, to promote positives,’ said Tanya, 34. ‘I’m a mom, a wife, and a nurse at Nightingale Nursing, which sends me out to people’s homes, mostly elders, to take care of them.’

While they made not have changed the mind of the columnist, they did make enough of an impact for him to write out a second piece showing that just because someone is tattooed, it doesn’t make the a freak.

So that’s it for this week.  On a personal note, I’ll be leaving this week for a summer road trip across the US and Canada.  So while the news may not be up on the same day each week, it will get posted.  I’ll be visiting lots of BME folks, so I’m sure I’ll come across some great local stories to share while I’m on the road.

And remember, June is National LBGT Pride Month in the US, so I expect the next four weeks to be fabulous!

Tattoo violence, dreams possibly ruined, a wedding proposal, and a modded Playstation.  That’s what we have lined up in today’s “Better late than never” weekly news update.  I’ll admit the long weekend (Canada’s Victoria Day) got the better of me, but thanks to you, the Modblog readers, the stories are still coming in.

Let’s start off with the story that I’m sure everyone has heard of by now.  Four New Hampshire men have allegedly tattooed “Poop Dick” on the ass of a 14 year old boy.  Now I’m calling these guys “men” as they’re all over 18, but you need to keep in mind they all (save one) attend high school with the victim.

“Police say the classmates told the victim they’d stop picking on him if he let them tattoo the image on his rear end. Three of the suspects allegedly tattooed him with their own needles.  The charges include assault, endangering the welfare of a minor and indecent exposure. If convicted, the four suspects are looking at sentences ranging from three to 13 years.”

I think my favorite part of this story is the mother of one of the accused who claims “They told me about it. They were joking about it. They thought it was something funny. And I believe there wasn’t any animosity or hatred.”  In all honesty, I believe her.  I’m not at all saying what the kids did was right, but I’m fairly certain these guys did it for fun.  Gone are the days of a wedgie or a dumpster toss, as every generation seems to feel the need to one-up the prior generation.  Just think, it was only a few years ago the Star Wars kid was embarrassed publicly by his peers for fun.  I’m a little scared to think what’s going to be the at the extreme end of the scale in another 10 years.  (Thanks to BME member brie_co for sending this in).

More news after the break, and I promise it won’t be all bad!

Ok, so I promised it wouldn’t be all bad, but there were still a few other incidences of modification related violence this week.

In Huntington, WV a man was charged with forcibly tattooing a woman.  This pillar of society thought it would be a good idea to tattoo “King Shannon” (his name) into the back of a woman.  I use the term ‘into’ as he first carved the letters, and then rubbed ink into the wound.

Not limiting this week’s violence to North America, a father in South Africa has been charged with killing his daughter for getting a tongue piercing.

“Sphiwe Morgan Dlangisa, 38, is reported to have seen the stud on his 16-year-old daughter’s tongue the day before, he is said to have become very angry and beat her in front of her siblings.   The court heard that in the early hours of November the 1st, Dlangisa allegedly tied Nkululeko to an electric pole outside the house and electrocuted her.”

I think we have an early contender for the “Worst Father of the Year” award.  It would have already gone to the guy who tattooed that infant’s rear, but he was only the babysitter.  I’m guessing just taking the stud out would have been too much trouble.

I spoke last week about Scottish police officers not being allowed to have any visible tattoos.  This week a young man who had enlisted in the U.S. Air Force faced similar problems.  After enlisting, passing a medical check (where his tattoo was examined), and being sworn in, Marvin Goodman was turned away when he reported for basic training.

“The pictures were sent to the recruiter’s superior officer and on Tuesday, Goodman got word that his tattoo was too big.  The Air Force forbids tattoos that exceed 25 percent of an exposed body part.  Goodman’s tattoo runs from his elbow to his wrist.  The Air Force says it made a mistake. Goodman says that mistake destroyed his future plans.”

The upside to this story is while the USAF reviews Marvin’s case, the Army has stepped up and let him know that he’s welcome there, tattoo and all.  I do have a question for our modified troops (both current and former):  Did your modifications cause you any trouble while you served, or were you fortunate enough not to have the difficulties that Marvin is facing?

Speaking of regulations, were you aware that three Canadian provinces have zero regulations when it comes to tattoos?  It seems the Maritime provinces, Nova Scotia, PEI, and New Brunswick (home to BME rockstar Jen) don’t actually have any rules in place to keep studios in check.  This past weekend the Maritime Tattoo Festival hoped to bring awareness to this problem.

