Re: Branding practice?

nobody@b.com wrote:

I scribbled:

>>Uh, did you say "I've never done thi<snip>
>
>Yes, I sure did. :)

heh

HEY! Are you being flippant???!

>>Do you have any younger siblings? And, if so, do they sleep heavily?
>
>No younger siblings. Three children, though, and yes, they sleep through
>pretty much everything.

Well, doN'T try branding them in their sleep. (I was only kiddingly
alluding to that.)

>>Uh huh. Well, sorry for the flippant reply, but in all seriousness,
>>would it be possible to simply assist in the branding as it's
>>completed by someone, oh, I don't know, who actually does it FOR A
>>LIVING or has done perhaps one or two successfully?
>
>No issues with the flippant reply. This *is* usenet, and as I've been an on
>and off reader of r.a.b. since about 1994 I expected it. :D

Ah, someone with a tolerance for bad humor. Bonus!

>>Honestly, where will you be meeting your friend, this person you care
>>about very much? Would it be possible to arrange for an experienced
>>bodmodder, brander, artist to be there? You could heat the brand or
>>pull on a latex glove and touch the instrument gently as the brand was
>>being administered (by that experience artist and not necessarily
>>entirely by you, the novice).
>
>This could be a last resort, but we'd really prefer to keep it between us. We
>haven't figured out the logistics of where we're meeting yet; probably a
>hotel, since neither of us live alone and we're on opposite coasts.
>
>>Best of luck. This just *might* work out.
>
>Thanks. :) That's the intention.
>
>I saw earlier today on Google that you'd posted a followup with a link about
>burn sepsis (and linked this thread to the other party involved so he could
>read it) but it hasn't propagated to my news server yet so I can't reply
>directly to your new post.

Aw, that was directed at the big L as I believe there might've been a
typo in her reply to you - not sure on that whole systemATic versus
systemic, so... (Yeah, I'm a frustrated spelling bee
competitor/wannabe.)

>We're both very aware that there needs to be good aftercare; he's had
>quite a bit of experience with wound care and how his own body heals
>because of his line of work. I'm not sure why the risk of infection
>would be greater somehow if we did this ourselves?

I'm not *sure* the risk of infection would be greater either, however
looking at the... prospects based on your admission of having never
branded anyone before, well, it would seem that you might be someone
who would overlook a thing or five. Then again, you did say you were
researching things AND you're apparently open to the so-called last
resort option recommended here. Who am I to insult your choices?

In fact, it wasn't meant so much as an insult, but more of a knee-jerk
reaction to the thought of branding someone myself. Erghh! Not
happening. Otoh, I've known students who appeared in class with brands
- temporary or ones that faded fairly quickly - created using wire
hangers. I forget if the heat was from bending the hanger rapidly back
and forth or from a cigarette lighter, but, yeah, "non-professional
modding" has been around forever and I'm sure will continue as long as
humans exist.

>Lish, same thing, your post hasn't propagated to my server yet. The whole
>point of my asking for advice here is to try to learn as much as I can about
>this. If I don't think I can do this without fucking it up, I won't, but I'd
>like as much info as I can get before making that decision, since it's
>something that's really important to both of us.
>
>Anyway, thanks everyone for the responses. I wouldn't mind watching some
>brandings first, actually, but I don't think I'll have the opportunity.

There's the thing also, again from my perhaps narrow point of view, if
you won't/can't have/take the opportunity to do this right, then I
trust you won't do it at all. Duh. I guess your comment, "If I don't
think I can do this without fucking it up, I won't," sure help me
sleep easy, right?

Thanks for the thread and also for being (if not) a friend of the
flippant (at least not an outright foe).

Best of luck. Please post a follow-up whether you go through with the
procedure or not.

(You ever think of, uh, like, exchanging mood rings or something less
burning-flesh-intensive. Mood rings can be rather significant/mean a
lot as well.)

--
Curt
http://curtjames.com/

On Wed, 21 Jun 2006 19:51:38 -0400, Curt James <cwj111@psu.edu> wrote:

>HEY! Are you being flippant???!

Who, me? Flippant? You must have mistaken me for that other anonymous poster,
over there --> :D

>In fact, it wasn't meant so much as an insult, but more of a knee-jerk
>reaction to the thought of branding someone myself. Erghh! Not
>happening.

Until recently, I would have had the same reaction; although I have several
body mods, he doesn't, and branding isn't something I've been interested in
either giving or receiving. However, there's a whole lot of context to this
that makes it feel very right and compelling.

>There's the thing also, again from my perhaps narrow point of view, if
>you won't/can't have/take the opportunity to do this right, then I
>trust you won't do it at all. Duh. I guess your comment, "If I don't
>think I can do this without fucking it up, I won't," sure help me
>sleep easy, right?

Sleep easy. :) We (since I've been posting on behalf of the other party too)
are both adults and will try not to do anything too stupid.

>Best of luck. Please post a follow-up whether you go through with the
>procedure or not.

Will do. :)

>(You ever think of, uh, like, exchanging mood rings or something less
>burning-flesh-intensive. Mood rings can be rather significant/mean a
>lot as well.)

Oh, we're way past mood rings, we two. The burning itself as almost more
symbolic than the scarring.