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.

Category: ModBlog

  • Oslo Suscon – Day 1

    Written by

    Alex

    Friday

    This tenth incarnation of the now world renowned Oslo Suscon welcomes practitioners and participants from fifteen countries around the world.

    It is the intention of creators Christiane and Havve to see a hundred suspensions take place over the weekend; an ambitious but attainable goal. While I don’t want to go into too much detail about this, I would like to mention that no-one involved in the suscon has been hurt in any way from the explosions that are currently in the news worldwide.

    Much like last year or the year before that, there are many familiar faces present, and the atmosphere is vibrating with anticipation and happiness.

    Allen Falkner is with us again, and will give a lecture on rigging this year. From Russia we have, among others, Stanislav, Elena, and Max from The Sinner Team – known for their controversial free fall suspensions; which can roughly be described as a combination of suspension and bungee jumping. They will show the premiere of their documentary Free Fall Suspension – The Birth. After watching the trailer, I can see why a lot of people are excited to learn more about these crazy Russians!

    Wings of Desire’s own Marte is also giving us a talk entitled „Pain as Medication“, and finally Matt is organizing another movie showing of CoRE’s Journey to Enlightenment – their 10 year anniversary movie.

    As part of the introduction to this suscon, Havve & Christiane gave a talk on it’s now decade-long history. From it’s inception in 2002 as a suspension festival held alongside freaky fashion shows and several bands, it has since been held on a boat, before taking roots in it’s current venue; Månefisken. I couldn’t help but reminisce back to my own first attendance back in 2003, when everyone was crew, or at the very least crew in training. Since then there has been a steady and reassuring progression. Gradual evolution of every aspect. The equipment and techniques used this year are more refined than ever, and as well as being filled with fantastic people, I always find it interesting to see what innovations various groups have come up with from year to year.

    For example, this year has seen the interlocking rigs that steel fetish produce – real clever stuff!

    Guest speakers also help create an environment that’s very helpful for learning, and have been a welcome tradition since 2004. Attendance by people from the most prestigious and respected suspension groups is typical, and perhaps because of this, I can say with no hesitation that there are no inflated egos here. In its place, the convention seems to organically turn to laid back discussions and a willingness and desire to learn.

    On questions of what were the most rewarding and interesting aspects of the event from an organizer’s viewpoint we were given a straightforward answer; the opportunity to see friends, and share new knowledge. This attitude is, I’m sure, why most people I speak to aren’t shy in saying this is their favourite suspension convention.

    A live feed from the suscon can be found here!

    I don’t have any pictures to post yet, but will do my utmost to link to some later on this evening.

    On behalf of Oslo Suscon, thanks for reading.

    – Alex

  • ModBlog News of the Week: July 22nd, 2011

    Written by

    Rob

    So with the record breaking temperatures in Toronto this week, it seems that modification related stories have dried up.  In fact, there’s only 1 story this week.

    Diabetics the world around continually have to deal with checking their blood sugar levels.  This of course means they have to carry around a meter and deal with regular finger pricks.  Well a couple of scientists have come up with a unique way to get around this chore, using an iPhone app.

    For diabetics, checking blood glucose levels is literally a pain. Current blood glucose meters require a prick of the finger to get a small blood sample that is then put onto a small paper strip, inserted into the meter, and analyzed. The strips are a recurring cost to diabetics, and the constant finger pricks can be a route for infection. Now a research team at Northeastern University has developed a method of reading blood glucose levels with an iPhone and a nanosensor tattoo.

    The team’s method works this way: they inject a patient with subdermal nanoparticles containing “fluorescent dye, specialized sensor molecules…and a charge-neutralizing molecule.” The molecules attach to glucose, release ions, and alter the glow of the nanosensor tattoo based on the relative amount of glucose.   While the initial device for reading the tattoo’s glow was a big ugly box, one of the team members apparently outfitted an iPhone case with LEDs and filters to do the job.

    Now it is a bit of a stretch to call this a tattoo, but with inks injected into the skin, I’ll let it slide.  Hopefully in a few years this will become publicly available, making things a lot easier for diabetics.

    Well, with the lack of stories in the news, I’m going to need more submissions from you.  So if you come across anything you think should be included, just click here to send me the link.

    Have a great weekend everyone, especially those of you making the trip to the annual ECBBQ.

  • BMEBoys of Summer

    Written by

    Rob

    It’s been too long since we’ve had a gratuitous BMEBoy post, so here’s Joao Caldara and his cat Gaia relaxing in Rio de Janeiro.

  • Santa Muerte

    Written by

    Rob

    Over the past 6 months we’ve been following the progress of Southtownbaby’s scarification work.  As a new scarification artist she’s been sharing with the community and listening to the feedback.  In her latest scar, she tackles the image of Santa Muerte, the Mexican saint of death.

    You can see more of Misty’s work in her BME Portfolio Gallery.

  • Six months and counting…

    Written by

    Rob

    Whenever I post a microdermal project from Tribal Trading in The Netherlands, someone always chimes in that they don’t think it will last, and they’ll probably end up with a silly looking scar.  To start with, whether the microdermals last one day or 10 years, the work should still be recognized as incredible, both as a testament to the artist, as well as the owner who will be living with it.  Of course some may reject, but that same risk comes with a large variety of piercings and modifications.  It all depends on how the owner heals and how well they take care of them.

    Now, with that said, let’s check in on one of Nesh Cash’s projects that was featured a couple of months ago.  This Triskellion design is comprised of 33 individual piercings.  Here’s how it looked 6 months ago.

    And now here it is 6 months later..

    As you can see, all 33 are still in place, with no rejections or scarring.  It just goes to show, microdermals that are well taken care of can last, even when a lot of them are grouped together.

Latest Tattoo, Piercing, and Body Modification News