“Amber Thorpe, who started the festival, is originally from Alberta, where tattoo parlours are regulated and inspected by the government.   She said a key goal of the festival is to spread a message of cleanliness to fellow tattoo artists.  To be part of the Halifax show, artists are required to get certification through a private company that teaches tattoo and piercing cleanliness to the industry in an eight-hour seminar followed by an exam.”

Hopefully with the media coverage there will be enough public interest to have the provincial governments step up and put some rules in place.  As it stands now, all you need to do to open a studio is have working plumbing and a fire extinguisher.

South of the border, things are much different in Texas.  In Fort Worth the Bobby Jones Tattoo Studio has been shut down by the state for a number of violations.

“An investigator had reported finding that the sterilization process for equipment amounted to placing it in what appeared to be a food pressure cooker, according to his report. “

I wonder if there’s a crock pot recipe for blood borne pathogens?  Steamed needles in a hepatitis sauce sound good to you?

Here at Modblog we see countless images of creative ideas on a daily basis.  I think this image is my favorite for the day..

What you are looking at is a modified Playstation console, jury rigged to become a prison tattoo machine.  BME Member nexizydrate sent in the link to this story, where a prisoner in a UK immigration facility created the device.  According to the article “guards in US jails have found tattoo guns made from Nintendo consoles”.  I guess this means the US is now behind in the next gen console race.  Although it would be interesting to get a Mario tattoo done by a NES machine.

Something we’ve all heard about is wedding proposals.  Stories of grooms-to-be concocting elaborate schemes to pop the question to their significant others.  One story more outlandish than the last, as if it is some big competition to be able to have the Best. Proposal. Ever.  Well Joe Wittenberg of San Diego, you’re officially in the running.

“When it came time to ask the woman he loves, Rachel Streeter, to marry him, he put the machine to his own skin.  “I made a stencil and just followed it along,” says Wittenberg.”

From all us single modified guys out there Joe, I just want to say “screw you!”  How the hell are we supposed to top that?

For this week’s entertainment news we first turn to former Xena star Lucy Lawless.  It seems that while she loves her fans, she’s not too keen on them getting her autograph tattooed on their bodies.

In possibly my favorite story of the week, it seems the conspiracy nuts are going gaga over Gaga.

“There are rumours that the Illuminati cult which the author believes Lady Gaga to be a part of has among its members the political bigwigs like Barack Obama and members of the Bush family”

You can’t make this stuff up.  It’s fantastic.

Oh, and I have no idea what the hell a Justin Bieber is, but supposedly it got a tattoo done in Toronto.

So that’s a wrap for this week.  Remember it is hurricane preparedness week, so check your bunkers and watch out for cows.

Oh, and as always, if you see something in the news, send it my way.

It’s time again for the Modblog weekly news roundup.  Before we started I just wanted to thank those who have been submitting news stories.  While I can normally get a good chunk of the national and international stories, I’m always on the lookout for local stories.  So if something mod-related is going on in your neck of the woods, feel free to send it in.

To start things off this week, we’ve finally reached the end of a story we’ve probably all heard about by now.  Lee Dietrick was finally awarded his “Babysitter of the Year” award.  His prize?  Three years in prison.

“Deitrick tattooed the outline of the letter ‘A’ on the child’s buttock. The mark covers about one-half inch.  Deitrick pleaded guilty in Stark County Common Pleas Court to two felony child endangering charges as part of a plea deal with county prosecutors.

Ideally this will be the last we hear about this guy, but who knows, in three years he may still be just as stupid.

To save some space on the main page, you’ll find the rest of the news after the break.

Continuing on with tattoos and law enforcement, the long arm of the law in Scotland is about to get a lot less colorful.  It seems that while visible tattoos have been acceptable for a while on officers, as of now, that is no longer the case.

“Although ‘body’ art is acceptable for footballers and pop stars, police chiefs have ordered officers to hide their tattoos under full-length sleeves after reports of crime victims being alarmed by ‘thuggish-looking cops.’ … ‘they would also no longer recruit anyone with markings on their face or neck.’”

While I’m certain rules like this exist all over, this is the first case I’ve heard of where the officers were previously allowed to have visible ink, and subsequently losing the privilege.  So for all our Scottish Modblog readers, if you were ever planning on joining the police force, make sure you don’t have anything visible.

On the plus side, if you do end up losing your job as a Scottish police officer, you can take a trip down to Weston-super-Mare outside of Bristol where a cosmetic surgeon is giving out free tattoo removal to out of work Westonians.

