All of the winners for 2002 Staff Shirts should have just received either an IM from me or an email. If for some reason you didn't (and you should have), please let me know and I'll make sure it's resent. Let me strongly emphasize that it's very important that you reply to me by January 10th.
PS. PLEASE follow the instructions in the message. Don't assume that I know your address or shirt size. You MUST follow the instructions completely, or you risk something going wrong with your shirt!
Even more good news on the marriage front: Bola and Dauphine are getting married tomorrow (what a way to ring in the new year!). We're just overflowing in good vibes lately!
I just posted the first 2003 leader board accidentally (it wasn't supposed to go up until the 1st of course). None of the links work, but wow — I can't believe there are already multiple people who have 3 or 4 experiences in for 2003, and what's quite shocking is that Perk900 has already submitted enough images to virtually guarantee himself a place in the rankings from simply one update!
I'm about to start uploading the update soon — it's nearly 250 meg, so keep your fingers crossed that the satellite doesn't FAP me again. I got cut off twice in the last two days.
And I finally wrote another column, “weekly”, HA!
Clive (Rookie) and Kay (Tankgirl) are getting married today! The last link is a link to the event, if I wasn't prepping for the BBQ and the NY update, I'd be there… Anyway, I wasn't going to post this until it went on the site, but given the event, I'll include here the draft introduction to my New Year's article:
Since this is my first column of the new year, it's probably fitting to begin with an appropriate message. Many people come to find BME not just because they are into body modification, but because body modification is a “symptom” of finding themselves on a path of self discovery. I'd like to quote from Be Here Now by Dr. Richard Alpert Ph.D, better known as Baba Ram Dass.
Christianity: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not, knoweth not God, for God is Love.”
Confucianism: “To love all men is the greatest benevolence.”
Buddhism: “Let a man cultivate towards the whole world a heart of Love.”
Hinduism: “One can best worship the Lord through Love.”
Islam: “Love is this, that thou shouldst account thyself very little and God very great.”
Taoism: “Heaven arms with Love those it would not see destroyed.”
Sikhism: “God will regenerate those in whose hearts there is Love.”
Judaism: “Thou shalt Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and thy neighbor as thyself.”
Jainism: “The days are of most profit to him who acts in Love.”
Zoroastrianism: “Man is the beloved of the Lord and should Love him in return.”
Baha'i: “Love Me that I may love thee. If thou lovest Me not, My love can no wise reach thee.”
Shinto: “Love is the representative of the Lord.”
There aren't many truths that universally bind us together. Body modification is most certainly one of those truths, but it is a symptomatic truth. The underlying foundation that makes it all possible is Love — if anything is remembered in 2003, please let it be that.
I hope it rings true…
And now off to Tweed.
That's me on the right, walking with my brother on the beaches of Vancouver Island, not far from where I grew up. I'm pretty sure that's kelp we're dragging around. I have very little memory of Victoria. The beach is one of those memories.
I am in so much pain right now. I thought I'd take a break from working and take the ATV for a spin in the swamp (it's frozen right now of course, and contains many giant obstacles). Anyway, so I'm tearing along at full speed when the front of the ATV catches on a frozen clump of dirt (the ground is VERY hard right now).
I went flying over the front handlebars and rolled along the ground for a minute. I took seven years of judo, so falling isn't really a big deal. But the bigger problem was that the ATV's inertia caused it to flip up into the air and sail over me… almost…
The ATV came crashing down on top of me, hitting me in the hip with it's rear section. Luckily the front hit the ground first, absorbing most of the blow — although now the handlebars are rather bent (but it could have been much worse). It then rolled once more, and other than the slight warping, it seems to still work fine.
There was a temporary pain in my chest, but other than that I felt fine at the time. About an hour later the real pain kicked in — I have an acute stabbing pain any time I rotate my left leg at the hip and I basically can't walk. If it's not improved by morning I guess I'll have it x-rayed (and will be mostly sitting at the BBQ).
Was it worth it?
Hell yeah!
Would I do it again?
Two words: FUCKIN' A
