Monthly Archives: April 2003

Tweed

Saturday, April 26, 2003

I needed a desktop dictionary, so I've been fiddling with a tool that sits on the taskbar, and when you click it you just type in a word and it gives you the definition and pronounciation, as well as the synonyms (if this is useful, it's totally public domain and I'd be glad to clean it up so others can use it).

Anyway, I've been listening to a lot of rap, mostly in Spanish, Russian, and French (so I don't really understand it that well, but it's helping me really “get” the artform on a musical level)… My new side-project, based on the databases used in the above, is a RAP ENGINE. Basically you feed in prose, and it breaks it down into a structured and rhyming rythmic entry. Should be fun.

And check this out… As I'm driving home the car in front of me has a custom license plate that says TWEED. Too funny. Well, to me anyway.

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Want your 15 minutes?

Friday, April 25, 2003

Just got this mail… I honestly can't tell you that it wouldn't turn into a horrible exploitative mess (although the people I've talked to on the production team seem really nice), but the show does sound pretty funny… And the idea of a dozen “Joe-normals” having to grovel for the approval has to potential to be both hilarious and eye opening. Anyway, here's the complete email:

From: “Cheryl Perry” <cperry@asmithco.com>
To: <media@bmezine.com>
Subject: New SciFi Channel Show
Date: Fri, 25 Apr 2003 12:06:07 -0700

Hello! I am a producer in Los Angeles working on a new show and I was hoping you might be able to help!

A. Smith & Co. Productions has joined forces with The Sci Fi Channel to produce a cutting-edge new reality series called Mad Mad House… and we are looking for the stars of our show!

We are scouring the country to put together a group of outrageous, eccentric and entertaining individuals who live very alternative lifestyles. This core cast will be known as The Alts. Like royalty, the Alts will live in and reign over a mansion called Alt Manor. They will get the chance to showcase their lifestyle and demonstrate their special skills to America, but the Alts biggest responsibility will be to choose a winner from among 12 “Joe Normal” contestants who will dare to come live with them in Alt Manor.

We are specifically looking for people whose unusual lifestyle is incorporated into every aspect of their lives no “bankers by day/vampires by night.” The perfect Alts look the part, dress the part and live the part 24 hours a day!

We are currently looking for people who fit into these six categories:

1.Vampire a genuinely seductive creature of the night who has fangs and drinks blood–Goth make-up is not enough!

2.Witch a practicing Wiccan who can cast spells and conduct moonlit rituals!

3.Voodoo Priest a powerful expert in all things voodoo who knows how to conjure the loa spirits and conduct ceremonies.

4.Trekker a hard-core Star Trek fan who lives daily life as a member of the Federation: outfit, phaser, and communicator a plus speaking Klingon a plus!

5.Yogi Master a highly developed practitioner of yoga who can put self into a trance state, contort self into unimaginable positions, lie on a bed of nails and possibly even levitate!

6.Modern Primitive a seasoned body modifier with tattoos, piercings, implants and unusual rituals like hanging himself from ceiling hooks for hours at a time; experienced circus/carnival performers OK.

If possible, we would like to work with you to find someone who would be great for this show. We can offer you a “Special Thanks” credit at the end of the show if we book our “Modern Primitive” through you. We can talk more in detail about that on the phone.

I can be reached at ***-***-**** or email me at cperry@asmithco.com.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Sincerely,

Cheryl Perry
Coordinating Producer

PS. If you apply, please do mention “I saw your contact info on BMEzine.com” or something like that and maybe BME can get some free promo out of it as well.

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At home

Friday, April 25, 2003

I'm back at the grinding wheel and am working on a new feature that I need for myself, but also one that will be (I hope) invaluable to suspension groups and so on that need to have the full features of an IAM diary, but limited to a usergroup subset of IAM. Anyway, I'll post more on that later today.

When I was out today a doctor approached me and said, “I really like the markings on your face… What do they mean? Are they family markings?”

I just thought it was be awesome to be asked that question — clearly someone with no preconcieved notions about what a tattoo means other than history (ie. African scarification, Maori tattoos, and so on). I told him that yes, calling it that would be one of the more accurate ways it could be described.

I also went to Starbucks for the first time in a long time just as a little treat (before you get mad, realize it's the only place in the area that can serve me iced soy coffees). I have to admit that it definitely succeeded in its “guilty pleasure” role and was much appreciated by the gulliver.