“Barry Crake wants to give treatment at his clinic in Sunderland to people whose job hunt is being thwarted by unsightly ink designs.  Barry has carried out the 10-minute procedure on 57 unemployed people so far, nine of whom have found work post-treatment.”

Now I know tattoo removal isn’t for everyone, but it is nice to know there are people out there willing to help those in need.

So while Barry is in the business of removing tattoos, Ian Watson is in the business of giving them out.  Now I know that you’re thinking, “Rob, why the hell are you about to give us a story about some random tattoo artist”, the answer is simple.  He isn’t actually a tattoo artist.  Ian runs a company called HIS Hair Loss Clinic, which specializes in using tattoos to “cure” baldness.

“HIS has created a new cure for male baldness with a scalp pigmentation technique that fills in fellas’ sparse spots with tattoos that look like locks.  Men have their heads inked in the same shading style used at tattoo parlors, providing a permanent fix that beats all other methods of hiding bald spots.”

I’m thankfully a few years away from needing this, but I’m going to guess there are probably a few guys out there contemplating it.  It’s about time us guys got our own cosmetic tattoos, it’s no fair the girls got to have their eye and lip liners and we had nothing.

Now here’s a story that actually makes me mad.  Now I know Modblog writer Lexci is going to get mad at me for talking about this, but my family breeds dogs.  Part of a standard practice with registered litters is that the dogs are tattooed in their inner thigh as a means of identification.  Keeping that in mind, it seems the news just loves to blame the evils of the world on tattoos:

“The pit bull-type dog, which was tattooed on its inner thigh, was found unleashed, posing a serious risk to the public.”

Yep, you read that right.  The headline of the story itself even focuses on the tattoo, and not the dog (or the owners who made it violent).  The dog is tattooed, which makes it bad.  Sigh.

By now all the hangovers from APP should have cleared up, so I wanted to share with the piercing community this lovely story about “gauging”.  Yes, you read that right.  The article talks about “gauging”.

“One day when he was 19 years old, Colby Jennings stabbed his ear lobe with an ice pick.  That was the moment Jennings started gauging his ears. Gauging, also called stretching by some, is similar to a regular piercing, but the hole is made dramatically larger over time with rounded objects placed through the ear lobe.”

For all the good work that professional piercers do, along come stories like this.  All the education, training, information that is out there, and these kids go to Youtube to find out how to pierce.  Then, when things eventually go wrong, they run right for the doctors, which leads to sensationalized stories about kids getting their information off of Youtube, and the cycle continues.

Personally what upsets me most is studios like LA Body Art in Mobile, AB that has almost 1000 videos on Youtube all of which show some type of cross contamination, or horrible practice.  I spent some time looking through their videos this week and I watched people being pierced with no clean up between clients, bare-handed wiping of tattoos, and piercings done so quick the piercer didn’t even bother to look at the site, just clamp and stab.  So not only are kids looking at Youtube videos of other kids doing unsafe things, but there’s a “professional” filming her work to show how she thinks it should be done.  (A warning if you click the link, most of the videos have really loud music so turn your speakers down first).

Going through the links this week I stumbled across a couple of really interesting stories about traditional body modifications.  First up is a story about Tricia Allen and her new book about Polynesian tattoo history and art.  Now the second story isn’t as much a story as it is a collection of excellent images from India showing a procession in praise of the goddess Maha Mariamman (Sheetla Mata).  There is a separate article here that describes the rituals that take place during the procession.  Finally researchers in the middle east have found a connection between henna tattoos and an increased chance to contract leukemia.

As always, we wrap things up with the latest news/gossip out of Hollywood.  It appears that this year’s tattoo trend (at least according to this article) is typographical tattoos.  So ladies and gents, the “tattoo experts” agree that if you want to be trendy, it’s best to go out and get some form of script work.  Now if you did have the stomach to click the link, you may have noticed Amanda Seyfried’s new tattoo.  It turns out the Mean Girls actress has tattooed “Minge” on her foot.  She explains why in this story (with video goodness).

So that’s it for this week.  Thanks again to Botexty for submitting one of the stories this week, and I’m looking forward to reading what everyone else sends in next week.  And a quick reminder that this Friday is Bike to Work Day, so dig your old ten-speed out of the garage and pedal your way into work.

Hi everyone, Rob here with this week’s round up of news from around the world.  This is my first entry as the new “news guy” so be gentle.

The first story of the week was sent in by Botexty.  Over in Sioux City, IA. Inkfliction Tattoo has thrown their support behind today’s “Mother’s Day Race for the Cure“.

“For the month of April, Inkfliction Tattoo is raising money for Susan G. Komen, by tattooing cancer ribbons for $25 and donating all of the proceeds.”

So far Scott and his team at Inkfliction have raised well over $1000 from the tattoos, as well as another $2500 from staff members participating in the race.  So if you happen to be passing through town in the near future, stop by and give these guys a pat on the back.  They deserve it.

It seems that getting tattooed for cancer isn’t just an American idea.  Over in the UK, a company is rallying together to raise money for cancer by having it’s employees get tattooed with cancer ribbons.

“ID Customs Tattoo Studios, owned by Derek Young and Jeff Grimet, came up with the idea after a few people wanted tattoos of the cancer ribbon.

Derek said: ‘Everybody has been touched by cancer at some point whether it was themselves or a member of their family so we thought that this was a good way to do something.’

‘Members of my family have been doing the Race for Life and I thought that this would be something nice to do.’”

So not only are both these shops raising money for a great cause, but they’re also showing people that tattoos aren’t just for sailors, hookers, and fetish models who sleep with the husband of a famous actress.

Speaking of Michelle McGee, according to this article, she’s breaking the “rules” of female tattoos.   I’ll let the author explain…

“My first concern about tattoos is whether or not they look feminine. I think ladies should opt for tattoos that mean something to them but tattoos should be done with femininity in mind. Don’t take suggestions from Michelle “Bombshell” McGee, because she looks like a prison inmate, especially with the odd tattoo she has written on her forehead. That’s just weird.”

So there you have it ladies.  If your tattoos aren’t “feminine” then you look like a prison inmate.

So while prison tattoos on women may be out of fashion, there are still some who think the look can work for them.  With Iron Man 2 debuting this weekend (go see it, and stay after the credits), MTV sat down with Mickey Rourke to talk about his role in the film.

“Rourke had in mind the villains from old Sergio Leone Westerns played by the likes of Eli Wallach or Henry Fonda. He also wanted Vanko to have a mouthful of metallic dental work, a body covered in tattoos and a white cockatoo of whom he is quite fond.”

Rourke also credits director Jon Favreau, for backing his decision, and pushing the studio to let it in the film.  And while the tattoos aren’t given as much focus as they are in other films (see: Eastern Promises), they definitely do help define the character.

Now not all news is good news.  This recent Huffington Post article taps right into the fear mongering side of people who have no knowledge of the modification industry.

“70 percent of people with tongue piercings report complications, ranging from local infections, eroded gums, chipped teeth, and more serious systemic infections including hepatitis B and C.”

This 70 percent also includes a woman in Connecticut who removed her tongue stud 2 days after getting it done, and subsequently developed a severe brain infection.  Unsurprisingly the author writes an entire article on all piercings without mentioning safe practices, or aftercare.  Going through my list of links to post for the week, I came across quite a few of these stories.  While I won’t be posting them all, it seems that as far as the industry has come along in terms of codes of conduct, there are still studios out there willing to make a quick buck regardless of safety.

Back on the international front, the BME world tour gang can look forward to some company while in New Zealand in the form of shrunken heads.

“French lawmakers decided Tuesday to return 16 tattooed and mummified Maori heads to New Zealand, ending years of debate on what to do with the human remains acquired long ago by French museums seeking exotic curiosities.”

Although there is still some legal red tape to go through, it looks like these heads are going to be returned.  Although, museums world-wide are now a little nervous due to the number of mummies floating around.

Over to Bollywood, actress Bipasha Basu has caused quite a stir:

“Sources reveal that Bipasha has right now put on small diamond studs in her new piercing, but later, as the pain lessens, she will go for diamond earings. The sexy siren has been a real trendsetter of sorts, and for all one knows, multiple piercing is soon going to be the order of the day, in the fashion circuit.”

While it’s safe to assume she isn’t the first person to have multiple ear piercings in India, by the sounds of the article I’m assuming that it isn’t something you see in celebrities.  Hopefully some of our readers can enlighten me further.
Finally to wrap the week up, a couple of stories involving tattoos that the owners will probably end up regretting.

Avril Lavigne and her boyfriend, after a night of drinking, decided to get another set of matching tattoos.

And a Manchester City football fan got a little too eager with his support for his team.

So that’s it for this week.  I just want to take a moment to recognize that today is mother’s day, so pick up the phone and call your mom or a mom you know.  To all the modified mommies that visit modblog, I wish you a very happy mother’s day.

If you come across something you think is newsworthy, feel free to submit a link.