As I go out more since some tasks and errands move to me for obvious reasons, it continues to shock me how incredibly positive the reaction is to my facial tattoos. I really expected people would react more negatively — not that I'm complaining! I don't think I've had a single person that I've dealt with even really look at me funny, and all the questions and responses I've gotten have been genuinely inquisitive in a good way — that is, people seem to like it and want to know more (rather than simply posing judgements in the form of questions).

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Tiny Update

Thursday, April 24, 2003

This is the only public entry I will be writing on this subject. I will however be maintaining a private “baby diary”, so if I know you relatively well and you'd like to on the list that can see it drop me a line. I'm sorry I can't make it totally public but while I don't mind putting myself up for harassment, I'm not willing to extend that pleasure to my family.

Nefarious Freedom Larratt
Born April 24, 2003 at 4:23 PM EST
Female - 21.5″ - 8.5 lbs

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Duelling interviews

Wednesday, April 23, 2003


These two interviews were conducted with the assistance of 1 Ounce White Rum, 1/2 Ounce Lime Juice, 3/8 Ounce Melon Liqueur, and 3/8 Ounce Apple Sours, shaken with ice and served in a martini glass.


At what age did you begin voluntarily modifying your body?

When I was first handed markers as a little kid, I drew on myself rather than drawing on paper (or walls). I can't remember a time in my life when I did not have these drives.

Body modification is my — and I believe everyone's — natural state of being. The most distinct thing that humans do is communicate on a complex and massive scale. The way we decorate and modify our bodies is one of the more carnal and “true” ways that we communicate. To be honest, I find it highly disturbing that someone would choose to muzzle themselves and not try and communicate.

To answer the question on a more direct level, I started seriously modifying my body (as far as mods that were permanent and public) in my mid teens with tattooing, stretched piercings, and scarification.

What spurred this decision? Did you think much about it beforehand?

Not really, no — but why would I? It's just who I am. It's sort of like asking “what made you decide to talk with that voice?”

Please describe your body image prior to your modifications. Have you noticed a change since then? Please elaborate.

I don't know if it was an “internal” versus “external” body image sort of thing, but what I can tell you with full certainty is that the few periods in my life where I was forced to restrict my body modification activities were the darkest I ever experienced.

How do you view your modified body relative to Western societys beauty norms/ ideals?

To put it simply, I don't. I am not “Western society” — I'm Shannon, not some statistical average — so what Western society has decided the beauty norm or ideal is is totally irrelevant in the decisions I make as far as my body goes. My body modifications reflect who I am, not what I think I'm supposed to look like according to the lowest common denominator.

What role do you see the modified community playing in regards to these ideals?

I hope that the modified community can help show people that they have the right to think for themselves and look however makes them happy. A person's body belongs to them, and is for them alone to shape. What other people think should only affect their decisions for their own bodies.

Do you see a relationship between heavy body modification and blurring/erasing gender roles, gender norms, and the binary system of gender identification?

I don't think that body modification specifically affects gender identification in and of itself. Certainly there are people who will use body modification for gender shift, and there are others who will make assumptions about others' gender role and orientation because of body modification, but those are personal prejudices that I don't think speak directly of body modification.

Can you give me a brief history of body mod?

The history of modern body modification is extremely difficult to confirm. Not only is it almost totally undocumented until quite recently, but a massive assortment of conflicting stories as to its history exist. We'll never really know the truth but I'll do my best to give what I think is an accurate overview.

Body modification has always existed as a subset of sexual expression, both in individuals and in “clubs” (which I've documented going back at least into the late 1800's if not far earlier). Body modification is also evident in the Middle Ages, with paintings of the times documenting an assortment of facial piercings in various crowd scenes. It also become briefly popular in the 17th century and then again at the end of the 19th century, and is of course enjoying massive popularity at present.

Simply put, body modification always exists on some level, and depending on the whims of the dominant culture, it becomes more or less apparent to the mainstream (picking up transient enthusiasts at the time). It's possible that the popularity at present has grown large enough that it'll be the norm in the long term, which would be wonderful.

What are misconceptions people have about body mod, the people involved, culture etc?

Let me name a pair of facts first. Body modification is normal for all demographic groups. Body modification is a healthy expression of being human. To generalize, anything other than that is a misconception that has more to do with the ignorance and/or prejudices of the speaker than any truths about body modification itself.

Any religious implications in changing the body?

I guess that depends on your religion. If anything, body modification and more importantly body rites can be used as a tool to “get closer to God” — as was recently seen in Iraq as Shi'ite Muslims free of Saddam's restrictions were once again free to engage in their bloodletting and flagellation rituals!

What would you say to a young person who is thinking of getting any work done?

“I'm glad you're thinking!” is what I'd say. Too many people modify their bodies without really thinking about it one way or the other, which seems to me like it could be kind of wasteful… not that I haven't done exactly that on many an occasion!

What safety precautions do you recommend people know about?

For the basic procedures (tattooing and piercing) I'd recommend that people understand the sterility concerns, how things like cross contamination occur, jewelry selection issues, and so on… if they understand that they'll be able to find the best and safest artists in their area. For heavier procedures I'd advise people to educate themselves as fully as possible on the details of the procedures. Because body modification is on the whole utterly unregulated, and will be for some time still, clients need to be very aware of what they're doing.

What have you done to change your body?

I've cut it, poked holes in it, burned it, shoved plastic under my skin, bisected it, and cut off parts of it. I've done the same things to my cars incidentally. It's all about being yourself, being happy with who you are, and communicating that.

Ask yourself this: are you YOU, or are you what others made you?

Can you tell me a bit about your site?

BME is the largest and oldest (est. 1994) full-spectrum body modification publication on the planet. It strives to help people understand who they are and what they're going through, and to assure them that it's normal. It also fights to responsibly educate the world about body modification, as well as promoting its growth.

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"I have no problem with homosexuality. &nbsp;I have a problem with homosexual acts."

Wednesday, April 23, 2003

A number of people have pointed out that I'm being “unfair” in calling Sen. Santorum's homophobic and bigotted quotes — in which he'd said that gays were in effect sexual criminals that were “antithetical to a healthy family” (more) — as being statements “by the government”… So I'm adding this entry to cut down on the number of replies I have to do.

Let me be clear on why I put it that way… primarily because he said it with the (silent) support of the government and that support continues. And that silent support should not be ignored, and it is saying volumes.

First, he's the Senate's 3rd ranking Republican (if he can't speak for the government, who can?). Second, he “clarified” his remarks be saying*, “I have no problem with gays, I just have a big problem with them acting on their sodomite desires, and lots of people agree with me too!” (more, more, more). Third, not only has no official statement been issued by the government (more) — Ari Fleisher just said in effect, “it's not a big deal — we've got more important things to worry about” when asked about it (more) — but they are actively supporting him via their “unofficial channels” (more, more).

So, simply:

  1. He is a direct representative of the ruling branch of the US government.
  2. He made profoundly bigotted remarks as a representative of the government.
  3. No statements decrying his comments were issued by the government, so we can assume they stand. On the contrary, the traditional “pseudo-government” lobby groups all supported him.
  4. When asked to clarify his remarks, he “clarified” them into an even more bigotted form.
  5. Again, no statement from the government.
  6. When asked by the press what the President thought about the comments, Ari Fleisher replied that they were really no big deal and joked with the reporters that monitoring the UN inspection teams (which isn't happening) is more important.

PS. Just so you know exactly who Sen. Santorum is, here are a few of his claims to political fame (and I've listed only a few here):

  • He directly supported a bill that would make murdering an abortion provider “justifiable homicide” (more, more).
  • He tried to force through a bill ensuring that “creationism” was taught as a viable scientific theory alongside education in schools (ie. trying to force schools to teach Christian mythology). (more, more, more)
  • He was of course a supporter of the “faith-based” charity system which allows funneling of federal funds to religious groups (more).
  • He's the guy that along with Sen. Brownback is pushing through legislation that would cut federal funding to any educational facilities that allow students to speak against Israel (more, more) — that is, he doesn't give a damn about Constitutional rights.
  • He's also part of the crew supporting putting that crook Chalabi in power (more).
  • He's trying to initiate sanctions against both Syria and Syrians in America (more, more, more).
* PARAPHRASED: The actual quote is “I have no problem with homosexuality. I have a problem with homosexual acts. As I would with acts of other, what I would consider to be, acts outside of traditional heterosexual relationships… (and so on)” (more)

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